Braves

By Coach

March 30, 2007 2:11 PM | Link to this

Ahhhh , the asteemed blog lady has graced us with her presence. Yes, it would seem that the sports world is centered in Atlanta , at least for the time being. Speaking of time , it’s about finding out if this Braves team is as good as we think it is and if Cox can manage this pitching staff.

By TennesseePaul

March 30, 2007 2:13 PM | Link to this

Carroll, if we do hear from you in a couple of hours you will have raised the bar for fill-in blog master.
Thanks for the post.

GO BRAVES

By Pepe

March 30, 2007 2:14 PM | Link to this

Just think…if all the transplants to Atlanta from around the country were not taken into account, we might get our due as a true sports town.

What a time to be a true sports fan in Atlanta…Go Falcons, Dawgs, Braves, Thrashers, Hawks and I guess Jackets too!

And the Masters…oh life is good!!!

By Bobby Still Stinks

March 30, 2007 2:17 PM | Link to this

Just because Tyler Yates is out of options, we have to keep his sorry butt? If I were out of options could I hold down the last spot in the bullpen, too? Anyway, I’m excited about the braves this year, even if we have to be subjected to another year of Bobby’s ridiculous hyperbole.

By Glass Half Full

March 30, 2007 2:19 PM | Link to this

I don’t earn enough to enjoy golf.

By Hunk Erdown

March 30, 2007 2:21 PM | Link to this

I sure do like the fire that Ozzie has about him, but I’m afraid his mouth is gonna end up writing checks that his butt can’t cash. Hopefully he’ll mellow a tad bit… I’d like to see him managing the Braves someday if he can learn a little tact and self control.

By Greg in TN

March 30, 2007 2:24 PM | Link to this

Thanks Carroll,

Good weekend to be in the ATL if you’re a sports fan. Can you give us your impressions on the new PA guy if you get a chance? It’s a shame that Bob Bowers had to relinquish the microphone due to illness. Not sure the extent of that situation, but best wishes to him.

It’s the pale hose and the Braves from the Ted folks. Opening day is right around the corner.

By Bubba

March 30, 2007 2:29 PM | Link to this

Atlanta is such a great host for sports. The dome has the SEC champ game, braves, thrashers and falcons are always competive, and dont forget about the two atlatna races.

By TennesseePaul

March 30, 2007 2:35 PM | Link to this

Payne: Alright, I’ll check out Baseball Reference. That site is a little hard to manage with all it’s text listings. But if I can get the data I need, I’ll run it and see what it says and let you know.

By Shaun

March 30, 2007 2:36 PM | Link to this

To continue from the previous blog…

Not wanting to start a war, but did y’all read Terence Moore’s piece yesterday? What a bunch of hogwash! By zero blacks on the Braves, does he mean that Pena, Aybar, Renteria, and AJ aren’t “black” enough? Give me a break.

Rodger,

Articles like that are very depressing to me. I’m not naive enough to think there is no such thing as skin-color discrimination (I don’t like the term racism because I believe race is a social construct) but come on, Terrence.

He says “And, please, no more silliness about how African-Americans are just not into the game anymore and preferring basketball and football.”

Well, what if it’s true? Is it silliness if it’s true that many people that identify themselves as African-American are not into baseball as much as other sports?

Articles like this that accuse the “establishment” of discrimination and presumes victim-hood are just depressing to me. If I were black, I would be upset that people like me see us in that fashion—that we can never rise up and make anything of ourselves.

By Lew

March 30, 2007 2:37 PM | Link to this

Pepe-Maybe when we can sell out an entire playoff series, we will get respect as a sports town. Won’t happen until then, though.

By Gustopher

March 30, 2007 2:50 PM | Link to this

I wish I was going to be in Atlanta this weekend. I heard the weather has been great (except for the pollen) and all the sports as well. Great Blog CR

By Lew

March 30, 2007 2:51 PM | Link to this

I just fail to see why MLB would go out of their way to draft Hispanic and Asian players and discriminate against blacks. Makes no sense to me at all. It actually defies logic. If a player has the potential to achieve excellence in the majors, I can’t see some team NOT signing them. It has to be lack of a substantial enough talent pool for baseball. If such is the case, I sincerely doubt that racism is the cause. But then again, I’m as white bread as you can get. What do I know?

By ernesto

March 30, 2007 3:08 PM | Link to this

Moore’s piece is one dimensional thinking at its finest. Way to go T., well done.

By Shaun

March 30, 2007 3:08 PM | Link to this

TennesseePaul,

On the player pages, at the top beside “Batting” you will see “Gamelogs” and beside that a pull-down with the years of a player’s career.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/gl.cgi?n1=larocad01&t=b

By Braveheart

March 30, 2007 3:08 PM | Link to this

So, there is no such thing as a streaky player? Teams never leak off the record propaganda against their players during contract time? And the worst - there is no such thing as racism? Good God, Shaun. Good God.

That doesn’t mean I agree with Moore’s lazy and poorly written article - as shallow and as superficial as any of his articles.

By Renegator

March 30, 2007 3:13 PM | Link to this

In reference to the Terence Moore article - I would think all baseball teams (all sports teams for that matter) strive to put the best of the best players on the field. I’m sure they don’t care if they are black, hispanic, white, asian, whatever. It’s whoever is the best!

Unless you’re Omar Minaya and trying to land a Hispanic TV deal so you only sign Hispanic players. Sorry, had to dig on the Mets a little.

By OddJob

March 30, 2007 3:16 PM | Link to this

DOB I’m an Atlanta fan,but I must not be too smart.Here I sit in my home in the woods of Carolin, with my feet proped up while the ATL crowd fights through friday afternoon traffic.What the hell was I thinking ?

By eric the elder

March 30, 2007 3:20 PM | Link to this

If we watch the final Four this weekend, how many white guys will you expect to see, except in the pep band? Professional teams (and I include college football and basketball) field the best teams they can with the best players they can find, color notwithstanding. I’m not a Moore basher, but his conspiracy paranoia does surface now and then.

By Shaun

March 30, 2007 3:23 PM | Link to this

Lew,

Good point. It seems like if racism was the motivation, teams wouldn’t send scouts all around the world to look for talents. Maybe teams just are conspiring to keep American blacks out of the big leagues. They would much rather bid ridiculous sums of money on Japanese players who are already professionals and who already demand huge salaries.

By Wayne in Utah

March 30, 2007 3:24 PM | Link to this

I would never notice that there are no “black” players on the Braves if someone hadn’t pointed that out. Does that mean I am color blind.

BTW, I loved Hank Aaron.

By OddJob

March 30, 2007 3:24 PM | Link to this

Basketball and football are by far more popular with us blacks than baseball.That and the fact baseball is loved and seen as the ticket up and out for most athletes in hispanic nations explains the trend.To suggest discrimination is (pardon the analogy) off base.

By Wayne in Utah

March 30, 2007 3:25 PM | Link to this

Maybe Omar would trade us David Wright for Aybar and we could throw in Escobar to sweeten the deal.

By TennesseePaul

March 30, 2007 3:26 PM | Link to this

Payne: Found it. This is going to take some time. I’ll have to get back to you in a week or so. Converting the data to usable formats and the loading and the compiling all the calculations… I have other things to do which pay way more.

By Wayne in Utah

March 30, 2007 3:27 PM | Link to this

Carroll: Duke???? Now I gotta go to the can and toss my cookies.

By Shaun

March 30, 2007 3:29 PM | Link to this

Braveheart,

I never said there is no such thing as racism (which I prefer to call skin-color discrimination). Read the post more carefully.

Maybe you misunderstood what I meant by not likening the term “racism.” The term “race” really has no meaning except in political contexts. In my eyes, all human beings should be seen as individuals and when we use words like “race” we are just saying that certain types of people should be group together for political purposes. I think race is an imaginary way to differentiate groups of people. Skin color is a much better term and more useful to those who want to fight discrimination, in my opinion. It plainly throws it in the face of the ignorant that there is no difference between people except for skin-color.

By Kevin Elster

March 30, 2007 3:30 PM | Link to this

Very poorly written article by Moore as usual. Shallow. Superficial. Intended to flame the fans. Did he even write this article this time around? Or did he just cut and paste the boilerplated article he has been writing every year for at least the last five years? Does anyone want to take a bet how far into the season we will be before he writes his annual the Braves should trade for Ken Griffey, Jr. article? Complaining that blacks are only 9% of the baseball population? Does he make the same complaint that blacks only comprise 12% of the American population?

By True Braves Fan

March 30, 2007 3:31 PM | Link to this

I quit reading anything Terrance Moore writes a long time ago….

By knowitall

March 30, 2007 3:40 PM | Link to this

Lew,

It’s not that blacks lack the talent to play baseball, it more of the fact that no one commits funds to black neighborhoods to develope the talent. I don’t know if MLB or the local government is the blame for that. It’s not hard to find a basketball goal in urban neighborhoods and pee-wee football seems to be alive and strong in these areas so maybe some of that does fall on MLB. Be that as it may, most black kids spend their days playing basketball because it’s 1)available and 2)cheap.

By OddJob

March 30, 2007 3:40 PM | Link to this

I meant U.S. blacks not ‘us blacks’.I have more of an opaque hue.

By Shaun

March 30, 2007 3:43 PM | Link to this

TennPaul,

Looking at LaRoche from last year, even on a month-by-month basis, for the most part there isn’t a huge difference in his totals. I think looking at totals may tell us more. Percentages are preferable over a large span of games but may be deceiving in only a month’s worth of games.

I may have brought this up already but maybe it’s worth repeating. a couple of hits are going to make a much bigger difference to a players AVG/OBP/SLG in a months worth of games as opposed to a season’s worth of games.

Of course you’ll still find some differentiation when looking at totals, but can it be explained by what we would call streakiness or could it be explained with some other factor—tougher or easier opponents from month-to-month, injuries, ballparks.

Someone brought up AJ’s totals from month to month the other day saying he never higher that something and lower than something else, so therefore maybe he’s streaky. But if you look at the totals as opposed to averages and rates, he looks a lot less streaky from month-to-month.

Again, not saying this is adequate proof of no streaky players but something to consider.

By Voice of Reason

March 30, 2007 3:44 PM | Link to this

It’s been said more times than I can remember, but in pro sports, the only color that matters is green. Moore’s rationale, if you can call it that, is weak at best. It’s really just a means of getting us all talking about it and him, which he has quite handily succeeeded in doing. While we all wail and gnash our teeth, Terrence and the suits at the AJC are sitting back and smiling. Touche-

By MBATL

March 30, 2007 3:46 PM | Link to this

Shaun, I left a little peace offering (not exactly an apology, but you’re right, I did get a little “snippy” with you) on the previous blog.

I know you don’t take advice from other bloggers (ha!), but man, you and the rest should stay out of this race discussion.

Terrence sets the bait with this stuff, but then doesn’t stay around to defend his positions, or even to answer legitimate questions folks may have about his assertions. I just hate to see his garbage take over a DOB/CR blog, and it can happen real fast.

Whatever! That’s my 2 cents worth. (and I believe streakiness exists, and must be proven!).

By Lew

March 30, 2007 3:47 PM | Link to this

Wayne-I’ve got to agree with you here. Isn’t color blindness what we have been striving for all of this time? First of all, Terence Moore’s definitions here are a bit restrictive. We have people of color playing for the Braves, don’t we? Where exactly does Mr. Moore suppose all of the darker skinned residents of the Carribbean come from? Were they not slaves kidnapped from Africa, just like those in the U.S.? I think Mr. Moore would be better advised, if he is so concerned with the African American condition, to question why there are not more Black college professors, company CEO’s and successful businesspersons (other than Oprah). Wouldn’t those positions be more influential on the African-American condition than whining about how few millionaire athletes there are?

By joebrave

March 30, 2007 3:48 PM | Link to this

R.Garr,Eddie Solomon,H Aaron,Dusty Baker,J.Royster,C.Washington,G.Matthews,R.Furcal,G.Sheffield,O.Nixon,D.Sanders,F.McGriff.so on and so forth.Some of Atlanta’s all time greats have been of the African-American persuasion.this record of history Yes speaks for itself.!!!

By Wayne in Utah

March 30, 2007 3:48 PM | Link to this

lifelong…..you weren’t dissing my chocolate eating dog near the end of the last blog were you?? He is very sensitive, now that he is on a big time sugar high.

I shouldn’t be here as I am supposed to be working. Somebody might have to start a BA (Bloggers Anonymous).

By ohforfour

March 30, 2007 3:49 PM | Link to this

First, re: this comment by Lew:

“I just fail to see why MLB would go out of their way to draft Hispanic and Asian players and discriminate against blacks. Makes no sense to me at all…”

Actually, they’ve done it before. Did you know that there WERE Latin players in the majors BEFORE Jackie Robinson?

Having said that, its a pretty far stretch to say baseball has intentionally discriminated against American blacks.

But I wonder how many American black youths would be involved in baseball if the major league teams were investing as much in the inner cities for baseball academies as they do in the various Latin countries. MLB does have something called the “RBI Project” which stands for Revitalizing Baseball in the Inner Cities, but I’d be willing to guess what they spend on that probably doesn’t hold a candle to what teams spend actually developing talent in Latin America….. and, of course, that leads to the question of “Why?” Its probably because they can sign the kids from these countries at young ages, at bargain rates. They aren’t subject to the major league draft, as American college and high school players are….

By Shaun

March 30, 2007 3:49 PM | Link to this

Braveheart,

Maybe my view is a naive way of looking at race or skin-color but in my opinion it’s more useful and meaningful and truthful to say “skin-color discrimination” because “racism” is not saying much.

By Wayne in Utah

March 30, 2007 3:51 PM | Link to this

Terrance who?

By ppaddy123

March 30, 2007 3:53 PM | Link to this

Amen, True Braves Fan

By Lew

March 30, 2007 3:57 PM | Link to this

KnowIt All-Re read my post, Dude. I never said there was no black talent, just that there was a limited talent pool, for whatever the reason. I personally agree with your assessment that there are few facilities in inner city environments. However, if you read Terence Moore’s article, he just doesn’t want to hear that argument. Maybe he should lobby to build more facilties rather than gripe that nothing has changed in 60 years. Nothing could be further from the truth. I’m certain there are isolated examples of racism. Hell, you can find examples of any kind of hate imaginable in this and every other country, but I have serious problems with any assessment that it is an (baseball) institutional wide conspiracy as TM suggests.

By Shaun

March 30, 2007 3:57 PM | Link to this

ohforfour,

Well, if a team goes to a Latin American country, they can sign a good player right there for a relatively small sum.

Investing in an inner city baseball academy doesn’t offer immediate results. You can’t just sign a 16-year-old kid off of a city street in America. They are subject to the draft.

By Wayne in Utah

March 30, 2007 3:59 PM | Link to this

Streakyness

Now fellas, I already offered once. If you want to know if a player is streaky, just ask me and I will tell you!

By TennesseePaul

March 30, 2007 4:12 PM | Link to this

Payne: I haven’t completed my analysis yet, but to find streakiness or consistancy, you can’t just eyeball numbers. For starters, you have to normalize the data, which you can’t do by eye-balling. No one can. Maybe some autistic kid in Uganda, but he can’t blog anyway.

By ohforfour

March 30, 2007 4:12 PM | Link to this

Shaun…

If you’ll read my post, that’s what I said…

By Dan

March 30, 2007 4:13 PM | Link to this

Thanks to DOB and CR for their informative and entertaining blogs from Orlando.This is going to be a great year for the Braves, cant wait til Monday! Hopefully we will get off to a great start in Philly and come back to the Ted and sweep the Mets next weekend!

By caveman22

March 30, 2007 4:23 PM | Link to this

Kevin Elster your dead on target. TM has been writing that same “racist” point of view for so long that he’s ruined his credibility as a sport writer when it comes to issues of ethnicity. African-Americans don’t want to be stereotyped as “only interested in being sports stars or rappers” but as soon as there is a dip in their participation in a certain segment you got people like TM saying it’s racism when more likely it’s just a preference for other activities. Basketball and Football and more favored because their “instant” star status. Baseball is a 10-15 year process starting from around 10 yrs of age before the average player would see the majors. Then it depends on what organization, what position, and what injury situation is at hand that all play a part in getting into The Show. The right place at the right time is still a huge factor in many major league stars getting their big break. In a few years Caucasian players will be in decline if the Latin and Japanese players continue to grow in numbers. Preference for African-Americans to play another sport is no different in it’s evolution that every kid from the Dominican Republic wanting to play shortstop. That’s just what they want. You can’t force a team to play anybody they don’t want to especially when the average salary per player is closing in on 1 mil a year - that goes for Black, White, Latin, or Asian. All joking aside this is really one of the biggest problems with the AJC’s sports coverage. When writing is this biased it shows so blatantly it’s like all those hysterical women at OJ’s trial standing outside talking crazy. The ostrich has it’s head in the sand and that’s why the ostrich just looks stupid.

By Renegator

March 30, 2007 4:25 PM | Link to this

JoeBrave - did you really say the Rafael Furcal was African American (3:48 post)? C’mon dude.

By jonathan friedman

March 30, 2007 4:28 PM | Link to this

Boy I hope the Braves pop a big ole boner this weekend

By OddJob

March 30, 2007 4:34 PM | Link to this

I just finished the Moore article.As far as management positions he may have a point.Just on the player issue though it doesn’t hold water.When is the last time you saw black kids playing a game of pickup baseball? When I see a game of ball being played by blacks or a mix of blacks, whites,etc, its basketball.There is nothing wrong with that,what if someone started taking park space from games the kids like and used it for a mandated sport?what would people say?That they’re trying to force a culture on them? Why not just distribute dockers, polo shirts, penny loafers and Alan Jackson cds to them? It would make about as much sense.If parents think kid’s need baseball in their communities let them do it grassroots. My guess is there simply isn’t a big market for it.That’s ok I’m all for diversity, the voluntary kind.

By berigan

March 30, 2007 4:40 PM | Link to this

Terrence who is right! Why he still works for the AJC is beyond me…..

By knowitall

March 30, 2007 4:43 PM | Link to this

Lew,

Sorry I misunderstood your comment. I don’t read Terence Moore’s articles. I’m African American and I think he’s part of the problem. While I believe racism(skin discrimination) is alive and well, Terence tries to through it into every situation.

As someone else noted, I think its more about money than anything else. I think from MLB’s point of view had been why spend money to develop talent here when we can get Dominican and Japanese players who are being developed in their own country? Great thinking from a corporate point of view but as we have seen, it dilutes the talent pool of domestic players.

By journalist jimmy smith

March 30, 2007 4:44 PM | Link to this

oh, the humanity! the humanity, humanity, humanity, humanity! more taxes are due! how can this journalist owe more taxes?

By journalist jimmy smith

March 30, 2007 4:44 PM | Link to this

oh, the humanity! the humanity, humanity, humanity, humanity! more taxes are due! how can this journalist owe more taxes?

By TheSouthernJackAss

March 30, 2007 4:53 PM | Link to this

Hell joeblow—maybe I’ll be just as smart as you are someday—and have those same impeccably eloquent skills that you’ve been showcasing when it comes to the usage of the English language…oh one can only dream…

By N8

March 30, 2007 4:57 PM | Link to this

So with Terrance Moore’s article about the lack of african american’s on the Braves, it begs one question.

If tomorrow JS held a news conference stating that he had traded John Smoltz to the Angels for Darren Oliver, would he be “confused” by his inner conflict?

I mean, seriously. There’s ONLY two sides to fall on here. You would either think:

a) That is a HORRIBLE baseball trade

or

b) Man am I pumped we had added an african american to our roster.

I can’t imagine what he’s gonna say if TP doesn’t get hired as the next manager, when Bobby retires. Or heaven forbid (GASP!) he would get fired as hitting coach. Because you ALL know that’s why Clarence Jones was fired right? To make room for a white coach!……Oh…Wait. We hired Don Baylor to replace him. Well then YOU KNOW that Don Baylor was fired to hire..a…whi..DANGIT! We hired TP to replace Baylor. This theory has HOLES all over it!

Never mind.

By journalist jimmy smith

March 30, 2007 5:03 PM | Link to this

journalist is so upset that journalist accidently posted twice. please forgive jimmy smith.

now, carroll rogers … welcome back to this award-winning blog. is carroll rogers a fan of the wurlitzer award?

and now, to the blogger who is blogging with blogger’s self … something is tipping of you’re posts. what could it be?

now, baseball … whatever team bobby puts out there is okay with jimmy smith at this point. guess that makes journalist a fan.

and what is the health condition of tom glavine? ringfinger cold?

By Lew

March 30, 2007 8:55 PM | Link to this

What happened? Did we kill the blog?

By N8

March 30, 2007 8:56 PM | Link to this

HEY! Blog’s back up.

I’ve been checking every 15 minutes or so, and strangely enough, I actually have NOTHING to say.

Actually, here’s a link to a pretty good read. Sounds like “fun” to me. NOT! (wow. 1990 called and wants their phrase back - SORRY, I won’t ever say that again)

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/the_bonus/03/28/verducci.umpire0402/index.html

DOB

Do you know Verducci at all? Seems like an alright guy. One of the few guys on si.com (that covers baseball) that I can stand reading his articles.

L8R

By TennesseePaul

March 30, 2007 9:09 PM | Link to this

Payne: There you go again, no real analysis of numbers, just eyeballing it. From my initial analysis of the month to month (30+ months each) of LaRoche, AJ, Pujols and Furcal, LaRoche and AJ were identical. I left it all at the office so I’m writing from memory here, but I recall LaRoche and AJ were around 15% more streaky than than Pujols. Furcal was 40% more streaky than Pujols and 20% more streaky than AJ and LaRoche. I used Pujols as a standard, though I don’t know, maybe there is a more consistant, al beit less flashy, hitter out there. A guy can consistantly hit .200. Typically he doesn’t play with any frequency unless he’s Todd Pratt at the beginning of last season.
When I’m done I’ll put the gist of it out here for you. Had I a fancy website like HK I could post it all, but alas I do not. Mainly because I don’t want to have to maintain said fancy website.

By Tebow the Show

March 30, 2007 9:17 PM | Link to this

We weren headed for a Terrence Moore fueled racial nuclear meltdown, the AJC sensed it coming, and shut ‘er down. Lew, remember that in Gainesville in October when I’m chomping on your little puppies, don’t forget you must Tebow the Show!

By N8

March 30, 2007 9:24 PM | Link to this

btw: Lew

Nice artwork. Thanks for the site address.

Check out that si.com article. It’s kinda long. But I laughed out loud 2 or 3 times. The section about the “exchange” with JD Drew, is priceless!

By N8

March 30, 2007 9:24 PM | Link to this

Is Prado really Robert in disguise? Sounds like that foul ball almost got Bobby. LOL!

By Scalp 'em Braves

March 30, 2007 9:25 PM | Link to this

I have a question… Who the hell is Terrence Moore? Should I care?

By Scalp 'em Braves

March 30, 2007 9:32 PM | Link to this

Hey folks - John Scheurholz interview on Sports South (formerly Turner South coming on now - FYI

By Scalp 'em Braves

March 30, 2007 9:36 PM | Link to this

JJS:

No doubt, taxes are taxing. I feel your pain. Of course, they no longer call them taxes - they are now “revenue enhancements”. If that is the case, shouldn’t we in some fashion feel enhanced? Me, I just feel, well, taxed.

By OddJob

March 30, 2007 10:11 PM | Link to this

Thomas Jefferson once wrote ‘we hold these truths to be self evident’ relax I’m talking about whether some hitters are moore I mean more consistent than others…DA! YEA!!

By Lew

March 30, 2007 10:21 PM | Link to this

Nathan-You’re welcome and thank you. Verducci is actually one of the better writers. He’s the one that did the analysis on overusing young pitchers. Most of what I’ve read of his makes sense and usually shows insight. I bet it was a great experience umpiring that game he wrote about. Tebow-If the Gators would quit beating my Bulldogs, I might like them better. No, then again, probably not. I really don’t like blue and orange.

By Oil Soap

March 30, 2007 10:25 PM | Link to this

one question, DOB: you fired up?

By Gil in Mechanicsville

March 30, 2007 10:29 PM | Link to this

I think this Mark Twain quote says it best in reference to Terrence Moore. “Better to remain silent and have half the world think you are a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt”.

By Gil in Mechanicsville

March 30, 2007 10:31 PM | Link to this

And Carroll, VCU…. VCU…. VCU…:-)

By N8

March 30, 2007 10:40 PM | Link to this

Lew

I just love the part in the Verducci story about JD Drew and him “arguing” about the ground rules. Which he obviously had NO CLUE to what they were. Then to have the other ump come by, and Verducci then chimes in (like the little guy in High School who stands behind his bigger friends and proceeds to pick a fight), HILLARIOUS!

But I’m guessing he had a blast. But it would be “interesting” to say the least to be staring down and on-coming Manny Ramirez line drive, with NO glove, or cup. Man ALIVE, I can’t understand why they don’t wear a cup?

Alright, time to go watch Monster House with my kids for about the 75th time this year. Sooner or later, I’m gonna stop letting them pick the flick.

By ssiscribe

March 30, 2007 10:59 PM | Link to this

ATLANTA — On one hand, it certainly didn’t look or feel like baseball season.

Many of those filing through the gates of Turner Field did so wearing sweaters and jackets, instead of T-shirts and shorts. Carroll and the gang in the press box must’ve agreed with that assessment; the windows were closed. And there were quite a few fans disguised as empty seats, blue with a dash of pollen yellow.

But on the other hand, it was baseball at Turner Field on a Friday night, even if the crowd was sparce and the results on the field don’t matter all that much.

The Braves’ 3-2 loss to the White Sox notwithstanding, it just felt good to be back in the ballpark. Yes, parking is still expensive ($12). Yes, traffic was, in the words of my 3-year-old, “jacked up” all over the big city thanks in part to the blue- and orange-clad Gator Nation invasion for the Final Four. Yes, food is expensive (we only bought one thing, a pretzel, yet still it was $3.75).

But that’s OK. Because it felt good to be back in the yard. The first game back was a time for reunions. We saw several groups of people, season ticket holders, who greeted friends with hugs, handshakes and “how y’all been doing?” greetings. One group of college-aged students, sitting in front of me and Baby Scribe in the upper deck, yelled down to a friend below as the game started. A few minutes later, their friend — dressed as an indian, complete with headdress, (I believe he’s a longtime fan who hasn’t missed a game in Turner Field’s history, if memory serves) — popped his head through the entranceway to Section 433, and the greetings commenced.

Even the ushers, who have built a reputation for being somewhat uncooperative, seemed to be happy to be at work tonight. One usher, in dead center field, invited me to sit down for a spell, even though he knew my seats were elsewhere. One, while we sat down the left-field line in the upper deck, told me to make sure I took my little guy to Skyfield so he could run along the baseline (we’d done that already).

Now, to the game. James struggled a bit with his control. I think, too, focus is a problem when you get to the final week of spring. We’ve seen that a bit this week with Smoltz and Hudson, and I think it hurt James at times tonight. He just wasn’t as crisp as he needed to be.

Braves let a couple of really good scoring chances go by the wayside. Chipper’s homer was a bomb, one pitch after he hit a bomb into the bullpen in left, just foul. McBride and Gonzalez looked real good on the mound. McBride got into some trouble, but the lefty from Sylvania worked his way out of it to keep the game 3-2.

But much analysis on the penultimate game of preseason is wording wasted. Instead, put a bow on tonight merely by saying it was good to be back, my little guy enjoyed his first major league game, and now the appetite’s been whetted properly for the home opener in, oh, 164 hours or so.

The Scribe abides.

—30—

By TheSouthernJackAss

March 30, 2007 11:02 PM | Link to this

Here’s a little example of what people think of Terence Moore…(http://www.everydayshouldbrsaturday.com/?p=2311)…

By Gil in Mechanicsville

March 30, 2007 11:12 PM | Link to this

ssiscribe… Thanks for putting a human face once again on the Game. Your excellant report was more informative than many we recieve. Cooler weather has moved back in our area so a chill will greet the Braves as they head north to take on the Phillies.

By Robert

March 30, 2007 11:14 PM | Link to this

baseball-reference.com

Look at info for the Braves teams of 1981-83

Bret Butler was the team’s most frequant leadoff hitter in two of the three seasons he played for the team, and as far as whole career goes, he was the best leadoff hitter the Braves have ever had.

You dont even know your own team’s history. All you know is that you expect a donkey to take you to the promised land when he led you off the cliff over and over again with far better teams in the past

Opening Day 2009 cant get here soon enuff

By journalist jimmy smith

March 30, 2007 11:17 PM | Link to this

boog looks a little like a heavier carrot top. with some of the ugly talk from some of the bloggers the past few days journalist jimmy smith still does not know why goatee works here and van d** does not. now, this journalist hit a rock and killed this journalist’s lawn mower today - tax day for jimmy smith. what a bad day! and the braves lost to the white sox! wonder if dob and coltrane are home yet? should be in the ham by now. and did carroll rogers come back on the blog as contmeplated or was carroll rogers teasing? and how is guy curtright doing in retirement? and curt is right - with the shortest of blogs. and what of the old journalist? will the old journalist be at the home opener? now, baseball … dob was prescient with dob’s roster picks - but dob has been around and seen bobby picking for awhile now - so dob knows what to expect when bobby picks (oh, the humanity!). and how many canadians are on this team, eh? has the team exceeded its canadian quotient? and who on the ajc staff stands up for canadian ballplayers? and with all this pollen who cares what color the ballplayers are and who can tell? and terence moore should write coloring books - get it? - that was a joke, son. dob should be a columnist this year and jimmy smith is going to work to make it so. dob will need a new picture, though. the picture of dob on the cox website is not fearsome enough for use with a column.

By TheSouthernJackAss

March 30, 2007 11:18 PM | Link to this

Should have been… http://www.everydayshouldbesaturday.com/?p=2311

By Robert

March 30, 2007 11:19 PM | Link to this

Terrence Moore is a very good sportswriter when he writes about sports

I dont think it would be fair for anyone who isnt African-American to try and even understand what he must’ve gone thru to get where he is, or to be ABLE to understand his point of view - which has some legitimacy

Nevertheless, I dont wanna discuss racial issues on the sports page.

When he starts in on racial issues in his articles, I stop reading.

It’s kinda like how I deal with Saraceno at USA Today. When he goes to telling us how everyone else (particularly Bonds and Terrell Owens) need to behave, it’s time to go to the next page

By Robert

March 30, 2007 11:23 PM | Link to this

“and as far as whole career goes”

clarify meaning here - Of all the players who have ever hit leadoff for the Braves for any significant stretch of games or portion of a season, he ended up having the best overall baseball career as a leadoff hitter - not all as a Brave, but overall

Meaning that a Garr might have accumulated better stats during his tenure as Braves leadoff hitter, but Butler, for his whole career, was a better player than Garr

Was Garr at his peak better than Butler at his peak is yet another debate alltogether

By Gil in Mechanicsville

March 30, 2007 11:24 PM | Link to this

Robert… I had I don’t know how old you are but I saw Brett come up as a rookie through Richmond. He was fast then. I thought he and Jacoby were special. Could not believe it when they were traded to Clevland. As for wishing your life away. Be careful what you wish for. 2009 will be here sooner than you may want it to be.

By ssiscribe

March 30, 2007 11:34 PM | Link to this

Esteemed Ugandan journalist: Guy is filling in for our boy Bowman over on the Braves.com beat. Saw a few bylines from ol’ Guy this week, and he staffed the game tonight. My guess is he’s retired, but gonna be doing some backup work over there. Good for him.

Also guess Bowman wasn’t staffing tonight because he was celebrating West Virginia’s NIT title. If y’all see a guy dipping tobacco screaming, “We’re No. 66! We’re No. 66!,” it’s probably him.

And JJS, that sucks about your taxes and your lawnmower. Sounds like today should’ve been a Monday, not a Friday, dude.

Gil, thanks much for your words, man. Always nice to hear. Just had a great time tonight walking around with my 3-year-old, sitting here and there and chatting and pointing out things about the game. Moments like that I’ll hold dear forever and ever, because moments like that are quite fleeting. Being back home this season and just down the road from the yard, I plan on spending a good bit of time there this summer. Gonna be a fun season, my friend.

And glad to know it’ll be chilly in Philly. DOB, grab your cold-weather gear, dude (did you and Coltrane ever make it home? We went 675 to 285 to 20 to make it into downtown; no messing with 75 tonight … thanks a bunch, all your darn Gators fans).

Off to bed … T-ball beckons in the morning. Go Thrashers tomorrow in Boston; get that division wrapped up so I can figure out when I’m going to the playoffs, and so I can figure out which Marlins’ games I can go to the second week of the season. Grinch, you gotta get up in Philips for the playoffs, bro! If Le Thrash can clinch Wednesday at home, I just may have to get up in that.

Everybody enjoy your evening. The Scribe abides. Denizens, selah.

—30—

By Robert

March 30, 2007 11:34 PM | Link to this

I hear ya Gil. I meant it couldnt get here fast enough from one isolated aspect of life.

I just cant get excited or moved in any way about the Braves til then, cuz it doesnt matter

If we go to the World Series this year and are up in the bottom of the ninth of the deciding game with 2 outs and 2 strikes, it doesnt matter.

Cox would put Buckner in at first base.

And he’d do it not malevolently, but thinking it was the best move. No matter the situation, if it’s playoff baseball, he will flush any chance of victory down the toilet.

Because to him what matters isnt having the right players in at the right times, or recognizing key moments in a series, but rather whether players are wearing sunglasses on their caps during spring training BP

He did a good job as GM. He may have marvelous raport with his players. But when it comes to in game strategy, particularly in the playoffs (but certainly not limited to the playoffs) he is an absolute and total retard

By Robert

March 30, 2007 11:35 PM | Link to this

And thats true even if I dont know how many p’s there are in rapport

By Coach

March 30, 2007 11:41 PM | Link to this

Cox went with Orr the (veteran) and Redman the (veteran). Why am I not surprised in the least.

By Gil in Mechanicsville

March 30, 2007 11:48 PM | Link to this

Did you know he once played third base for the Richmond Braves? Was on the same team as Jim Beacham, his old bench coach and Tommy Aaron, Hank’s brother.

By Gil in Mechanicsville

March 30, 2007 11:54 PM | Link to this

Don’t worry Coach, we’ll take good care of Escobar and Prado in Richmond. They will be ready if needed I promise…

By Gil in Mechanicsville

March 30, 2007 11:59 PM | Link to this

Okay…. Rack time… see ya folks…

By Kentavo

March 31, 2007 12:14 AM | Link to this

Look at all the bright African-American stars in MLB right now, from Ryan Howard to Dontrelle Willis, I think it will be okay as far as balance goes. It is not doom and gloom. It’s not really a matter of quantity but rather quality. The cream will rise to the top no matter color or anything else superficial. MLB rosters aren’t as black as in the 70s and 80s but the black players that are there are pretty much exceptional, from C.C. Sebathia to S. Figgins. Who wouldn’t take either of those guys on their team? Put one of those guys in ATL and they would be instant superstars/celebrities. And they’d be huge assets on the field.

By N8

March 31, 2007 12:15 AM | Link to this

Coach

You said:

“Cox went with Orr the (veteran) and Redman the (veteran). Why am I not surprised in the least.”

Now you and I BOTH know that Davies will see action with the big club (whether it’s due to injury, or performance), WAY before Pete Orr will be bumped from the roster for Prado or Escobar.

Mark my words. Pete Orr will be on the 25 man roster THE WHOLE SEASON unless he gets injured. I have nothing against the guy, and last year he was the “emergancy” catcher. But as some have pointed out, Wilson was a catcher, so that “excuse” is out for me.

It’s just another case of Bobby going with his “gut” and with who he “likes” as opposed to going with the hot hand. I mean, for crying out loud, go with Escobar until he proves he doesn’t belong. Pete Orr had a nice spring. I hope he surprises me. But what WOULD surprise me about Pete Orr is if he hit above .250 with an OBP above .275.

THAT would surprise me.

DOB you’ve made the arguement (in the pas) for a guy like Gregor Blanco NOT having any power, etc…

If Pete Orr were to get a full season of AB’s his numbers would “pro-rate” out to about 3-5 HR’s and about 25-30 RBI. YIKES!!! YIKES!!! DOUBLE YIKES!!!

I may be ranting here a bit, but I thought for sure Prado would make the team. Oh Well.

As far as Redman. I think we ALL knew that the second the Braves signed him to the contract, he was gonna be in the opening day rotation.

You know where I stand on young guys. Hitters, if they are “up” to early and struggle can go back down and RAKE against the AAA pitching and gain their confidence back. But when pitchers come up to early, I think it takes MUCH longer to recover mentally from failing. Not sure what my reasoning is on that, but it sounds good doesn’t it? LOL!

So, with that thought in mind, I’d rather have Davies start at AAA and be called up when his numbers can’t be denied, or when Redman fails. Rather than have Redman “waiting in the wings”, meanwhile if Davies starts off with the big club and fails, he’d have that in his head BIG TIME, IMO. (see: Joey Devine, Kevin McGlinchy etc…)

My question to you Coach is this:

What if after a month, Redman is holding his own, or even better dominating, and Tim Hudson is struggling BIG TIME? Would you be as passionate about Davies replacing Tim Hudson in the rotation, as you are about Redman, who is costing us around 5 million LESS than Hudson this year? Not to mention what Hudson’s contract does after 2007.

Obviously Hudson can’t be sent down. But would you pull him from the rotation if he goes, say: 1-4 with a 5.50 ERA in April and Redman is 4-1 with an ERA around 4.00, all while Davies is TEARING UP Richmond?

Just curious. Not trying to start a “Lew-Caveman” type of debate, just conversation on a lonely Friday night. (I’m home with the kids - Wife drove to Minneapolis this morning…..I’M BORED!)

By KC

March 31, 2007 12:17 AM | Link to this

I was sitting at the bar at TGI Friday’s earlier this evening and saw Steve Phillips predicting the winners of all the division races. There was no sound, but the only team they were showing footage of when the got to the NL East was the Braves… so I’m assuming Atlanta’s his pick. Anyone happen to hear his comments? Just curious.

By N8

March 31, 2007 12:26 AM | Link to this

KC

YES. Steve Phillips DID pick the Braves to win the East. I guess he’s not so bad after all. LOL! He was the ONLY one on ESPN who did. In fact only a few pick the Braves to finish ahead of BOTH the Phillies and Mets. We were 3rd in most of their predictions.

Here’s a link to the ESPN “Braves” Preview, on the right, there is a video with Steve Phillips. I assume it’s what they showed tonight.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/preview07/team?team=atl

Enjoy.

By TheSouthernJackAss

March 31, 2007 12:27 AM | Link to this

KC—Phillips switched to picking the Braves because of injuries and the suck factor of the Mets’ pitching staff…

By flbravesgirl

March 31, 2007 12:43 AM | Link to this

Scribe, thanks for the report. Glad you & Baby Scribe had a good time.

N8, thanks for the SI link. Fun article. The “ground rules” discussion was great, lol.

jimmy, I doubt we’ll hear from DOB tonight. He & Coltrane are probably frazzled from the trip. Sorry about your mower. Can Baby Seal do anything with it or is it beyond repair?

By Coach

March 31, 2007 12:46 AM | Link to this

N8 , as soon as Aybar is healthy , Orr is gone to Richmond. When has Redman dominated during his career ? He had one decent season in 2003. When Hampton comes off the DL , Redman is gone , a rental , nothing more. Hudson struggle ? Have you not been paying attention all spring training. By the way , Redman has no options. He will be traded or probably lost in waivers when the Braves try to send him to Richmond. Chipper’s got a future date with the DL , the Braves have 39 players on the 40 man , hedging their bets that they might need Escobar at 3B sometime this season.

By KC

March 31, 2007 12:51 AM | Link to this

N8: I find those predictions unbelievable. I really do. Were those predictions made prior to the spring?

After this spring, most everyone around baseball that I’ve heard talk about Hudson this spring seems convinced that regardless of whether or not he returns to his Cy Young caliber Oakland form this year… he’s going to be a helluva lot better than last season.

So when you look at Smoltz, Hudson, and James at the top of the rotation, and put that with this Atlanta pen… even if Hampton doesn’t contribute much this season (though I believe he still may), don’t you have to conclude that Atlanta easily has the best pitching in the East???

The Phillies don’t have a true ace in their rotation. Myers is a fine pitcher, but he’s not a bonafide ace. At least not yet. Hamels has struggled mightily this spring, and Freddy Garcia is coming off a season in which his ERA was around 5.00 and has allowed 11 earned runs over 8-2/3 innings this spring. And I surely hope for their sake that they haven’t pinned their hopes to Adam Eaton or a 176 year-old Jamie Moyer.

And the Mets’ starting pitching questions have been well documented.

The Braves rotation is clearly better than the starting staffs of either Phili or NY. They have both rivals beat in the bullpen department as well (especially Phili).

The ONLY way you could pick anyone other than the Braves right now is if you think Atlanta will finish 13th in the NL in runs scored this year… and that ain’t gonna happen.

There may be “questions” on the right side of the infield… but you’ve still got 4 huge bats (the Joneses, Frenchy, & McCann) as well as an another all-star in Renteria. So the Braves are going to score runs. They won’t be the best in the NL as they were last year, but they’ll most certainly score enough to win more often than not.

In the end, I just don’t understand their logic. I really don’t.

By TheSouthernJackAss

March 31, 2007 12:56 AM | Link to this

Cyrus Chestnut sure can make that piano talk!…

By KC

March 31, 2007 1:06 AM | Link to this

I still say one of the major reasons so few people have given the Braves the respect they deserve on paper right now (and “on paper” is the only context in which we can talk about any team prior to opening day)… is that a Braves downturn just fits with most people’s sense of universal balance.

As year after year went by, people always figured there would come a day when Atlanta’s run would come to an end, and that would be it for a while. Most supposed the Braves would need to go into a rebuilding mode whenever their streak ended. It made sense. It just seemed right.

But that’s not the case, and I think many people have a hard time accepting that. Surely the Braves can’t be building another head of steam that would see them be a top post-season contender every year for the foreseeable future… surely not.

But that’s exactly; it seems to me, what is happening. The Braves have a great core of young talent both at the big league level, and coming up on the farm as we speak. There’s no evidence to suggest the Braves are really going anywhere. They’ll be there in the post-picture for a while. Certainly this year, without a doubt.

I also think there’s a big part of people that (assuming they’re not Braves fans) really want things to be different. They’re a little sick of the Braves being the team in the NL East every year. They were glad to see someone else pull it off last season, and would like to see someone other than the Braves do it again this year.

I could be wrong, but I really think there are emotion reasons (not passionate emotion, but emotion none the less) involved in some of these NL East predictions we’ve seen… cuz the evidences certainly doesn’t back up their picks at this point.

By KC

March 31, 2007 1:10 AM | Link to this

Alrighty… gotta get some shut eye. Got a long day tomorrow which includes taking our 2 and 3 year-olds to their very first major league baseball game. We’ve got their little Braves t-shirts, foam tomahawks, and the digital camera ready to go. Should be fun! Go Braves!

G’night all.

By N8

March 31, 2007 1:32 AM | Link to this

Coach

Like I said. I’m in no mood to argue tonight. At the very least though, I’ll have civil discussion with you. LOL!

I’m with you on Redman. I know our “sore spot” with eachother was HoRam.

Anyhow. I wouldn’t be so sure on Aybar. From the way DOB made it sound, there may have been rumblings of them (Bobby) questioning his desire to play. I could be WAY off in interpreting DOB’s comments on that subject.

But if I’m close, I wouldn’t count on Bobby bringing up Aybar to replace Orrie. One “in Bobby’s doghouse” good luck getting out.

I’ve been on the Hampton is gonna “rebound” just fine bandwagon, way more than I’ve been on the Hudson will bounce back one. Having said that, I’m not convinced (no matter how “quickly” he’s recovered from his oblique injury), that his side won’t hider him all year. We all know how hard Hampton “competes” and I just have this feeling that he’s gonna be on and off the DL all season. I hope I’m wrong. About him AND Hudson. I really do. Not trying to be a Debbie Downer, I’m glad Hudson looked great this spring. But I need to see a good month of the regular season of that kind of production, before I’m “sold”. Not to mention, we won’t know ANYTHING about his stamina, until August or September.

Which is why to me the additions of Soriano and Gonzalez are so important. They will shorten games, thus allowing Smoltz, Hudson, Hampton AND Redman early in the year, to NOT have to go 7-8 innings every night.

I am thoroughly convinced that if all of our starters can give us 6 “good” innings of keeping us in games and the offense doesn’t fall off of last year by too much, that we will win many more games than we lose. I mean, look at last year, even when the starters got shelled early, which happened often, our offense bailed us out, only to be undone by the pen.

I think we’ll be fine, just so long as we don’t start off so slow, and the Mets or Phils don’t start off like 20-2 or something like that.

Bottom line on Hudson and Redman is that they BOTH had about equal stats last year. Hudson had about a run advantage on ERA, but some of that can be attributed to the DH in the AL. Not to mention he played for a HORRIBLE team (but I guess the same almost coulda been said for Hudson. LOL!)

I know we don’t have Leo anymore, but John Burkett dropped about a run off of his ERA coming from Texas to the Braves. I’m just gonna assume that Redman will “thrive” playing for Bobby. A long shot? Sure. But not much more of a longshot than Hudson “returning to form”.

BOTH are question marks, until proven otherwise. Spring stats, not withstanding.

I’ve got two words to tell you spring stats mean SQUAT…..James Jurries. Which of course means that Escobar/Prado could be thrown into that category as well.

By N8

March 31, 2007 1:38 AM | Link to this

KC

I know you went to bed, but I’ll assume you’ll read this in the morning.

I think the “wild card” in the East, is STILL the Marlins with that young staff. They’re gonna pitch.

I’m not gonna predict which one of the big three (Braves, Mets, Phillies) will falter. But I’ll go out on a limb and say that the Marlins will finish ahead of ONE OF THEM, for at least a 3rd place finish.

Remember, last year at this time NOBODY was predicting the Tigers would outplay the Indians, Twins and White Sox. There is ALWAYS one surprise in each division. Let’s just hope with all the 3rd place predictions for us, that WE ARE THAT SURPRISE.

By Buckner

March 31, 2007 1:45 AM | Link to this

N8 is blogging with himself>>>how f*** up is that?

By Braves Fan 79

March 31, 2007 1:57 AM | Link to this

Why did cox keep pete orr over escobar and the other guy who hit 400 in spring?? I love him bobby but thats his main problem…he dosent pay enough attention to whose hot! Thats one of our main problems when it comes to the playoffs…even thou bobby will once again get us there this year. And as long as we have smoltz pitching in deciding games i like our chances!

By N8

March 31, 2007 1:59 AM | Link to this

Buckner

Self satisfaction is the way to go dude, especially with the wife out of town!

Stick around, if this goes on for a while, I just may begin to ARGUE with myself.

By Bob, journalist

March 31, 2007 6:45 AM | Link to this

Shaun … Is “African American” a social construct?

I can understand terms like Italian-American, Greek-American, Irish-American … Polish-American, German-American, French-American. In fact, I suppose that they’re all “European-Americans”.

I can understand terms like Kenyan-American, Egyptian-American, Moroccan-American … Ugandan-American, SouthAfrican-American, Tunisian-American. In fact, I suppose that they’re all “African-Americans”.

Certainly, the descendants of those taken from their tribes in Africa, enslaved and brought to this country … are some sort of subset of the “African-American” group.

However, the Africans that I know relate more to their tribal ancestry and/or ethnic group than to country or continent … they scoff at those who identify themselves as “African-American” … not because their ancestry isn’t African, but because they feel the term is being improperly used to polarize and because being African has far less significance than being Fulani or Bantu, … Maasai or Kikuyu.

Interestingly, while they have historically experienced abuse from European control, they don’t consider slave trading to have been racially motivated … and seem well acquainted with the fact that black African slave traders played a significant role in bringing Africans to America.

From my perspective, race or continent of origin isn’t the issue … the problems associated with integrating a group of people into the society that initially enslaved them … is.

By BOBO

March 31, 2007 6:46 AM | Link to this

In my community, we beg the blacks to go out and play baseball and to a lesser extent football, but they are scared that they will get hurt and not be able to play basketball. We have recreational baseball fields all over the place, however only about 10% black participation. My high school basketball team has not had a white basketball player on it since the early 90’s. When one tries to play, the black players won’t pass them the ball. Leave racism out of this discussion and realize that it is really a cultural phenomonem. So why doesn’t Mr Moore cry about the lack of black players in Hockey or the lack of white players in basketball.

By ncscoots

March 31, 2007 6:48 AM | Link to this

I understand the reasoning behind Redman making the squad (kinda), but why in heaven’s name would you slot him as the fourth starter, if Cormier is well enough to pitch? Especially since that throws lefty-lefty, both mainly fastball-changeup pitchers with similar speed. I don’t get it. Seems to me that minimizing Redman’s starts prior to Hampton’s return is the logical avenue to success, not the other way around.

By journalist jimmy smith

March 31, 2007 7:31 AM | Link to this

flbravesgirl, baby seal took one look at jimmy smith’s lawn mower and headed right to the basement to get baby seal’s tool box. soon, that lawn mower was purring like coltrane over a cheese platter, and now it has more power than ever. baby seal also changed the spark plug and the oil and installed some accessories and a radio so that jimmy smith can shave, make toast, and listen to the braves game while mowing the lawn. baby seal called it multi-tasking. baby seal is very smart for baby seal’s age.

By KC

March 31, 2007 9:11 AM | Link to this

N8: I’m a believer in pitching. If the Marlins get big years out of at least 3 of their young starters, and can put together a solid bullpen… they’ll have a chance.

I think the Mets will still win over 90 games, but 97 as they did last year. It’s possible that Pedro will be out there even less than last year, and when he is out there, he’ll be trying to come back from a shoulder surgery. Pedro could make a difference for them in the post-season if they can make it back somehow, but I don’t think he’ll be a major factor in the season. Their rotation is shaky, and their bullpen took a significant hit over the winter. In short, I just don’t think they have the pitching they need to beat Atlanta this year. Neither do the Phillies.

On a scale of 1-10 rating NL offense & pitching:

(offense/pitching)

Braves: 8/9 (Total-17) The pitching score assumes a bounce-back season from Hudson. If Atlanta gets a good year from Cormier, and/or Hampton comes back and has a good 2nd half… I bump that pitching score up to 10. The Braves were a 9.5 offensively last year, now an 8 in my book after trading LaRoche

Mets: 10/6 (Total-16) Even if they totaled 17, I’ll still bet on the team with the strongest pitching… assuming that team’s offense is at least so much as average. That’s why I’m confident in the Braves but not quite as sure about the Padres (very little offense there)

Phillies: 9/7 (Total-16) I think there was WAAAAAAY too much positive press over the Phillies off-season pitching improvements. Freddy Garcia, who is coming off a very mediocre season, and… ADAM EATON?? This is the cavalry that’s come to save the Phils???

Marlins: 6/8 (Total-14) Great young arms in the rotation, but the bullpen isn’t impressive, and their offense isn’t what you’d call “high octane”. But this team has a bright future if they can get their stadium/payroll issues resolved

Right now the Braves are the most well balanced team in the East. Easily. I’m sorry, but I just haven’t seen anyone make a credible case to the contrary. I sincere believe I wouldn’t see it any differently even if I weren’t a Braves fan (unless of course I were a Mets or Phillies fan). The Braves will have a very good offense at best… an above average offense at the worst. Either way, it’s enough to get it done because their pitching is clearly the best in the East.

By Tebow the Show

March 31, 2007 10:07 AM | Link to this

KC, do you really smoke crack? The Braves pitching would be a 10?!?!? Come one now. When the Braves had Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, and Avery, now that was as close to a 10 as you are going to get. This year’s rotation has a very good chance to be good but on the grand scale of pitching rotations, they only grade out to be a 7.5 at best. Come one now. The Mets rotation would grade out to be probably a 7 out of 100. The Phils would probably be in the low 70s out of 100. KC, you are delusional and completely unrealistic in the way you view the Braves.

The offense is an 8 out of 10?!?!?! You have five good hitters - Edgar, Andruw, Chipper, McCann, Frenchy. The rest of your lineup is scrap heap garbage!! Edgar is nothing spectacular. Chipper is spectacular but always hurt. Andruw is good but highly overrated. His stats make him look better than he really is. He’s getting too fat to play center. McCann, who really knows? Was last year the real deal or a fluke? Will McCann regress? Frenchy has got a lot of talent but so did Dave Kingman, Rob Deer, Mickey Tettleton, Cory Snyder, Russell Branyan, Pete Incaviglia.

By Rodger

March 31, 2007 10:22 AM | Link to this

Tebow

You must not watch games. Andruw is still showing range & tracking better than 95% of other CF in the game. As for Frenchy, I don’t remember any of those you compare him to having his range, or his cannon arm.

You may be right about overestimating the pitching, but on a comparison basis, the ranking is good.

I just hope the last couple games were ready to get the season started weariness/jitters…

By Lew

March 31, 2007 10:31 AM | Link to this

Tebow-Edgar hit .293 last year with 17 HR and 70 RBI and made the All Star team. That is pretty damn good for a number two hitter. Kelly Johnson has only to hit .262 to equal Giles production and the left field platoon is the same as last year. Why do you think the Braves offense will not produce at near to last year’s levels? If you are comparing Francoeur to Russell Branyan or Incaviglia, then all you are doing is showing your ignorance. When you add to all of this the fact that the Mets pitching is terrible, the Phillies staff will get lit up like a 4th of July fireworks show and the Marlins will flame out due to an overused pitching staff, I think that should give all Braves fans hope at the very least. Maybe KC’s projections are a tad optimistic, but not out of the realm of potential. We have much more pitching depth than anyone else in the East and our offense is damn near as good as anyone’s.

By Lew

March 31, 2007 10:32 AM | Link to this

KC-Have a great time at the game with your kids. Their first game is special.

By MBATL

March 31, 2007 10:43 AM | Link to this

I don’t see how Buster Olney can pick the Braves to win 91 games - and finish 3rd in the division.

3 AL Central teams won 90+ last year, but it’s pretty rare for that to happen with the unbalanced schedule. Last year, the Twins, White Sox and Tigers all dominated their interleague play.

The Braves, Phillies, Mets and Marlins (who will be competitive at least) will likely beat each other up.

And, while the Mets, Braves and Phillies all have tough interleague schedules (against that very good AL Central, plus the Yanks & A’s (for the mets), BoSox twice (braves), and Blue Jays twice (phillies), the Marlins get 2 series against the DRays, and one against the Royals.

So I think the Braves take the division with about 90 wins; Phillies right there, say 88, Mets 85, Marlins 81, and the Nats… well, you know.

What concerns me is that both the Mets and Phillies are in a position to address their weaknesses if needed. The Mets have some guys to trade for a starter, and the Phillies will probably add someone to the pen if needed.

The Braves have pieces to trade, but apparently not the payroll flexibility to obtain anyone to really help at the major league level.

Anyway, I’ll pick the Braves - assuming like we all seem to be that Hudson, Cormier, James and Redman (and/or eventually Hampton) will be solid, but I really think that overall health and the performance of a handful of pitchers - for any of the 3 - could turn it another direction.

By Jeff R

March 31, 2007 10:56 AM | Link to this

Prado out-performed Johnson at second base this spring. Pity that management announced last winter that second base was Johnson’s to lose. Not saying that Johnson doesn’t have the potential to play second base, but can a team that wants to contend for a pennant afford “on the job training?” Johnson needs to be at Richmond learning his way around second base and gaining experience.

By Coach

March 31, 2007 10:58 AM | Link to this

I knew jocks were ignorant. Just got done reading Mark Bowmans Braves opening day outlook MBL/Braves article. On the record quote from Jeff Francoeur: My goal is for the team to score four runs a game. I think with our pitching staff and our bullpen we’ll win a lot more games than we lose if we do that. Yo , Dave Kingman , your team averaged 5.2 runs a game last season and you went 79-83. A more accurate statement would be that if your team can hold the opposition to a four run average per game then you will win more games than you will lose if the Braves team can continue to average five runs per game.

By Lew

March 31, 2007 11:11 AM | Link to this

MBATL-You mention the Phillies and Mets ability to address their needs. If this ability exists, why didn’t they address them in the offseason? Who do you think they will be able to pick up now? I think the Braves actually went out and fixed their problems and we don’t have any money. However, none of the prognosticators seems to realize this. We get Wickman, SAoriano and Gonzalez. The Mets get Moises Alou and Jorge Sosa, the Phillies get a pitcher who is already injured and gave up 32 HR last year (likely to go much higher in Philly), and we get no respect. Makes no sense to me.

By Tebow the Show

March 31, 2007 11:16 AM | Link to this

Branyan actually has a higher career OBP, SLG, and OPS number than Frenchy. Branyan has a .327 OBP, .483 SLG, .810 OPS compared to Frenchy’s .305, .477, .782. Obviously, Frenchy is the far better all around player though. Inky had a .310, .448, .758 OPS. Frenchy is either going to be the next free swinging Vlad, Soriano, Nomar, Sammy Sosa or he is going to be the next free swinging Inky, Deer, Branyan, Kingman, Tettleton, Cory Synder. We’ll wait and see. As for Andruw, he is merely just as good now as all of the other good defensive center fielders. He caught almost 150 less fly balls in center last year as opposed to 1999. He’s not special anymore out there. The Braves will win the division but KC needs to calm down with the overzealousness.

By Lew

March 31, 2007 11:34 AM | Link to this

Tebow-Branyan hit over .260 one time(Francoeur’s BA last year) and that was in 72 AB. He only played in 100+ games twice in his 9 year career (Francoeur played all 162). Considering how little the guy played, his OBP doesn’t mean a thing. Incaviglia has a career .246 BA and only one time in his 12 year career, did he have more than Francoeur’s 29 HR and he never had 100 RBI. As far as Tettleton, he actually had a pretty decent career, especially considering he was a catcher most of his career. He averaged 27 HR and 80RBI over a 14 year career, with an OBP of .369. He even had 95+ BB over 7 of his last 8 seasons, but he only batted over .260 once in his career and only had one season over 100 RBI. I don’t think it will be much of a stretch to think Francoeur will easily exceed all of these players’ production- not to mention, the fact that Francoeur is a much better defensive player than the whole bunch. Yes, Frenchy needs to improve in a couple of areas, but after 1 1/2 years, it is a bit early to believe it won’t happen sooner than later.

By Metropolitan Man

March 31, 2007 11:38 AM | Link to this

Good morning brave bloggers. Are you ready for tomorrow to get a glimpse of a team on a mission??? I hope Larussa is finally sober because he will be drunk with anger after this opening series METS sweep. Heck even your boy Glavine is ready:

ON THE RECORD “We can be a better-pitching team than some people think, and with our offense we can overcome the inevitable problems every team faces in a long season. We want to win the World Series. First we have to get there, and I think we can.” — Glavine

By Metropolitan Man

March 31, 2007 11:41 AM | Link to this

Some more hardocre truth for the NL East.

Now for those darn good teams. The Phillies get the edge here because their offseason proved much more fruitful than the Mets’. Their starting rotation is potentially dominant, and while their bullpen needs some work, general manager Pat Gillick will pick up some help along the way. Their offense has two great anchors in reigning NL Most Valuable Player Ryan Howard and his infield-mate, second baseman Chase Utley.

The Mets’ conservative offseason still looks as if it could cost them, but one positive byproduct is the emergence of rookie Mike Pelfrey. Even if the Mets don’t make the playoffs, and they’ll fall just short, it will be fun tracking Pelfrey’s progress while other youngsters such as Phil Humber and Kevin Mulvey climb the ladder. The bullpen is a real area to watch here, as it won’t be as strong as anticipated. Not with Duaner Sanchez out for the bulk of the season, Guillermo Mota facing life without steroids and Ambiorix Burgos still an enigma.

The bullpen is where the Braves upgraded the most, but Mike Gonzalez has experienced a shaky spring, and the conditioning-averse Bob Wickman always has the potential to turn useless. Chipper Jones’ annual injury problems already have begun, and Atlanta could have trouble replacing the offense of the departed Adam LaRoche and Marcus Giles.

Joe Girardi’s one-year managerial reign with the Marlins will go down as one of the more fascinating in the game’s history. His successor, Fredi Gonzalez, figures to be far more successful in peacefully co-existing with his bosses and considerably less productive on the field. A widespread sophomore regression seems in order for Florida, which is chock-full of second-year players. But at least the Marlins won’t finish in last place, thanks to the Nationals.

By Metropolitan Man

March 31, 2007 11:42 AM | Link to this

With their run of 14 straight division titles now over, the Braves are just another team. They are banking on an improved bullpen, after acquiring LHP Mike Gonzalez (from Pittsburgh) and RHP Rafael Soriano (from Seattle), and starter Tim Hudson vows to return to his Oakland supremacy. Yet the rotation lacks depth, especially now with LHP Mike Hampton (strained left oblique) beginning the season on the disabled list, and the lineup could struggle to produce, given 3B Chipper Jones’ perennial injury problems and the departures of Adam LaRoche and Marcus Giles.

Player to watch: OF Andruw Jones. This will probably be his final season in a Braves uniform, as his agent Scott Boras will guide him into a lucrative free agency.

What to expect: The magic won’t be back. Too many holes will put them in the middle of the division.

By snowball's chance

March 31, 2007 11:42 AM | Link to this

Terence Moore has HIGHJACKED the Blog. Oh, the humanity! I refuse to read his column but it sounds like AJ doesn’t count as a black player. If he does I will jump on the bandwagon and demand that JS sign him to a new contract to prove Atlanta is not a racist organization.

By Rodger

March 31, 2007 11:43 AM | Link to this

Tebow, you are missing that much of Andruw’s ability is based on playing the pitch location. In 99, you had Smoltz, Maddux, and Glavine pitching. Pitches were thrown where they were intended. Not so lucky last year, so positioning suffered. Also, no matter how good Andruw is, balls hit 5-10 rows back are damned hard to catch!

By Rodger

March 31, 2007 11:50 AM | Link to this

Metro Man, it sounds like you’re sleeping late on Saturday and talking in your sleep. You MUST BE DREAMING!

By MBATL

March 31, 2007 11:50 AM | Link to this

Lew, I picked the Braves to win the division! I am just trying to maintain some sense of realism about the teams picked by almost everyone (outside this blog) to be better than us.

You know as well as I do that even the worst teams won’t fold their cards in March. Later in the year, the bottom feeders will make some major league talent available in exchange for prospects (just like how we picked up Wickman last year). And the Mets and Phillies both have the payroll flexibility to pursue it, while the Braves (apparently) don’t.

Yes, the Braves certainly fixed their glaring weakness, the bullpen. I think our starting pitching, overall, is iffy. I HOPE Hudson returns to ace status and do think he’ll improve on last year. I HOPE Cormier is solid as a #5 (I really thought he’d be #4); Redman may get the job done; Hampton may come back and pitch well. Just a lot of ifs. I’m optimistic, though.

The Mets lost Sanchez just a week ago; aside from that, they seem to think that Perez is going to be very good, and Maine and Pelfrey are at least adequate. I don’t think they see things as quite as dire as we seem to assume, but they do probably need a setup guy. (and I’m pretty sure Sosa won’t be on their staff).

The Phillies - yeah, they really needed to add some middle relief, and Gordon is a longshot to stay healthy and productive. Lieber is likely to pitch out of the ‘pen (and he’s expected back in a week, I think). They may have to go out and do something. I’m not suggesting it will be enough, just that it’s likely that they can make some moves. They talked with a lot of people this spring, but the asking prices were too high - some of those prices will come down.

Anyway, my point was just that they have the flexibility to make mid-season moves. If you think the Mets and Phillies, with all their expectations, and their money, are going to sit by while we run away with the division - that’s delusio …no, I won’t say it. That’s just not likely.

By N8

March 31, 2007 11:56 AM | Link to this

Metropolitan Man

I think I saw that quote too. But wasn’t it from before the Winter Meetings, when he THOUGHT he was gonna be a Brave again?

LOL!

By Metropolitan Man

March 31, 2007 12:01 PM | Link to this

Never that Roger. You guys got me though the winter wiht no baseball but plenty of baseball talk. Now the wait is over and after all the talk I feel as confident in the METS as I have before, every year all the way. I still dislike the braves but have a smidge of respect for them. As for the Philthies, they can just come up short every year for all I care. I just hope they dont spank you guys to bad becasue they have had your number the past 2 seasons.

By Metropolitan Man

March 31, 2007 12:04 PM | Link to this

Never that Roger. You guys got me though the winter wiht no baseball but plenty of baseball talk. Now the wait is over and after all the talk I feel as confident in the METS as I have before, every year all the way. I still dislike the braves but have a smidge of respect for them. As for the Philthies, they can just come up short every year for all I care. I just hope they dont spank you guys to bad becasue they have had your number the past 2 seasons.

By Tebow the Show

March 31, 2007 12:06 PM | Link to this

Rodger, the other team still has to make 27 outs per game. That does not change. How many balls land over the fences is irrelevant. One ball per game is landing in center field that did not land down in center in 1999. His defense has been in steady decline since the late 1990s. The pitch location defense is silly. Andruw caught 150 more balls out there in the late 1990s because he was a skinny kid who could fly, dive, and jump all over the field. Just like he used to steal bases when he was a fast, skinny kid who could fly. As I said, how many balls land over the fences is irrelevant. If you could show me that the pitchers in 2006 struck out more guys than JohnMadGlav, then that would be your argument. If you could show that the Braves have more groundball pitchers today than back when, then that would be your argument. Pitch location and homers given up though is not a defense at all.

By Metropolitan Man

March 31, 2007 12:10 PM | Link to this

Funny stuff N8. You could have coined the quote if ‘Homeboy Upstairs” hadnt held a grudge. Now Glavine will win 300 as a MET, hopefully against the braves. Now that would be a great ironic coincident.

By Tebow the Show

March 31, 2007 12:17 PM | Link to this

Why does anyone care whether Redman or Cormier is designated the #4 or the #5? Bobby is always reluctant to go with unknowns. Bobby always seems like he would rather have a known evil (Orr, Lockhart, Redman among many others over the years) as opposed to unknown evils (Prado, Cormier and many others). If Cormier goes out there and is lights out and Redman stinks up the joint, when Hampton gets back, the Braves will figure out what to do at that point. But at this point, who really cares who is the Opening Day #4 or #5? As the season shakes out, sometimes the #4 or #5 end up being #2 or #3 or they end up in the pen, minors, on another team or out of baseball. It all sorts itself out eventually. The only time it matters who is designated your #4 or #5 really is in the postseason when your manager does not want to go with a three man rotation.

By Tebow the Show

March 31, 2007 12:22 PM | Link to this

Don’t ever mention the word irony or ironic on a Braves blog. The utterance of Irony and its variations has caused as much of an uproar in the past on here as the playing of the race card by Mr. Moore.

By Metropolitan Man

March 31, 2007 12:32 PM | Link to this

If Mr. Moore writes such racist garbage, why read the article?????? If DOB turns out to be a rasist today, I would not read his blogs or post here. Sounds like you are gluttoning for punishment.

By N8

March 31, 2007 12:37 PM | Link to this

The bottom line is THIS, Metro-Man.

Glavine deserves a great ammount of credit for what he has done (in adjusting) since the All-Star Break in 2005. Good for him.

But as much credit as he deserves for the Mets resurgance, he ALSO deserves a great portion of the blame for helping hold the Mets down, during his 20-28 record with a 4.02 ERA (4.52 his first year in the Big Apple), in his first two years with the Mets.

Had he remained a Brave, he would’ve hit 300 last year, and possibly in 2005. Then he would be right there with Maddux and Clemens. THAT is the irony in all of this.

He’s still a HOFr, though, so it really doesn’t matter I guess.

As it WOULD be ironic if he won his 300th against the Braves, I would find it MORE ironic, if the Braves and Mets hooked up in the NLCS and the Braves shelled him in game 7 to reach the WS. Now THAT would be ironic, especially if Mike Hampton was pitching for the Braves, since were on ridiculous hypotheticals, let’s just assume that the last out his Julio Franco striking out to end the game.

By Robert

March 31, 2007 12:40 PM | Link to this

Tail tucked into his pants, ears folded up under his cap, fresh off a rubdown in the back stable pen, and nibbling a sugar cube cupped in Pete Orr’s hand

Bobby Cox is ready to mismanage in 2007

By Tebow the Show

March 31, 2007 12:43 PM | Link to this

N8, Don’t be silly. The Mets would never pitch Glavine in Game 7 of an NLCS. Why would they do that when the immortal Oliver Perez is their designated go to guy in NLCS Game 7s?

By Carolina Lady

March 31, 2007 12:49 PM | Link to this

Okay. Who messed up Carroll’s blog yesterday afternoon?? I done tol’ ya and tol’ ya NOT to mess with things, didn’t I? Grinch, where were you around 5:20 yesterday?? Grinch?

Hm. White isn’t a color? Why would a certain number of colors be required? To me, to select a player because of his color would be racist. To NOT be racist would be to put the best player you can on the field REGARDLESS of his color. (Some people simply have a deep-seated issue (read prejudice) and cannot see past it. I won’t read those columns; they are best ignored, because they serve no good purpose.) Personally I have no problem with any of them - except those purple ones. :-))

JJS, this lady sends her deepest condolences for your lawn mower woes. However, with all of his experience repairing my JDeere, Baby Seal is now an expert in making repairs.

Taxes. Haven’t even begun. sigh….

One team’s chances over another: nobody knows what is going to happen. We only have our hopes. That said, if one lady’s high hopes and deep wishes have any influence, the Braves will have a glorious year! :-))

By Metropolitan Man

March 31, 2007 12:52 PM | Link to this

N8: You are absolutely right about Glavine holding us down when he became a MET but he had help. Those METS teams fielding behind him did not help his transition at all making METS fans even more furious with him. He was a brave and helped keeps the METS down for so long, became a MET and started losing. I wish I had saved some of the NYM fan quotes just so you could see we really felt. It was like they were paying him to make sure the METS didnt win. I now know he is a gamer and I tolerate him now, but I will never forget the pain he caused me as a brave and a MET. I still think it was a setup by the “Homeboy Upstairs” who runs the “Not so evil Empire”, just hated.

By Rodger

March 31, 2007 12:52 PM | Link to this

Tebow, if you don’t believe positioning plays a huge part in outfield play, you’re kidding yourself. Along with physical ability, being able to play the pitch selection has made Andruw, and other great outfielders, able to get to fly balls.

I don’t remember who the game was against last year, when AJ covered about 2/3 of the outfield, leaped at full speed, and pulled a line drive HR back in. STILL the best in the business!

By Tebow the Show

March 31, 2007 1:11 PM | Link to this

Positioning plays a role in outfield play. There is no denying that. It still does not change the fact that he is not catching as many flyouts as he once did. The outs have to be made somewhere on the field by Braves players. He is just not making as many of them anymore. The Braves struck out 148 less players than they did in 1999. Thus, there were at least 148 more balls put into play last year than 1999. Yet Andruw caught 115 less balls than he did in 1999. The Braves gave up 131 more hits last year than they did in 1999 thus 131 more chances to make plays. If you take out the extra 40 home runs hit last year, that was really 91 more hits. So between 1999 and 2006, 239 more balls were put into play but Druw caught 115 less flyballs. More balls are dropping in center for singles and doubles. The Braves might as well keep fattening him up with Twinkies so that he won’t be as good next year when he signs with the Mets.

By N8

March 31, 2007 1:11 PM | Link to this

Metropolitan Man

I hear ya. I remember seeing ESPN and hearing the Mets fans boo him vigorously. WE LOVED IT. But after a while, we kinda (wink wink) felt sorry for him.

For EVERY ounce of pain you felt, when he became a Met and struggled against the Braves, WE WERE ENJOYING EVERY SECOND OF IT!

Here’s some stats for you.

Lifetime Glavine stats:

290-191 with a 3.46 ERA

Glavine as a Brave:

242-143 with a 3.36 ERA

Glavine as a Met:

48-48 with a 3.84 ERA

Glavine vs. Braves

3-9 with a 5.68 ERA

Glavines as a Met vs. EVERYBODY ELSE:

45-39 with a 3.61 ERA

Yes INDEED. We ENJOY being the team that has kept his Mets career at .500. Here’s to hoping that continues. LOL!

By Tebow the Show

March 31, 2007 1:21 PM | Link to this

Why is caveman22 suing a softball player because of a home plate collision?

By Rodger

March 31, 2007 1:26 PM | Link to this

Tebow, you’re as hopeless as reasoning with Shaun. Just because he caught less balls doesn’t mean they fell at his feet. Its a BIG field. Find me some stats on balls he could have made plays on but didn’t, then we’ll talk. Otherwise, less than one ball a game difference, well…

By Greg in TN

March 31, 2007 1:38 PM | Link to this

Afternoon folks…

The boys brought their leather to the ballpark today. Good dig by Thorman at first on a low throw from Renteria and he did a good job of starting the DP on the grounder by Thome. Add to that a good catch on a Cintron fly ball by Langerhans in the top of the 2nd.

Braves threatening in their half of the second. Pena and Thorman are aboard with Craig Wilson batting and one out.

By Greg in TN

March 31, 2007 1:46 PM | Link to this

Craig Wilson drew a walk to load the bases and Langerhans followed with a long fly to deep right, scoring Pena on the sacrifice.

Kelly Johnson follows with a single scoring Thorman. This after drawing a walk and earning a stolen base in the first. I really liked this AB for KJ. He forced Vasquez to throw a lot of pitches in the AB before poking a single to left through the hole between short and third. He’s showing a lot of patience at the plate, something I didn’t see a lot of from Furcal.

Renteria grounded out to Crede to end the inning, however the good guys are up 2-0 after two complete.

By Gil in Mechanicsville

March 31, 2007 1:50 PM | Link to this

There are lies, there are damn lies and there are statistics.

By MBATL

March 31, 2007 1:51 PM | Link to this

Greg, yeah, KJ really seems to have a good idea what he’s doing at the plate.

By Lew

March 31, 2007 1:57 PM | Link to this

MetroDude-You seem to think your pitching will hold up. The Braves starters this year pitched 809 innings last season while the Mets rotation pitched 583. You’re banking heavily on two 41 year old pitchers, a guy with one good season three years ago, and a kid with a total of 21 ML innings. Good luck on that. This does not bode well for you, since you lost five pitchers from your bullpen, which used to be good. It isn’t anymore and now you have no one to eat innings. I don’t know where you think you’re going to improve your team. Waiting until the trade deadline won’t do it. With all of this money we keep hearing that the Mets have, they should already have addressed your problems. Waiting until the trade deadline is great if you are looking for a player to tune up your team for the stretch run. Waiting until then to find your team’s savior or counting on two injured pitchers to come back in August to save your butts is foolhardy, at best. I ask again, realistically, why did Omar wait (and don’t tell me he’s waiting for the 08 crop of free agents-that’s absurd)? Is he still looking for someone he can convince that Lastings Milledge is a must have player? Is he waiting until someone is willing to trade him for their #1 pitcher? It just isn’t going to happen. The Braves addressed their problems all the while having no payroll to spend. If the Mets really are that rich, then there is just no excuse. If not, then they’re screwed.

By Greg in TN

March 31, 2007 2:00 PM | Link to this

MBATL,

I think he’s gonna have a good year at 2B. Defensively, I realize that second was a question mark, but I am more and more confident every time I see him out there and he definitely knows how to bat leadoff.

By Lew

March 31, 2007 2:01 PM | Link to this

Tebow-Some of the fewer balls he caught may just have something to do with the fact that Francoeur and Langerhans get to many of them others didn’t. Andruw is not REQUIRED to make as many plays. With those three in the outfield, I defy you to find a better defensive outfield in all of baseball. There isn’t one.

By flbravesgirl

March 31, 2007 2:02 PM | Link to this

Thanks, Greg!

Scribe (or anyone else who attended the game), after all that buildup, what did you think of the new PA guy?

CL, just what is wrong with purple?!?

By Tebow the Show

March 31, 2007 2:04 PM | Link to this

Range factor went from 3.12 to 2.78 to 2.93 to 2.66 to 2.57 to 2.59 to 2.36 to 2.49

Putouts went from 493 to 439 to 461 to 404 to 390 to 389 to 365 to 377.

Balls caught in his zone in center went from 90.8% to 90.3% to 92.2% to 90% to to 88.3% to 88.8% to 87.6% to 84% to 83.6% to 87.8% to 84.6%.

More balls are dropping out there Rodger whether you want to accept that or not. The reality is that I am not pulling a Shaun on this one. You are actually the one playing the stubborn Shaun role here because you will not wake up to reality. He’s still a good centerfielder but nothing special out there anymore.

BTW, one extra ball landing in the outfield almost every game is a big deal. One ball landing in the outfield every game accounts for about 22 more points in batting average, 15 points in OBP, and about 25-30 points in slugging percentage.

If you want to keep fighting about this, just tell me exactly where all those missing balls are landing. We know they are no longer in Andruw’s glove. Where are they going?

By Tebow the Show

March 31, 2007 2:05 PM | Link to this

And then there is reality Gil.

By Greg in TN

March 31, 2007 2:14 PM | Link to this

No problem FlBravesgirl!

The Chisox bounce back to score two in the top of the 4th. One of the runs coming on an RBI safety by former Brave Jermaine Dye on a pretty good offspeed pitch by Redman.

Francoeur immediately starts the home half of the fourth with a bloop single to center that Anderson got a bad jump on.

By Greg in TN

March 31, 2007 2:17 PM | Link to this

Humorous shot of the day…

Wilson hits a grounder foul past third base and against the wall running from the third-base dugout to the corner of the OF.

A fan leans over to reach for the grounder and tumbles out onto the warning track, then proceeds to stumble while trying to get back over the wall and tumbling back into his chair.

He DID get the ball, however…

By Greg in TN

March 31, 2007 2:20 PM | Link to this

2-run homer by Ryan Langerhans to right knocking in Frenchy. Smacked a fastball right down Peachtree as Skip would say…

4-2 Bravos

By Greg in TN

March 31, 2007 2:24 PM | Link to this

Redman done for the day. Gave up two runs and five hits I believe. I thought he pitched well for the most part. The Dye RBI single was on a good pitch. There were several good hits along the way, but Redman made pitches when he needed to do so.

Villareal is now on to pitch.

By Carolina Lady

March 31, 2007 2:43 PM | Link to this

I dunno, FBG. There’s just something about a one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people eater that just turns me off. :-)))

By MBATL

March 31, 2007 2:59 PM | Link to this

Tebow, I agree that AJ has lost a step since 2001. That’s about as far as I can go. He’s still a great CF.

My comment is that defensive stats, especially OF stats like range factor, zone rating, and even assists, are far too dependent on other factors to be considered reliable. I don’t think these stats carry much weight even with the stat junkies (Shaun, am I wrong again?)

Seems to me that anyone who watches the Braves agrees that AJ is still a great CF - maybe not the very best any more, but certainly not a liability in the field. Far from it.

By Greg in TN

March 31, 2007 3:20 PM | Link to this

Rolling right along in Georgia.

Wickman on the mound to start the ninth and the Braves still ahead 4-2.

By Jim

March 31, 2007 3:20 PM | Link to this

Tebow is right. Andruw Jones in his early years was the best CF I ever saw (and that includes Willie Mays — but that may have as much to do with the difference in glove technology as with the difference in fielding ability), but in the last few years his range and leaping ability have declined and he no longer catches all the balls he once did. (Would Andruw in the 90’s have caught the Ausmus HR? — any thoughts.) He is still A premiere defensive outfielder, but no longer without peers (current or historic).

Hopefully Andruw 10 pounds lighter than in the recent past will halt the decline in his defensive skill (and hopefully those 10 pounds stay off during the course of the season.)

By Greg in TN

March 31, 2007 3:28 PM | Link to this

The Spring is over…. Braves win 4-2.

The Sox had two runners reach in the ninth, but Wickman froze Anderson for a strikeout to end the game.

Bring on the Phillies.

By Jim

March 31, 2007 3:34 PM | Link to this

Harbingers of what’s to come? Today’s pitching lines Pelfry 8 runs 10 hits 0 Ks in 4 innings. Eaton 6 runs in 3 innings.

By Braves20

March 31, 2007 3:45 PM | Link to this

Won’t have to worry about AJ losing a step next year - Fenway will be easier for him to cover. Instead (to follow up on someone’s comment on the previous blog)let’s worry about the firm of Thorman and Wilson who ended the spring at a combined .221 (30 for 136 with 41 whiffs). Those are Rico Brogna numbers but at least he could field.

By OddJob

March 31, 2007 4:03 PM | Link to this

I just saw Sosa on sports south.Who believes this guy is clean?I look at Bonds,Pudge,Sosa,etc,you can’t tell me these guys have cleaned up their acts.All these guys and I’ll put Giambi and others in this group of cheaters who appeared to clean up only to find the league and fans only really care about results and by results and appearances went back on the juice.Now I’m going to be unfair and ask if players like A-Rod,Pujols and other next generation players who showed up young looking like Bonds did ac (after cheating)so did they start out using as teenagers or was it diet or does some leap forward in evolution explain the changes in size and strength in these guys over past generations.So do we even care? today I do, by the first pitch wednesday,play ball!

By Tebow the Show

March 31, 2007 4:48 PM | Link to this

Andruw is still very good out there in center. He is no longer on that Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali unparalleled level out there. But he is still up there with the best two or three in the game. That was how great he was out there. I just wished that he did not love our American food and I guess now our American money so much. And actually Lew brought up a good point about the Langy/Frenchy effect out there. I looked the stats over at ESPN. Gerald Williams and Jordan were right up there defensively with Frenchy and Langy. Klesko was a problem out there as well. Diaz although I think and we all think he is bad defensively actually seemed to have a really high range factor out there - kinda weird - so MBATL’s point is well taken. But The right fielders and left fielders caught about 100 or so less balls in 1999 than 2006. Is that because Druw was flying around like a devilish maniac out there or was it merely because the other guys were not as good as last year’s guys? I don’t know - MBATL has a good point as well as Lew. I also looked it over in the infield and it looks like Guillen/Weiss were horrendous from a range standpoint. Renteria’s range fact was one out more than Weiss/Ozzie. But the Braves did strike out 150 or so more hitters in 1999 than last year. Oh well. I am bored with this now. So are the rest of you. Time to leave it alone. With all this being said, we should have the best defensive outfield in the majors this year.

By OddJob

March 31, 2007 4:52 PM | Link to this

Now for a cross sports comment,and a more positive one. John Thompson sr and jr were just interviewed.What a great father and mentor John sr is,all sons should be so fortunate.

By OddJob

March 31, 2007 5:01 PM | Link to this

When you compare Andruw’s center field play to others,it’s not just the hr he may not get now that he would have five years back.The thing that has always set him apart is instinct for the position.He still is in a league of his own in that regard,so when he goes for a ball where one of the young studs may dazzle at times.It’s still Jones who almost always gets it done with the fewest complications,that makes him the best in the game in my book.

By Damn

March 31, 2007 5:11 PM | Link to this

Damn….Is that the same john thompson sr. that announced his desire to recruit and play only black players?

By MBATL

March 31, 2007 5:18 PM | Link to this

Tebow, good close to that argument. It’s the kind of thing that could go on forever… good for you (and I’m not saying you’re right or wrong, btw).

Great spring for the Braves, really. Hampton’s setback is a small one, and may be a blessing in disguise. Beyond that, KJ and Thorman have shown that they can handle their positions; the pitching looks strong; the young guys played great and give some confidence in case we need to call someone up; no major injuries… Let’s play ball!

By N8

March 31, 2007 5:45 PM | Link to this

Lew

You said:

“With those three in the outfield, I defy you to find a better defensive outfield in all of baseball. There isn’t one.”

Amen to that. As long as you keep it to defense, which I know you were, they might be the best defensive OF in the majors in the last 20 years or so.

Three Legitimate CF’s in all 3 OF spots. I suppose one could argue that the OF the Braves sported in 1997 (Andruw in LF, Lofton in CF, and Tucker in RF), or even the OF the Braves fielded in the 1996 post-season (Andruw in LF, Grissom in CF, Dye in RF), could easily cover as much ground. But where this OF differs from those two groups, is in the throwing capabilities of all three.

Like I said, 3 legitimate CF’s in that group. Tucker didn’t fit into that category.

Like I’ve said a few times. If Langerhans finds a way to hit 25 or so HR’s, and knock in around 85 runs, I think we can realistically let Andruw walk after this year, and not lose too much in CF defensively. Then with the money saved, we could acquire a LF, to make up for some offense.

Then again. If Brandon Jones, or the slim chance of Gregor Blanco to bat leadoff, then Kelly Johnson (assuming he hits like they think he will), could move into the 2 hole. Since I think Renteria will be moved in the upcoming off-season.

The other possibility, is moving Langerhans to CF, Johnson BACK to LF, and bringing up some combination of Lillebridge, Escobar, or Elvis (if he fast tracks like Andruw did in 96). But my guess is that they wouldn’t do that to KJ again.

DOB, did you say at one time or another that Lillibride is also an outfielder - or can at least play out there?

There are PLENTY of options for us next year, I tell you, I’m LESS worried about next year, than I am about this year, with all the question marks that need to be answered.

The X-Factor in all of these thoughts is Langerhans. If he doesn’t hit this year, he’ll NEVER be anything than a platoon outfielder, IMO.

By OddJob

March 31, 2007 5:51 PM | Link to this

Damn I wonder what you may have said yesterday let alone twenty years ago that could be seen as questionable? He did a hell of a job as a dad and he was always looking out for the best interest of his players.He’s a better man than most of us.

By Robert

March 31, 2007 5:56 PM | Link to this

“It’s just another case of Bobby going with his “gut” “

In a way, I’d much rather have Bobby go with his gut, which is sizable, than with his brain, with is nonfunctional

By Lew

March 31, 2007 5:58 PM | Link to this

Jim-Yes, the performances by Pelfrey and Eaton will be quite typical. All of the Phillies pitchers give up an average of a HR every 6 innings. Eaton, coming from Texas should at the very least continue that in Philly. As far as Garcia, he gave up 32 in Chicago last year. He sure won’t give up less in Philadelphia’s stadium. Pelfrey has a grand total of 21 ML IP. That’s a lot placed on the shoulders of a kid with zero experience. The Mets can’t score enough runs to counteract their pitching again this year-not with the major losses to their bulllpen. Things are looking up for the Braves. KJ is looking good and so is Ryan in left, and at bat. We’ll be just fine. I don’t know about the rest of the divison, though.

By Braveheart

March 31, 2007 6:06 PM | Link to this

Does anyone think that Langerhans can turn into a Paul Oneill type out there - .290 or so hitter, 22 home runs, 80 or 90 RBIs? Not a spectacular player but solid as a rock. I think he might be able to. If you look at Oneill’s first few years when he was with the Reds, he sort of put up the kind of stats Langerhans is putting up. When he got to be around 30 or so and playing for the Yankees that was when he got real good. I think maybe Langerhans can turn into Paul Oneill if we are patient with him over the next few years. Something about the way he carries himself out there reminds me of Oneill.

By OddJob

March 31, 2007 6:10 PM | Link to this

Robert = Bobby = robert Robert may I call you Bobby ? Were you named after your dad ? just a gut feeling I have.

By OddJob

March 31, 2007 6:21 PM | Link to this

Braveheart Langerhans may equal Oneil in numbers and defense but Oneil is one of the great unsung team guys in the history of the game.When he retired Torre called him the heart of the team.One title with the reds four with the skanks,none since he retired.Don’t take this as a slight on Langerhans I like him more all the time,it’s just that Oneil deserves to be remembered as a winner.

By DAP

March 31, 2007 6:44 PM | Link to this

some great discussions going on today! the issue of performance enhancing came up, which is a subject that really tears me up. its sad to not be sure if we can trust these guys. i like to think most guys are clean, now. also, i dont think a-rod juiced. he is a big guy with big power numbers, but hes not barry bonds big. he a normal looking man. and it wont even matter if barry breaks hanks record this year, cause arod is going to shatter homerun records, no matter what they are. id much rather see him do it than barry.

By Braveheart

March 31, 2007 6:45 PM | Link to this

Oddjob, I completely agree with you on Oneill. That guy was a freaking warrior. They have not won anything since he retired. I just like the quiet tough way Langerhans conducts himself. It reminds me alot of Oneill. He does not have Oneill’s legendary temper where he would curse himself out all the time and throw everything all over the dugout like Oneill. But just that quiet, tough, elegant and graceful way Langerhans goes about things reminds me of Oneill. There is no telling at all whether he becomes the next Oneill but I think he has the potential maybe. I have no idea if he’ll have those intangibles or the hitting abilities that Oneill had. 15 years from now, we’ll find out.

By DAP

March 31, 2007 6:46 PM | Link to this

it was a great game today, redman looked really good. if we can get that kind of game out of him, where he gives up a few runs, but doesnt let it get out of hand, he is going to be a huge help to the braves.

hes gonna get run support for a change, and we have a great bullpen to get out of jams when he gets in trouble.

im PUMPED!

By OddJob

March 31, 2007 7:11 PM | Link to this

Yea Braveheart Langerhans seems like a classy guy and I think a team of Oneil’s would be tough on the locker room. He’s not a guy you could emulate,just one will do.

By OddJob

March 31, 2007 7:16 PM | Link to this

Braveheart If there ever was a mold for Oneil he probably took a bat to it!

By JC FROM UT

March 31, 2007 7:31 PM | Link to this

Braveheart- yes. I sgree that Langerhans will turn into something similar to Paul O’Niel. Maybe not as much power. I thought he should have been the lead off hitter last year as well as this year. It is hard to judge what he would do with someone other than the pitcher hitting behind him.Also I’m not sure if he has much basestealing sense.I definantly thick he is the front runner for centerfield next season if God forbid AJ leaves. I sure would like to nknow what AJ is thinking when he makes remarks like he made to BC the other day about Free Agency.

By Lew

March 31, 2007 7:44 PM | Link to this

Langerhans will do just fine if given the everyday job. Don’t doubt it. The Chicago Tribune reports that tehe Cubs are close to locking up Zambrano. Whatever will the Mets do? The LA Times also reports that Jason Schmidt is not even hitting 90 with his fastball. Wonder if there’s a problem?

By Lew

March 31, 2007 7:46 PM | Link to this

JC-I just don’t see the Braves coming up with enough $$ to keep Andruw. I don’t like the idea of backloading a contract, either. That’s the kind of move that ALWAYS bites you at the end.

By Epinephrine

March 31, 2007 7:49 PM | Link to this

Um Carroll-isn’t it “Rafael Soriano”, and wasn’t it Chipper’s other oblique that got hurt?

Come on now.

By Lew

March 31, 2007 8:06 PM | Link to this

Redman ends the spring with a 3.94 ERA. He went 4 innings today and gave up 1 ER, had 3K and 1BB. If he pitches vaguely close to those numbers, we got us a deal and the future looks good. Especially if Hudson and Cormier keep on keeping on.

By KC

March 31, 2007 8:40 PM | Link to this

Tebow: “KC, do you really smoke crack? The Braves pitching would be a 10?!?!? Come one now. When the Braves had Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, and Avery, now that was as close to a 10 as you are going to get. This year’s rotation has a very good chance to be good but on the grand scale of pitching rotations, they only grade out to be a 7.5 at best. Come one now. The Mets rotation would grade out to be probably a 7 out of 100. The Phils would probably be in the low 70s out of 100. KC, you are delusional and completely unrealistic in the way you view the Braves.”

Tebow, bro… take a deep breath, go back, and re-read what I posted.

I didn’t say the Braves rotation had a chance to be a 10 (on a scale of 1-10) this year… I said the Braves pitching staff has a chance… a chance to be a 10. Not the rotation, but the pitching staff as a whole. You apparently missed the distinction.

This is likely to be the best bullpen in baseball, and possibly the best late-inning bullpen trio since the Nasty Boys. That is a big, big part of why I feel this pitching staff has a chance to be so good. There were some good bullpens over years in Atlanta, most notably 2002. But most of those Atlanta pens weren’t anything to write home about. Throughout most of the Braves run, the team was built around a great rotation, and good (but not great) bullpen. This year, the opposite may be true, but I think the results could be similar.

Now then, I should clarify something very important… When I say on a “scale of 1-10”, 10 isn’t “best in the history of the game”. For my purposes, I’m simply using that scale to measure what’s out there today. “10” would be the best pitching staff in baseball now, and “1” would be the worst in baseball now. So when I say “the Braves have a chance to be a 10 in the pitching dept… I mean simply to say that they have a chance to put together the best pitching staff in the game.

I also said the Mets were a “10” offensively. Does that mean I’m putting them in the same category as the greatest offensive teams in baseball history? No. That’s not the scale I’m using here.

Speaking of my assessment of the Mets offense… you implied that my zeal for the Braves (in saying that they could be a “9 or a 10 in the pitching dept.”) makes me “delusional”, while failing to notice that I said the Mets were a “10” offensively. Does that make me a zealous Mets fan too?

Back to the Braves pitching… This pitching staff DOES have a very real chance to be the best in baseball. But if you’ll re-read my (9:11am) post, you find the two things that have to happen in order for that to be the case.

First and foremost, Hudson HAS to have a big year. If that happens… if Hudson looks much like he did back in Oakland, the Braves have as great a 1-2 punch as there is in the game. Follow that up with Chuck James, who definitely appears to be the real deal, and you have as good a rotation 1-3 as there is in baseball. If in addition to a legitimate “big 3” and the best rotation in baseball, the Braves also get a very good season out of Lance Cormier, and/or if Hampton manages to get (and stay) healthy soon and has a good 2nd half of the season… then yes, the Braves pitching staff would likely be the best in baseball.

TO CLARIFY: I’m not betting anything on Hudson returning to Cy Young form (though that very well could happen). However, I am very confident that he’ll improve vastly on last season. I expect Hudson and James to be “good” at the very least, and Smotlz to be very good. When you put 3 true quality starters together with the best bullpen in baseball… I don’t think it’s at all delusional to say that on a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being the best in baseball now) that the Braves now look like a 9. Nor is it “unrealistic” to say IF the Braves were to get major production from one of the starter at the bottom of the rotation, that this pitching staff could be the best right now. Tell me why that’s unreasonable.

By N8

March 31, 2007 8:43 PM | Link to this

Nice comparison Braveheart, on the Langerhans/Paul O’Neil topic.

I was thinking Luis Gonzalez (pre-juice or WHATEVER the hell made that guy bust out in 2001 for the lone Brady Anderson-esc season - post juice for that matter too).

Another guy that he’s probably closer to that Paul O’Neil and Gonzalez (due to his defense) is a young Steve Finley.

With his glove, I’d live with 15-25 HR, 30-40 doubles and around 80-100 RBI. Wouldn’t bother me one bit.

Nice call.

By KC

March 31, 2007 8:43 PM | Link to this

LEW: Thank you. It was cool. The kids had fun, and we got a couple great pictures. The first of many, many visits to the Ted! =)

By KC

March 31, 2007 8:53 PM | Link to this

CORRECTION to my 8:40 post: Meant to say… “If in addition to a legitimate “big 3” and the best bullpen in baseball, the Braves also get…”

By KC

March 31, 2007 9:09 PM | Link to this

Tebow the Show: As for the offense…

The fact of the matter is the Braves had the best offense in the NL last year. So the question is, what’s changed? Why isn’t this offense (in your estimation) anything close to what they had a year ago?

LaRoche is gone. A Wilson/Thorman platoon should do a capable job, but will not replace LaRoche. The Braves should plan on losing 7-10 homers and 10-20 RBI at that position.

Chipper missed over 50 games last year, and the Braves were still the best offense in the NL, so if he missed a lot of time this year, that won’t be different from last year’s NL-best offense. So… it’s hard to build your case on that.

Kelly Johnson has to prove he belongs, but M.Giles sucked last year, so there won’t be any noticeable drop-off in production at 2B this year, whatever KJ does. So you can’t build an argument on that either.

LF is exactly the same as it was last year.

So… if you think the Braves are an average offensive team, you must be building your case on that loss of 7-10 homers and 10-20 RBI… because that’s the only thing that’s really changed.

I’m not saying that a loss of 7-10 homers and 10-20 RBI is nothing. It is definitely something. However, it’s not enough to take the league’s best 2006 offense, and relegate it to mediocrity. It just isn’t. And if you don’t mind my saying so… it’s unrealistic and delusional of you to think so.

By MEB

March 31, 2007 9:14 PM | Link to this

Does anyone have a take on how the Braves will use Soriano and Gonzalez? Will each pitch an inning to setup Wickman or do they have a history or preference for pitching more?

Anyone with XM radio have you checked out channel 200 and their 4 day long tribute to baseball? Very cool eclectic mix of music, interviews, classic broadcasts, and other baseball stuff. They played a locker room interview with Reggie Jackson after the 1974 World Series and they told him of his prize for being named the MVP… a brand new 1974 Dodge Dart! Can you imagine Reggie driving an Al Bundy car??? Too Funny!

By journalist jimmy smith

March 31, 2007 9:21 PM | Link to this

all bloggers are reminded of the health risk of having baby chicks at easter. peeps would also seem to pose a health risk, only different. scribe, this journalist envies scribe having fun at the ballgame with little scribe. enjoy, for the little scribe will grow up fast. now, basketball tournament … will the song “get ‘em up, get ‘em up, get ‘em up” confuse basketball fans who arrive in atl?

By Yars

March 31, 2007 9:44 PM | Link to this

I agree with a lot of you about Kelly Johnson. He has a great eye at the plate. I think we’ll be seeing him on base a lot. He is also fully capable of playing 2B. As some still think, 2B was not handed to KJ. He had to prove he could play the position & could still hit the ball. ( He missed the ‘06 season, remember?) Langerhans does look like he added some muscle. He looks a bit bigger which is a good thing. Hopefully we’ll all see the Langerhans we have all been waiting for. (.280/18/65 & excellent defense) As for Diaz, he won’t have a repeat of ‘06, but he could put up decent numbers. Nothing wrong with Francoeur. It would be nice if he hit atleast .285 this season, same for Andruw. I don’t know if Andruw will ever hit .300 again, but he is capable of hitting around .280 again. If Chipper stays healthy, he will put up .310/33/115 type numbers. Edgar will have a typical Edgar season. I don’t know what will become of the Thorman/C. Wilson platoon. I guess which ever one is the hottest will play the most. McCann is awesome. A .300/20/85 season is not out of the question.

By Jared

March 31, 2007 9:52 PM | Link to this

Not only are the Atlanta Braves going to Philadelphia, they’re going to Washington and Florida and Chicago and Colorado and Los Angeles, and they’re going to San Diego and Pittsburgh and Boston. And they’re going to Milwaukee and St. Louis and Detroit and Cincinnati, and then they’re going to New York to take back the division! Byaaah!

By BoringasHell

March 31, 2007 9:56 PM | Link to this

This has to be the most boring blog I’ve seen in months. The endless, meaningless arguments, and what if’s. Makes me want to just run up into the woods and scream till I pass out. It’s like reading a phone book.

By MEB

March 31, 2007 10:02 PM | Link to this

jjs… I had forgot that peeps were in season. Amazing the things that people do with the little yellow critters. I’m still more partial to the milk chocolate bunny in my Easter basket.

Any inside information on who will throw out the first ball for the Braves home opener? I’m sure Jimma and Rosalyn will be in attendance.

By MEB

March 31, 2007 11:06 PM | Link to this

Oh, the humanity! All of the bloggers have disappeared!

By Gil in Mechanicsville

March 31, 2007 11:59 PM | Link to this

Travel day dude, got to rest up for opening day.

By Coach

April 1, 2007 12:01 AM | Link to this

KC , the Braves had the second best offense last season , you and I both know the Mets had a totally complete kick a.s.s do everything offense and they still have virtually the same thing this season. But unlike last season , their starting pitching stinks.

By meansonny

April 1, 2007 12:09 AM | Link to this

I’m only a little optimistic with Kelly in leadoff. I do think he has a good eye. And I remember his 30 game on base streak a few years back.

But realistically, he is a streaky hitter. I think 2 years back, he also went about 60 at bats with only a couple of hits.

Does anybody else recall Kelly Johnson going through a Furcalesque slump where he seemed to pop everything up to the infield?

My point is that Kelly might find his way to Giles 2006 numbers. But it will be a painful/streaky way. And those 2B leadoff numbers shouldn’t be something to aspire to for most MLB teams.

By OddJob

April 1, 2007 12:26 AM | Link to this

Watching the replay of todays game its clear to me these guys did more off-season work than in years past.I don’t see alot of loose meat on the team,Wickman is a hoss but that seems to be the norm for him.Some of the young players (Langerhans,Johnson,etc) look to be months into conditioning,I’ll take this as another good sign.

By The Grinch

April 1, 2007 12:28 AM | Link to this

The Grinch has returned, and sees it’s time to dispense with the BS. MetroMan, No Chop Zone and…the Gator who shall not be named, I got a 20 for each of you says the Braves will beat you outright for the division. Let it be known I’m not skeered. We’ll beat you undignified yankees like a 40 dollar mule. E-mail me at voton1066@yahoo.com and we’ll set it up. Anyone I don’t hear from and doesn’t take the bet will herefore be exposed on this blog and need not post again. The rest of you buy your way and prove yourselves men. Otherwise you’re just “urinating” against the wind…

By The Grinch

April 1, 2007 12:37 AM | Link to this

Since I expect you a-holes will shrink from the challenge, let’s agree to put it in blank money orders in DOB’s hands (if he were to agree to such a thing) at the beginning. Or, you guys come up with something. Raise the stakes if you want. I’ll have no Mets fans here who aren’t really serious. Tell you what, make it 50. Just for the three of you; I’ll cover that. But it’s at least 20 to play. That establishes your credibility. E-mail me and set it up or shut your pie-hole. Frankly, I’d prefer the former. I like my team’s chances.

By The Grinch

April 1, 2007 1:06 AM | Link to this

Man, the college BB championship a repeat of the FB championship? I hope Ohio State wins just to keep Florida from being too confident. It may be a lost cause anyway.

By KC

April 1, 2007 1:07 AM | Link to this

Coach: The Braves finished ahead of the Mets in both batting avg. and runs scored last season. The Braves (who play in a pitchers park) finished only 16 runs behind the Phillies (who play in a popcorn machine) for the league lead in runs scored, and were also second in team BA.

By KC

April 1, 2007 1:12 AM | Link to this

GRINCH: I think your bets are safe, but just as a general principal… you should probably only challenge people to bets while you’re sober. Not that you sound drunk… it’s just that it’s after midnight on a Saturday, and well, you are the Grinch. lol =)

COACH: BTW, I do however agree with you about the Mets offense. I think it’ll be as good as any in baseball this year if Alou is healthy.

Gotta go to bed now. Nightynight.

By The Grinch

April 1, 2007 1:15 AM | Link to this

KC, you’re on the border of a monumentous occasion; the Mets either pony up or admit they have nothing to stand on, even their dignity. You gettin’ in?

By DAP

April 1, 2007 1:17 AM | Link to this

jared VERY funny 9:2sumthing post. good job.

By OddJob

April 1, 2007 1:18 AM | Link to this

Grich I hope Ohio St wins too but my reason is more crass.The truth is I’d pull for any team over that bunch of smelly swamp lizards.

By The Grinch

April 1, 2007 1:36 AM | Link to this

KC, it just so happens your reasoning is sound; I happen to be drunk (are you a psychic?. Howsomever, my bet will still stand in the morning…later this morning, I suppose. Time to pay for the pleasure of our company. Also time to take a snooze. I’ll reiterate my challenge in a few hours. Mets fans, please don’t think you’re taking advantage of me. YOU WILL LOSE. But you already know that, I surmise.

OddJob, God Damn and blast the Gators; I hope they never win another game in any area. I have no need for Ohio State (or anything related to Ohio whatsoever), but I hate the Gators like a wet toilet seat in the dark. Only worse. Night, all.

By bergian

April 1, 2007 3:30 AM | Link to this

MEB at 9:14 PM you asked….Does anyone have a take on how the Braves will use Soriano and Gonzalez?I don’t know if it has been mentioned before, but Wickman CANNOT pitch in a ton of games. 65 or so a year when he was young, so I bet Soriano and Gonzalez will get a shot at 15 -20 saves between them. Not being closers day in and day out will probably allow them to go 1 1/3 to 2 innings more often as well…..

By Robert

April 1, 2007 7:25 AM | Link to this

Part of me thinks that Ohio State is gonna dig down really deep and find enough pride and guts to win this game and atone for the football team (and the hoops team’s earlier blowout loss to Florida)

The other part of me says this game might be marginally closer than the football game

Florida wins - with ease

By ssiscribe

April 1, 2007 8:09 AM | Link to this

OK, we’ve made it to the first day of baseball season! Yeah!

And for the record, go Cards tonight vs. the Mets (good outing for Wainwright yesterday for the Redbirds, and he drove in two runs just for good measure).

Now, PA announcer (noted transition from the Scribe): Dude sounded fine, FLB. He did say Andruw was wearing No. 12 one time (looked like AJ was chuckling when he heard it), but otherwise I liked the guy. Hope he does well.

And KC, hope you guys had a great time at the game. I know my crew is chompin at the bit to get to the ballpark for the home opener, and my little little guy really enjoyed the White Sox game Friday night.

Now, basketball (Scribe is transitioning in midseason form): Gators look like they’re going to win it again, darnit. Guess I’ll pull for Ohio State, like I did inn January. Guess it’ll be for naught. That’s a helluva team, folks.

Now, hockey (THREE transitions in a row! Somebody cool off the Scribe): Le Thrash closing in on the playoffs. Grinch, almost there, dude! Hoping if the division title can be clinched Wednesday that I can get up in there.

Now, baseball (boy I’m getting tired): The offseason is over. The roster is set. Time to begin the journey that will carry this franchise and the denizens of Braves Nation to the playoffs and beyond six months from now.

Off to church. The Scribe abides.

—30—

By Ray

April 1, 2007 8:36 AM | Link to this

Ahhh you can tell this is the best time of the year. The air is yellow, the ground is covered in yellow and the crack of the wooden bats are upon us. Mr Moore writes is annual article with one purpose and that is to get Braves fans all worked up. Life is good. Welcome to the 2007 Braves Baseball Season. We go into the season with a team that has displayed and written about in here several times by DOB, they are on a mission. We have not seen or heard that in several years. To win the World Series it takes a little luck, minor injuries and pitching. I believe we have the latter, lets hope we have the other two ingredients and all be happy in October.

By MEB

April 1, 2007 8:42 AM | Link to this

bergian… Giving Gonzalez and Soriano more save opportunities will also increase Wickman’s effectiveness. I know its hard to take the ball from Smoltz late in a game but the rest of the staff will certainly need a couple of innings from these guys. Very excited about our chances this year.

GO BRAVES!!!

By Daybed Wagmoe

April 1, 2007 8:48 AM | Link to this

to carroll rogers: GREAT write-up on the 5 developments of spring training. i thought you did an excellent job giving an objective view of the preseason. when i read the header for #5, i thought, “well what about gonzalez’s struggles for the first half?” and that was the first thing you addressed. great job.

By Steve-O

April 1, 2007 10:51 AM | Link to this

Grinch,

You kidding man?? The SECOND the Mets fall back behind the Braves, MetroMan, NO CHOP ZONE and all their other goons vanish from existence. First of all they wont take your bet, if they were going to and you won, you would never hear from them again. Its going to be funny though, just watch as they don’t show up when the Braves pull out in front of the pack. I dislike them coming around here and we won’t have to hear from them ‘cus we got a better team. Just wait when Glavine and the bullpen lose the game for ‘em tonight, it’ll be a sign of things to come….

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!! BASEBALL IS HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OOO YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By Lew

April 1, 2007 11:20 AM | Link to this

Mets and Gators-BAH!!!!

By KC

April 1, 2007 11:39 AM | Link to this

Thanks ssiscribe! We did. It was a lot of fun. My son just turned 2, so we spent most of the time just trying to keep him from doing a nosedive into the row in front of us, but he had fun. My daughter is 3, so she was old enough to take in the sorroundings.

The first of many, many Braves games in the years to come. =)

By KC

April 1, 2007 11:50 AM | Link to this

Ya know, I don’t know why it bothers me… it shouldn’t, but I can’t help it. Almost every pre-season prediction I can find in print picks the Mets to win the East, with many picking Atlanta behind the Phillies!!

It bugs me that the Braves aren’t getting the respect I feel they should be getting. Again, that shouldn’t bother me. I know that. But…

I guess it’s not just the lack of respect the Braves are getting… it’s also the fact that stupidity pi$$es me off. And right now, with Atlanta’s pitching looking so good and the Mets trending in the opposite direction in the pitching dept… it’s borderline stupid to pick the Mets over the Braves. AND IT’S JUST PLAIN ASININE TO PICK THE PHILLIES OVER THE BRAVES!!!

I guess I’ll just have to take a deep breath, Google a copy of the “serenity prayer”, and wait for the Braves to make their folly official.

By Carolina Lady

April 1, 2007 12:08 PM | Link to this

ssiscribe and KC, it is so good that you are introducing your young children to baseball. It is so delightful to read!

I was thinking this morning that Bud Selig is single-handedly killing baseball.

I stand to be correctly on the exact figures but there are something over 300 million people in the United States. DirecTV has something like 15 million total subscribers - and it’s for sure that not all 15 million of those subscribers are baseball fans and will not watch.

That leaves the overwhelming majority of baseball fans without TV coverage of the game. Millions of KIDS, the future adult fans who would be buying tickets, etc, will not be developed thereby devastating the future fan base. Baseball will die from lack of enough fans to support the sport.

I believe it is a 7-year contract. That’s a looooong time and there are too many other sports and other forms of entertainment clamoring for their attention. Long enough for most fans to lose interest completely. It’s hard to believe that the person responsible for overseeing baseball, protecting it if you will, has agreed to this. Incredibly short-sighted.

just my 2 cents….. :-)

By MBATL

April 1, 2007 12:15 PM | Link to this

KC, you’ve got a 2- and 3-year old, and find time to do all this blogging? You’ve either got a great wife, a great job, a great nanny, 2 incredibly low-maintenance toddlers, 6 hands, or some combination of the above!

Anyway, good for you for taking them out to the ballgame!

Regarding the media picks. Don’t get mad at me - I picked the Braves to win the East - just thinking about the question:

If the Phillies or Mets had:

a 40-year-old ace;

a guy who threw a 4.86 era last year as their #2 starter;

lost their #3 (who hasn’t pitched in well over a year anyway) to another injury;

a #4 who posted an era of over 5.7 last year (and hasn’t done anything below a 4.71 in 3 years;

an unproven, unheralded #5 starter;

a rookie 1B (having just lost a power-hitting, good-fielding 1B);

a converted 2B who didn’t play last year;

a frequently injured 3B;

and a less-than-glamorous LF platoon…

Would you really be picking them?

I go back to my belief that we scour the Braves’ performance and see the bright side - and we have a lot of faith that most of the questions have positive answers. I just don’t think the national media sees it that way.

I do think that as ST has progressed, we’ve gotten more respect from other teams, and the national guys who have actually seen us play - so that’s a little consolation.

By Lew

April 1, 2007 12:17 PM | Link to this

I saw one prognosticator pick the Braves for 4th in the divison, only ahead of the Nationals. Are they in for a surprise, or what?

By KC

April 1, 2007 12:21 PM | Link to this

I have to admit that I have warmed up to Mark Redman. That 8 run outing he had a week or so ago was the result of experimenting with a relatively new curve ball. He was not pitching that game to win. But when he has pitched to win this spring, he’s done nicely. And that curveball looked pretty good against the ChiSox yesterday.

I think there’s a good chance that he’ll quite well for the Braves until Hampton’s return, at which time Redman will have some trade value for Atlanta.

This signing could work out very well in the end.

By Lew

April 1, 2007 12:49 PM | Link to this

Ma’am-I just read that the negotiations are ongoing. In Demand (Comcast, et al), has agreed to match the $100 million annually. The rub is that MLB is in the process of starting a baseball channel and Direct TV is in for a 20% cut of the action. In Demand feels (and I believe rightly) that if they are to boost their participation from $7 mil to$100 mil annually, that they deserve a cut of the action on the MLB channel as well. The end result is that they have extended the negotiation process at least until tonight at midnight. I, too , am peeved (to put it mildly) with Bud’s “Let them eat cake” declaration, that everyone has access through MLB TV on their computer. However, it limits where I choose to watch the game, gives me much less in the way of picture quality, and their package is full of digital hiccups. I watched Brian McCann hit the other night, and the digital hiccupping caused me to miss the first four pitches-it was a 2-2 count before they actually showed a pitch being thrown. The real problem is that there is damn little we can do about it if we want to watch the Braves.

By Lew

April 1, 2007 12:59 PM | Link to this

KC-He provides us with much needed depth in the rotation. He ended up the spring with a 3.94 ERA, giving up 1 ER yesterday in 4IP with 3K and 1BB. If his numbers approach that this year, we will have a great signing. Add into it Hampton’s return and Davies and Harrison still on the horizon, and we defintiely have much more depth than any other staff in the league. Couple that with the extreme bullpen depth and it makes no sense to me that the Braves have been predicted to come in 3rd or 4th in the division.

By Metropoitan Man

April 1, 2007 1:02 PM | Link to this

Glad I decided to drop on this anti-METS parade. For those of you who have blogged a while know no matter how the season goes I am a fan, good or bad. You guys seem to think (Steve-O, Grinch) that the braves have a chip on their shoulders and are gonna take the division. Hell any METs fan would rather see the hated Philhtis pull it out before the division lets you sniff success again. Make no mistake about it, you have holes, the Phils have holes and of course you have pointed out ALL of the METS holes. But after tonight when you see a team on a mission, a team that knows how to perservere and ultimately succeed against all odds will be on display. You you guys always won with talent, never guts or gusto. The philthies and METS have that ummph you guys lack, keep playing your laid back relax style that worked for so many years,it stopped working last year, screw that bullpen excuse. You guys couldnt manugfacture runs because you had no speed. If Booby Cox caint make adjustments, your boat will still look pretty, but will sink faster than…..you fill in the rest. LETS GO METS!!!!!!

By Braveheart

April 1, 2007 1:04 PM | Link to this

N8, I think the comparison to Steve Finley and Luis Gonzalez as we knew them before the juice is a really good comparison for Langerhans.

By Jim

April 1, 2007 1:05 PM | Link to this

Has Cormier thrown a bullpen session in the last couple of days? Is there an update on his condition?

Will his first start be pushed back because of off days? I think he should be inserted into the rotation between James and Redman. It won’t make much of a difference the first week since James and Redman won’t be facing the same team, but I think when both pitch in the same series it will be good to give the opposition a different look between the two lefties.

By journalist jimmy smith

April 1, 2007 1:09 PM | Link to this

kc is also getting the kids started early on baseball - very good. now, transition to awards ceremonies … shootings are breaking out at awards ceremonies everywhere and lew is requested to keep the wurlitzer presentation low-key this year. not sure who in this blog family packs heat (except grinch and uh, chipper and laroche - all bloggers here) but it is best not to congregate for this year’s wulitzer award presentation - and do not have it at the mall or marta station - most important. now, palm sunday and it is raining … good day to make ready the easter eggs. jouranlist must go to the store. later.

By The Grinch

April 1, 2007 1:11 PM | Link to this

Morning, all. I’m sober now, but my offer still stands. BTW, I have not heard anything from our buddies from the North. Scribe, danged if it don’t look like we’re gonna make the playoffs, huh? I’m proud of my boys, even if they’re mostly Finns, Rooskies and Sweedes. Gotta get some work done; thank goodness this rain is washing away that vile pollon. Later.

By KC

April 1, 2007 1:12 PM | Link to this

MBATL: It’s mostly the job thing. I usually blog while simultaneously handling a work related task. Works out nicely… keeps me from getting bored. =)

As for picking the Braves… that’s a very fair question. I did take a moment to put myself in their shoes… and I’ll say this:

I can understand why some casual observers (national media types) might not be as high on the Braves as I am. But there are some things I feel they should be paying more attention to… namely, the spring Tim Hudson has had, and reports from some MLB scouts who feel strongly there’s a big season in store for him. If Hudson is on, then the Braves are as strong 1-3 in their rotation as any team in baseball. Put that with what’s likely to be the best bullpen in baseball, and you have to conclude that the Braves are likely to finish in the top 5 in MLB in ERA this season.

And if I may take issue with just one thing you said… “lost their #3 (who hasn’t pitched in well over a year anyway) to another injury;” Hampton would have gone 3rd in the rotation out of respect, but the reality is that James was starting the season as the Braves 3rd best starter until Hampton could round into form. James is our 3rd starter, and was every bit as good or better last year than the Phillies and Mets #1 starters.

I’ll get to the questions around the Phils and Mets in a few minutes.

By Lew

April 1, 2007 1:21 PM | Link to this

The Mets-A team on a mission-to find a major league pitching staff. Good luck on that. I hear the Cubs haven’t re-signed Zambrano yet.

By Metropoitan Man

April 1, 2007 1:24 PM | Link to this

You guys base 1 bad Pelfry outing as the end of his career??? I remeber Smolzt got lit up last week but hey he’s Smolzt right??? When you guys get some speed in your lineup, guys that can steal a base without Booby Cox’s green light, then you wont have to worry about last years problems of just waiting on the long ball. You guys always throw that bullpen excuse out but I remember too many 10+ runs a week only to total out at around 7 or 8 runs for the following week. Waiting on the 2run/3run bomb is great if it comes EVERYTIME you need it, but lets face it, Booby Cox will never ever be able how to get the most out of a lineup. He can put them on the field and it looks good but he will never get the most out of anybody but a rookie trying to establish himself, or a free agent to be (A. Jones).

By Lew

April 1, 2007 1:26 PM | Link to this

MBATL-I used to paint with my two year old son sitting on my lap reaching for paint’ brushes and solvents. It was more effective than letting him run around spilling things. It’s called multi-tasking. Back then it was just called self preservation. Apparently it worked. It gave us time together and now that he’s 28 he has more of my art than I do.

By flbravesgirl

April 1, 2007 1:27 PM | Link to this

Thanks for the update, Lew. I don’t want to switch to satellite since I’m told by people who have it that the signal dies in our daily summer storms. And the MLBTV is of such poor quality that I can’t believe they charge for it. Bud has obviously never watched it.

KC, glad to see you’re starting the kids out early. Maybe your little guy needs a helmet?

By KC

April 1, 2007 1:27 PM | Link to this

MBATL: To follow up on my last post…

I do think the national media has missed some things they should be paying attention to where the Braves are concerned, but my problem with these prognostications has as much to do with their assessments of the Mets and Phils as their assessment of the Braves. How can you look at the issues both of those teams face right now (particularly pitching), and still be so high on them. I don’t get it.

The Mets have:

• Their best pitcher on the DL until after the all-star break, who will then be coming off a shoulder injury/surgery (and previous shoulder surgeries diminished his velocity).

• A 41 ace

• A 38 year old guy who threw a 4.66 era last year as their #2 starter

• A #4 who went 3-13 and posted an era of over 6.55 ERA last season. 3-13 with a 6.55 ERA!!!!!!!!! (also hasn’t done anything in 3 years)

• An unproven #5 starter. He’s somewhat heralded only because he’s in NY, and the Mets are desperate for starting pitching. This guy doesn’t have superstar stuff.

• A frequently injured 40 year old left-fielder.

• A washed up shell of his former self (S.Green) in RF.

• An aging 2nd baseman who has hit .230 over the past 3 seasons.

• They lost 3 key relievers over the winter

Their lineup isn’t perfect, but I’ve gone on record as saying it’ll be the best in the NL last year. However, an Atlanta lineup that includes: C.Jones, A.Jones, Francoeur, McCann, and Renteria… isn’t exactly weak. Also, the Braves will get solid production fom LF and 1B this year, particularly for the 7th/8th slots in the batting order.

As for the Phillies… the have:

• An “Ace” who is coming off a good, but non-impressive (for an “ace”) 12-7, 3.91 ERA season.

• A phenom who has the potential to be great, but mysteriously lost 5mph on his fastball this spring, deeply concerning the Phillies (according to reports).

• A 3rd starter who will start the season on the DL and is coming off a quite mediocre 4.53 ERA.

• A 4th starter (Eaton) who has been injured much of the past 2 seasons, has a mediocre career 4.40 career ERA, and is coming off a 2006 ERA of over 5.00.

• A 45 year old 5th starter, coming off an ERA of an 11-14, 4.30 season.

• Less OF offense: Abreu contributed to the Phillies’ 2006 run total for much of the season last year, and he obviously won’t be there this year. Dellucci is gone as well.

• MAJOR questions in the bullpen. Very thin leading up to Gordon.

• An offensively lackluster 3rd-baseman.

• Who the hell is their catcher now?

As even Phillies lifer John Kruk admitted… the Braves have fewer questions than either the Mets or Phillies, and their pitching clearly looks better than either of them.

The Braves were the best offensive team in the NL last year, and the only noticeable loss from last season to this year will be a likely 5-10 homer, 10-20 drop-off at 1B… which apparently (if you listen to the way this lineup is talked about) is going to take this offense from NL best to middle of the pack.

If they say so.

By KC

April 1, 2007 1:29 PM | Link to this

“The Mets-A team on a mission-to find a major league pitching staff.”

NIIIIICE! Yes, that does appear to be their primary mission. Or at least it should be.

By Lew

April 1, 2007 1:29 PM | Link to this

MetroDude-Pelfrewy has a grand total of 21 ML IP. Aren’t you putting quite a bit of pressure on an unproven rookie? And BTW- Yes, Smoltz is Smoltz-with a 19 year track record, 230 IP last year and 32 wins the past two season. If not for the bullpen last year, he would have won 20 and the Cy Young-again. You are sincerely grasping at straws to compare those apples and rutabagas.

By woogidy

April 1, 2007 1:33 PM | Link to this

Carolina Lady, Bud Selig is not ruining baseball. The NFL signed a similar deal, and I think they’re OK. Baseball is on TV just about any given night in the regular season. And, by the way, MLB revenue has increased every year since 1996 and Attendance at record highs the last three seasons. Bud’s alright by me. Didn’t he come up with that wild card thing? Revenue sharing? just to name a few.

By Gil in Mechanicsville

April 1, 2007 1:38 PM | Link to this

Face it, this season looks to be a great one for Atlanta. The pitching depth it tremedous. We’re not talking about waiting until August to get help. We are two guys deep now in the minors plus Hampton by the first of May.

Offense, I don’t think there will be any drop off from last year. Everyone seems to look at what Adam did in August and forgets April, May, June and July. No, we won’t win every game but we are not going to go into one of those horrible tailspins like last year either.

The secret of our success is going to be the back end of our rotatation. Our four and five are better than most team’s two and three guys. That plus a bull pen to hold leads. Yes, a much less painfull season all around if you are a Braves fan.

Prediction…. Aybar will be playing in Richmond or Mississippi before he is playing in Atlanta again.

By Metropoitan Man

April 1, 2007 1:39 PM | Link to this

So where does a rookie pitcher gets his MLB innings from Lew? I mean granted he has to prove himself to the rest but Minaya, Randoplh and METS fans know it strats here. Hell they could have gone with Chan Ho who made a case to stay with his last spring outings but decided to go to the minors as a just in case. He knows the Chemistry of a winner. Just wait and see what Pelfry brings to the table before you dislike him, oh how many innings has Davies and James logged? Is it enough to make a career assessment, I didnt think so.

By Lew

April 1, 2007 1:43 PM | Link to this

MetroDude-Bobby Cox not getting the most out of a player? That is the most patently absurd declaration you ever made on this blog, and you’ve come up with some really questionable statements. Can I refresh your memory of 05? 18 rookies and we left the Mets smelling fumes. Robert is damn near the only person who would be insane enough to make that claim-and you know what most of us think of Robert’s rant. You’ll really have to come up with something much better than that, I’m afraid.

By Lew

April 1, 2007 1:48 PM | Link to this

MetroDude-You misjudge me. I don’t dislike Pelfrey. Not at all. He may actually turn into a good pitcher. Maine, too. But they are not, yet- Smoltz is. My question is the emphasis Mets’ fans have put on his pending performance this year. He only has 21 innings, Dude and you make it sound like the league should tremble and quake in his presence. He’s a rookie, MetroDude. He has zilch ML experience and you’re hanging title hopes on him. Maybe he will have a decent season-maybe not. You have no way of knowing because he has no track record. Just don’t go hoping for miracles. He ain’t no Dwight Gooden (but then again, maybe that’s a good thing).

By Metropoitan Man

April 1, 2007 1:52 PM | Link to this

05 was the 1st year of the turnaround Lew. Hell if we had a closer and not broke down Looper we would have been wild card winners, even Lasorda attested to that last year. Like I said only ROOKIES play hard because they are trying to stay in the line up or a free agent to be. After they gain Boobies trust, they become lackadaisical and just float around until some free agent comes in, calls him out, and then that free agent gets the hell out of dodge becasue he cant get with the brave way.

By Lew

April 1, 2007 1:55 PM | Link to this

Gil-The only way Aybar will play in the minors is on a rehab basis. If he is not placed on the active roster upon returning from the DL, he must clear waivers. He has no options left. If he clears waivers, THEN, MAYBE they could sign him to a minor league contract. He won’t clear waivers.

By Gil in Mechanicsville

April 1, 2007 1:55 PM | Link to this

MetroMan… Remeber this formula. It is why rookie pitchers are put at the back en of the rotation. Expectatations for rookies is 1 good outing out of 3 in the first year.

By Metropoitan Man

April 1, 2007 1:58 PM | Link to this

Lew, nobody saw Doc coming, not that Pelfry is Doc caliber but he came out of nowhere. My thing is Pelfry has impressed enough higher ups to give him the shot, thats where it begins. But they did not have give him a chance yet they did. I’m excited to see how far he takes his chance to succeed especailly with the lineup in place. Just remember LEW, you gotta start somwhere and if I wasnt a METS fan, then I might think like you, dam its great to be a METS FAN.

By John Hoar

April 1, 2007 2:02 PM | Link to this

Nice posts, Bravehart,Oddjob (Langerhans) and Carolina Lady and Lew on the broadcast situation. You are absolutely correct. I saw something (an add) on the basketball game about being able to get the Braves games on DirectTV without equiptment but of course, for a fee. Does anyone know what that is about?

Woogidy, yes, baseball is on every night, but so is alot of other stuff. It’s the BRAVES that most of us are interested in.

By Shaun Payne

April 1, 2007 2:10 PM | Link to this

defensive stats, especially OF stats like range factor, zone rating, and even assists, are far too dependent on other factors to be considered reliable. I don’t think these stats carry much weight even with the stat junkies (Shaun, am I wrong again?)

I haven’t read all that much on defensive stats. It seems from the little I have read that almost all defensive stats are more problematic than hitting or pitching stats.

I think zone rating is probably the most reliable and the least problematic. It actually measures percentage of balls fielded within a player’s typical defensive “zone.”

Most “statheads” say, like with pretty much all stats, you need to look at a variety of stats to get a true picture of a player’s defensive abilities.

By Lew

April 1, 2007 2:13 PM | Link to this

John Hoar-The whole situation revolves around a TV package called MLB Extra Innings. It offers a mulitude of out of town games on a daily basis and has cost approx. $180 for the past several years. It was carried primarily on digital cable, but was also avaiable on satellite. MLB just negotiated a deal with Direct TV to handle the package exclusively. It is definitely a good deal. I have only missed about 2 Braves games a year with this package and I live in Vermont. Now those of us who do not wish to change to a satellite, are stuck with MLB’s computer package, which is of substantially inferior braodcast quality and considerably reduces our viewing options.

By A.J.

April 1, 2007 2:17 PM | Link to this

Jared: That was the best blog post of the spring, bar none.

Go Braves!

BYAAAH!

By Blake

April 1, 2007 2:20 PM | Link to this

Wow, The Rays jsut sent Cantu to the minors. I know everyone loves Johnson, but that is interesting.

By Lew

April 1, 2007 2:25 PM | Link to this

MetroDude-Actually, I feel somewhat sorry for you. All of your proposals and thoughts bespeak your fear of the upcoming season, especially your concern for a substandard pitching staff. Two 41 year olds, a guy with one decent season more years ago than needs mentioning, and two totally unproven rookies. The loss of five pitchers from last year’s bullpen-Bradford, Darren Oliver, Roberto Hernandez-all gone from that stellar bullpen. Duaner out until August (you hope), Mota suspended for 50 games (can he still do it without the juice?) also gone from that bullpen. Pedro maybe coming back to dubious results-sometime. You lose all these players and replace them with Sosa and Park? Your corner outfielders are iffy. Alou has been injured repeatedly and is also in his 40’s-he could break down at any time as he has numerous times in the past. Shawn Greene is a mere shadow of himself. The Mets made no significant moves to strengthen their pitching and added an old, hurt outfielder and a weak hitting second baseman. The Braves should tremble in fear of this juggernaut? I sincerely doubt it. They are a juggernaut only in your quite vivid imagination. You know the imagination that made you think you were Gods after one division win in 15 years? This coming from a team, arguably the best in the playoffs last year, who got beat in the NLCS by a team that barely broke even during the season. And to think you lost to the Cards with a better staff than you are throwing at the competition this year. Dude, you need all the commisseration you can find. I figure that’s why you keep trying to convince us that this nag is a Kentucky Derby contender.

By Lew

April 1, 2007 2:31 PM | Link to this

Well Metro Dude- Apparently the 8 run gift from Pelfrey didn’t bother you too much, but it did the Mets’ brass. Pelfrey has just been optioned to Port St. Lucie of the Fl. State League. If I’m not mistaken, isn’t that AA? I guess it’s a moot point whether or not he’s Doc Gooden. He isn’t getting his chance yet.

By Carolina Lady

April 1, 2007 2:38 PM | Link to this

woogidy, that may be true if you are in certain markets. At my location, if it isn’t on TBS, ESPN, or (regular) FOX, it isn’t available. Not that many Braves’ games being broadcast. And since baseball has decreed that southeastern North Carolina is in the Baltimore market, FSN broadcasts Orioles games. Bah humbug on that. (They really know their markets, don’t they??!)

Since those of us here obviously have computers, we could pay big bucks for the MLB broadcast - and pay even more for the “good” version of the broadcast. How many of the family can crowd around the computer to watch with you?

How many people don’t have access to computers or don’t have the money to pay for all the extras just to “almost” see a poor quality picture on a computer screen? More than you might realize!

Any time you limit the market, you are cutting your throat. TBS was built on the backs of the Braves teams. Broadcast as widely as possible to as many as possible as much as possible - and the Braves really did become America’s Team. And TBS became a mega station. When the Cubs play, WGN is there.

Others may have the same setup - but the key to it all is CABLE. Already in place, huge subscribership (is that a real word?) Broadcast to as many as possible. The dream of almost every fan is to actually travel to a park and see his/her team play. It puts fannies in the seats.

The deal with DirecTV is in direct opposition to all that.

Don’t know about anyone else, but a game isn’t nearly as interesting if one of those teams isn’t the ATL Braves.

The key to keeping and building interest in the sport is feeding the fan’s emotional investment in his or her team. Can’t do that if the fan can’t watch them play.

Just one lady’s thoughts……. :-))

By Metropoitan Man

April 1, 2007 2:45 PM | Link to this

Lew, where ever you get your info from make sure its the entire article ok.

My game is throwing the sinker. The ball wasn’t sinking today. It was flattening out,” said Pelfrey, who expects to pitch for Single-A St. Lucie on April 7, then face the Nationals at Shea on April 13. “I was joking around. I said, ‘Hey, maybe I’m just not good pitching at domes.’ This is the first time I’ve ever done it.”

He’ll be back for good when the METS go to a 5 man rotation but thanks for your info thats more OFF than my optimism of the team.

By Robert

April 1, 2007 2:55 PM | Link to this

Let’s break this Braves teams down realistically

Starting pitching - Better than average, but when your top two are a 40 year old and a guy trying to come back from a hard to explain off year, you cant call it outstanding

Relief pitching - Should be in upper third of the league.

Offense - Some good looking young players, and some solid vets. But, and this is a big but - this team can be pitched to. Langerhans, Thorman, Wilson, Francoeur, and yes Andru are all gonna whiff a buncha times, and not draw many walks. And Kelly Johnson might be a scrappy little guy, but his profile and performance to date do not spell “offensive catalyst” by any stretch of the imagination

A lot is gonna depend on what happens to the teams around them. If the Mets, Phillies, or Marlins prove to be really good, then the Braves will be hard pressed to challenge them. If noone steps up, then sure, we could win another division title (yippee). But remember that being the best of weak bunch doesnt make you good

This team might make the playoffs. If they do, it will be because no competitor in the division did jack. It will not mean that this team did well, or that they were well managed.

And come playoff time, when the opponent will be (at some point) a truly quality team, well, we know what will happen then.

The next two years are about keeping a core of McCann, Francoeur, and Chuck James together, making sure they dont get too entrenched in Donk’s idiotic “playoffs are just a crapshoot” philosophy, and finding out who of the peanut gallery fits around the core (Langerhans, Kelly, Prado, Aybar, Salty, Davies, Larry, Moe, Curly, Sleepy, Sneezy, Drowsy, and so on and so forth etc ad nauseum)

Two more years of watching Cox turn red and blue in the face in the dugout complaining about balls and strikes.

Two more years of being able to sleep at night knowing that noone will be wearing sunglasses on their cap during BP

And then, starting in ‘09, it will be worthwhile to root for the Braves again, cuz something good just might happen

By Andy--LA

April 1, 2007 3:08 PM | Link to this

This site is reporting that the Braves have got Crawford from Tampa Bay for Davis, Devine, Escobar and Staltimacia. http://www.chop-n-change.com/ This is a pretty good site—probaly a april fools joke, but the trade would be worthy(even if it is only a dream).

By Wayne in Utah

April 1, 2007 3:11 PM | Link to this

Carolina Lady: Definitely agreed. If it’s not the Braves vs somebody, I don’t watch. Also, as TBS started sharing with Fox Sports South, they cut me out of those games. (no FSS in Utah)

By Gil in Mechanicsville

April 1, 2007 3:27 PM | Link to this

Yes Lew, I am aware of Aybar’s option situation bit I think Bobby Cox & Co. has lost faith in the young Domincan. A stint in rehab and he will be marketed to KC.

By MEB

April 1, 2007 3:27 PM | Link to this

Carolina Lady… A grand ol’Southern State like North Carolina forced to submit to Yankee imperialism by force feeding them Baltimore Oriole baseball. The humanity!!! I don’t think Gen Lee would have signed the papers if he would have known of this outrage.

I thought we had if bad down here in the deep south. We have to figure out what carrier will be showing the Braves on a day-to-day basis. Between TBS, Fox, Fox Sports Net, and Sports South they keep you on your toes setting the DVR.

By Greg in TN

April 1, 2007 3:40 PM | Link to this

Woogidy,

I’ll give you several things on ‘ol Bud. First, you are right in that revenue and attendance are both up. Interleague play and implementation of the wild card have both worked.

I think when his tenure is said and done, and baseball historians look at his legacy, there will be a few other things that will be remembered long before the revenue/attendance arguments. IMO, his legacy will be tied to the following:

1) Cancellation of the 1994 playoffs and World Series. Regardless of whether it’s right or not, that will fall on Bud’s shoulders. He helped orchestrate the ouster of Fay Vincent and led the charge to mandate a salary cap. As we all know, this backfired in the worst possible way. You mention that baseball attendance was up, Woogidy, and you are right, however baseball lost the casual fan during this strike. Many went to other sports (football, NASCAR, basketball, etc) and some never came back.

2) The steroids era. Bud sat on his hands in his front row seat for this disaster. I think it will be many more years before we really can understand the complete fallout from this era. I will grant to anyone that wants to argue that McGwire’s summer of 1998 started bringing fans back to the ballpark. Hey, it was a great story at the time, but what has it cost to the integrity of the game?

Finally, and this one is more personal to me…

3) This summer, Barry “The Clear” Bonds will likely pass Hank Aaron.

Bud has cost this sport in more ways than his positive actions will have ever helped. The DirecTV issue is just another episode in the same sad sorry set of affairs. Baseball has lost a great deal of fans because of self-inflicted wounds like this. At some point, shouldn’t there be someone in MLB that actually looks out for the fan in each and every decision? If baseball were a business run by a board of directors, Bud would have been tossed on his kiester a long long time ago.

By woogidy

April 1, 2007 3:41 PM | Link to this

cl, you said baseball, nothing about Braves baseball in your original post. I agree with you that it’s frustrating not being able to watch the Braves. If you just want to watch baseball, there is a game on every night. Also, Braves fans have been spoiled being able to watch so many games that were truly out of market for so long, that they are complaining. Hell, I really don’t want to watch a game that’s not in HD anymore… but If I were a royals fan, I would have to be in Kansas City to watch it, so It isn’t all that abnormal that to watch the Braves every night you live in Atlanta. And, $100 is big bucks to watch the team you root for? No wonder Turner Field never sells out in the playoffs.

By Gil in Mechanicsville

April 1, 2007 3:41 PM | Link to this

I was forced to go to Direct TV when I moved out here to the “Center of the Universe”. Even cable was not availible to me. I found it to be an improvement over cable even if it is a fair weather friend. At least it does not go out for days at a time like Comcast use to. I am just glad that for once I made the right choice.

By OddJob

April 1, 2007 4:35 PM | Link to this

DOB Good talk with Smoltz,I really liked what he said about treating every year like a contract year.In a perfect world he stays with the team long enough to win a couple more world series,puts up hall of fame numbers,retires and spends thirty or so years calling braves games.

By Carolina Lady

April 1, 2007 4:36 PM | Link to this

woogidy, you wrote “And, $100 is big bucks to watch the team you root for? No wonder Turner Field never sells out.”

Yes, for a great many people a hundred bucks IS a big deal. I’m one of them. Sometimes there isn’t much left to spend on a luxury (paying to watch baseball) after all the necessities are paid for. In my case, I’m sole support for 2 disabled people and I had to take early retirement due to my own health issues. Never take for granted the blessings given and never look down on those who don’t have it to spare; you never know when fortunes will change. (And that is NOT directed at you, woogidy; just a general statement.)

There are millions of people throughout the US who would LOVE to be able to make the trip to ATL to actually see the Braves play - but it’s just out of the question. Too many other obligations that have to be met first.

Sorry I didn’t specifically reference the Braves in the first post. I was speaking of baseball in general and the Braves in particular. To this lady, baseball = Braves. :-))

Thanks for the exchange of ideas! :-)) (I’ve been interrupted several times in this writing, so I hope I’ve gotten all the thoughts expressed that I intended!)

By Robert

April 1, 2007 4:40 PM | Link to this

“Bobby Cox not getting the most out of a player?”

Lew, the man had the best roster in baseball at least seven different times, and has one ring to show for it.

Who cares if he once made the playoffs with a lot of young faces (who could play) in a year when no other team in the division was worth a hill of sugar cubes.

Bobby Cox does NOT get the most out of his players. If he did, Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz would need to use toes to hold all their WS rings

By Carolina Lady

April 1, 2007 5:01 PM | Link to this

MEB, ain’t it a shame??? Bobby Lee would be havin’ a fit if he knew! :-)))

By Carolina Lady

April 1, 2007 5:13 PM | Link to this

woogidy, I forgot in the last post - yes, the Braves fans are totally spoiled!! I have a dear friend who loves the Astros - and he rarely gets to see them on TV. But that also seems to come back to my main point that further restricting the broadcast audience helps no one.

Attendance, etc may be up now but I can’t help but wonder where it will be in a few years. If I can’t follow them on TV and I can’t get to ATL to see them, interest will eventually drop off.

That was also my thinking with the kids. If they can’t see the game on TV they don’t develop an interest and turn to basketball, hockey, soccer or whatever. They grow up with little or no interest in baseball. Same will follow with their kids. The fan base shrinks and shrinks. I’m repeating myself so I’m going to go finish the creamed corn I’m in the process of making. :-)

By Lew

April 1, 2007 5:14 PM | Link to this

Sorry MetroDude-I din’t get the whole article. It was just a partial clip from Yahoo. Doesn’t matter, though. Your pitching still stinks.

By Lew

April 1, 2007 5:18 PM | Link to this

Robert-I won’t argue with you. You’ll never change your mind. Neither will I or any other sane Braves’ fan. Rant on.

By Lew

April 1, 2007 5:19 PM | Link to this

Gil-Maybe so. I was just commenting that you won’t see himin Richmond except for rehab.

By ElbravoX

April 1, 2007 5:23 PM | Link to this

Amen, Carolina Lady! Some people are out of touch with the realities of life, especially in the cyber-world. Amen!

By Lew

April 1, 2007 5:28 PM | Link to this

Gil-Cable gets a lot of flack, but here in Vermont, where the weather is as bad as damn near anywhere you can think of, in 6 years, the cable has gone out three times-for hours each time, not days. Each time was when Vermont loosened it’s restrictions on buliding anything and the three houses they approved, cut the cable during construction. Now the three houses thing is an exaggeration (but not by much), but the rest is not. We have never lost cable because of weather, unless electricity also went out and even that rarely happens, even with three feetof snow.I think that’ a fair track record. Now if you want to gripe about price, well I’m right there with ya.

By OddJob

April 1, 2007 5:41 PM | Link to this

AH SPRING !! A time when a man’s attention turns to hot blooded pursuits. The topic of course is baseball,but what of that other manly sport of spring? I find myself not retired or even on the dl but on hiatus from the sport of life.I have in the past pursued the fair sex with the words of homer,to quote ‘yours is a butt that won’t quit’ well it was Bart who vocalized it but homer was the author.So what is a man to do when the sap runs high and you find yourself a free agent? Well you can always think about baseball.

By Gil in Mechanicsville

April 1, 2007 5:50 PM | Link to this

When it gets too expensive I will cut back on MLB. I guess it’s like cocain. TBS got me hooked on the Braves. Now it’s hard to stop feeding my Jones… (no pun intended) :-))))

By Robert

April 1, 2007 6:22 PM | Link to this

“I won’t argue with you”

Good for you. Facts are tough to argue with

By journalist jimmy smith

April 1, 2007 6:35 PM | Link to this

**blog with dob during the game?”” oh, the humanity! when will dob have time to write dob’s game coverage? and lew, journalist’s discerning eye found the photo of bobby cox on the braves website and it looks like one lew could use for lew’s next bobby cox portrait. now, journalist jimmy smith would like to congratulate the several bloggers who managed to get the word “toe” in a recent post. last one was meb - and skillful it was - also with a mention of general lee. now, peeps are in all the stores but remember that peeps will be very, very cheap after easter - can buy a year’s supply. how many peeps would that be? and will wicky eat peeps? and what of a peep stuck in that scraggly chin hair of chipper jones? which peep is the best seller? journalist thinks it cannot be blue peeps. should never eat blue anything. yellow peeps would seem to be the favorite. must ask dob. and where is journalist bob who would soak the peep in molasses before eating? and now, tranisition to baseball announcers … chip, skip, boog - as another blogger pointed out - all dog names. and this journalist was surprised to learn that chip has a dog, for we all remember the on-air humiliation of last year when chip talked of chip’s pet rabbit. now, april fool’s day was a slow day on the blog. journalist anticipated more april fooling going on.

By Gil in Mechanicsville

April 1, 2007 6:53 PM | Link to this

Perhaps it is because truth is stranger than fiction and living so close to Washington I can no longer recognize the difference. So, you will not hear a peep out of me the rest of the night as it is time to toe the line on my blog time and turn to other activities. Perhaps I shall boil some sap…….

By OddJob

April 1, 2007 6:53 PM | Link to this

please note off topic posting. Jimmy Johnson is an ungrateful S.O.B. Gordon gets the guy a job with the best owner in the sport,he gives him the setup for the track,and the graceless prick blocks Gordon who clearly had the better car.If it had been me Johnson would,ve been towed to the garage.

By Lew

April 1, 2007 7:11 PM | Link to this

Just watching the pre game on ESPN They just said that the starting staffs of both the Cards and Mets are so bad that if you combined them and took the best five, there still would not be a top ten rotation. Ouch.

By ssiscribe

April 1, 2007 8:26 PM | Link to this

Baseball season is under way. The first pitch has been thrown in Da Lou. Here’s hoping the last pitch is thrown by Bob Wickman at Turner Field, and the Braves are the ones jumping up and down on the infield, celebrating winning the World Series.

The journey starts now. The Scribe abides.

—30—

By The Grinch

April 1, 2007 8:34 PM | Link to this

Bud Selig also allowed corporate ownership of the Braves; that in and of itself should be enough to see the man hanged. Having the All-star game determine home field advantage is another, and Bonds not having his records stricken from the books right around the time he passed Willie mays is a third. And if he was the one who decreed that the first round of the playoffs should be best of five instead of seven…that’s the worst transgression of all. Later, all; I might not be back ‘till Tuesday. Mets fans, offer still open. Voton1066@yahoo.com.

By MEB

April 1, 2007 8:49 PM | Link to this

Grinch… Hear, Hear!!! Those transgressions are right up there with artificial grass and the designated hitter.

Ouch!!! Taguchi got turned around like a pretzel and then slammed the wall in left field. The evil Mets are up 2 love.

By MBATL

April 1, 2007 9:06 PM | Link to this

Grinch, the Braves have been “corporately owned” since the mid-1970’s. The corporation (Turner Broacasting) just happened to have a lovable lunatic Braves fan as CEO. I don’t think you can hang that one on Selig (and I really don’t think you should hang him at all).

Anyway, the 5-game “divisional” series is also my number 1 pet peeve with baseball (among several). Why not make it a 1-game series and give the underdog the greatest possible advantage? For the life of me, I can’t understand why MLB doesn’t extend that series to 7 games - more t.v. revenue (for the pencil pushers) and more fair to teams built to win in a 162-game season.

By JJMB

April 1, 2007 9:40 PM | Link to this

I think the Braves miss the post season. Starting pitching will kill them. Smoltz will do well, like last year. Hudson will struggle, like last year. That leaves James, Redman and Cromier. Please. Hampton? Please². Starting pitching will eat up the new bullpen.

I think Chipper will miss about 30 games, maybe more. 1b will be unproductive. Ditto 2b (and Cox will march Johnson out there game after game after game, like he did with Giles).

Frenchy and AJ will have decent years, but will fold in clutch situations. Renteria and McCann will have good years.

By N8

April 1, 2007 10:40 PM | Link to this

Damn. That Mets defense looks gooooood.

Their gonna need it, with that pitching staff.

By journalist jimmy smith

April 1, 2007 10:41 PM | Link to this

joe morgan overload! joe morgan overload! it is only the season’s first game and already this journalist has had too much joe morgan. jimmy smith is going to turn down the sound and watch the game without joe morgan. wait, jouranlist will listen to peter gammons for a minute first …

By OddJob

April 1, 2007 11:03 PM | Link to this

Talk about your internal conflicts! Glavine wins! mets win! Glavine! Mets! Glavine! Mets! oh my!! ok heres the deal, Glavine goes 30 - 0 Mets go 30 - 132. conflick mitigated,peace of mind……priceless!!

By Tomahawkin

April 1, 2007 11:22 PM | Link to this

Ugghh I’m back after partying and working…Gawd I’m ready 4 tomorrow!

Time To Get our Title back

We Ready!

Go Braves?

Where Is D.O.B.? Everyone…?

By Tomahawkin

April 1, 2007 11:32 PM | Link to this

N8, Man I caught 3 innings of dat game…and man did Morgan annoy me with how good the Mutts lineup is…Man I’d wish they rotate the commentators on Sunday nite baseball…

By KC

April 2, 2007 12:14 AM | Link to this

What’s the difference between the Braves’ lineup and the Mets’ lineup?

Jose Reyes… that’s it.

It’s funny, to hear the national media talk you’d swear that the Mets have the greatest lineup in the modern baseball era, and that the Braves are middle of the pack offensively. But when you examine the two lineups, you’ll find that these lineups are not very far apart.

Let’s start with 2-8, and we’ll get back to Jose Reyes…

Mets / Braves

2 – Lo Duca: .318, 5-HR, 49-RBI / Renteria: .293, 14-HR, 70-RBI, 17-SB

Lo Duca is a fine contact hitter, but he’s not going to hit .318 every year. Renteria has some pop in his bat and speed on the base paths. No big edge here for either team.

3-6 – [Delgado, Beltran, Wright, Alou]: .288, 127-HR, 420-RBI / [C.Jones, A.Jones, McCann, Francoeur]: .289, 120-HR, 411-RBI

Both Alou and Chipper missed significant time last year, so it’s a very fair comparison. And I think you’re going to see bigger numbers out of the McCann/Francoeur duo this season.

7 – Green: .277, 15-HR, 66-RBI / Diaz-Langerhans platoon: .283, 14-HR / 60-RBI

In fairness, Langerhans and Diaz combined for about 80 more AB’s than Green, but I would also look for increased power out of that position this year. Langerhans has been swinging with some real pop this spring, and Diaz is stinging the ball a little harder after hitting the weights heavily in the off-season.

8 – Valentin (in 384 AB’s): .271, 18-HR, 62-RBI / Wilson-Thorman platoon (in 383 combined AB’s): .256, 18-HR, 65-RBI

Hard to really use Thorman’s small sample size numbers from last year to indicate anything. Last year was the first season in 5 years in which Valentin hit better than .249. The Braves are in the same boat at 1B that the Mets are in at 2B. You’ll get plenty of pop, but probably not a high average there, in either case.

All in all, these are VERY similar lineups… except for Jose Reyes. At the top of the post, I said “Jose Reyes… that’s it”. I don’t mean to imply that Reyes isn’t enough to give the Mets a significant edge on the Braves offensively. He is. That’s why I believe the Mets, and not the Braves, will finish 1st in runs scored this year.

But you can’t tell me that the Mets have a spectacular offense, and the Braves lineup is nothing to write home about… as the national media seems to imply by fawning endlessly over the Mets lineup, while yawning endlessly over the Braves lineup.

There is a real gap offensively between these two teams in the person of Jose Reyes. But as good as he is, he’s not good enough to make that a huge gap. The Braves are still going to finish in the top 3-4 in the NL this year in all major offensive categories.

It seems like the only thing the national media notices about the Braves is the revamped bullpen. They aren’t paying attention to the fact that the Braves also have a very potent lineup. And they aren’t paying much attention to the spring Hudson’s had and what scouts are saying about him. Nor have has anyone made mention of the fact that James, who joined Atlanta’s rotation mid-way through the season, will be there from day 1 this year, giving a major lift there as well.

Also, I heard the ESPN guys tonight talking about how Pedro may return after the all-star break… yet Hampton’s scheduled return in early May is almost entirely ignored.

In short, I really truly believe that national media types are picking the Mets largely because they haven’t really been paying attention.

By Drew

April 2, 2007 12:23 AM | Link to this

I’m with you jimmy on Joe Morgan. Jon Miller is as bad if not worse. Hopefully all of our ESPN games are also on TBS, FSN or SportsSouth.

On a seperate note, since Davies didn’t make the rotation, whose personal catcher will Pena be? Anyone know? DOB? Carroll?

By KC

April 2, 2007 12:26 AM | Link to this

JJMB: Great to have another Mets fan in the ole’ blog. Welcome!

So the Braves will miss the playoffs because of their starting pitching, while the Mets and/or the Phillies will play in October on the strength of their stellar rotations?

What are you basing your Tim Hudson prognostication on? It certainly couldn’t be his spring performance or what the scouts are saying about him.

And why do you dismiss Hampton out of hand? He’s due back in about 5 weeks. I think it’ll take him a while to get sharp, but he could certainly be there by the time the stretch run rolls around. I find it humorous the way people dismiss Hampton, yet talk about Pedro Martinez as though he’s going to be in Cy Young form the instant he returns from shoulder surgery later in the season.

As for 1B… if you look at Wilson’s career numbers and divide them over 550 AB’s, you have almost exactly what he produced a couple years ago in his only opportunity to play everyday. .264, 29-HR, 82-RBI. So whatever we do or don’t get from Thorman… we can be pretty well assured we’ll get at least 20-HR and 70-RBI out of 1B. That’d be a drop-off of about 10 homers and 20 RBI from what we got last year at 1B.

BUT that would be the ONLY difference between this year and last season when the Braves were the best offensive team in the NL. Chipper missed over 50 games last year, and Giles sucked… and the Braves still out-hit and out-scored the Mets last season. This Braves offense is a lot better than many people realize, and Atlanta’s pitching is clearly better than the Mets or Phillies. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

By KC

April 2, 2007 12:31 AM | Link to this

JJMB: Forgot to mention your lumping Chuck James into the “please” category. Only a true Mets fan could wishfully dismiss a pitcher of his caliber. Hey, I admire your loyalty to your team.

Gotta go beddy-bye. G’night ya’ll.

By We Have Mets the Enemy

April 2, 2007 1:12 AM | Link to this

Joe Morgan actually is a very astute observer of the game and an informative announcer. I guess you all would like him better if he’d kiss each and every Braves’ a-s-s like the announcers you’re used to. You simply can’t stand anyone who’s not a homer.

You’d better ask yourselves before you suffer through another disappointing campaign if just maybe none of the national media is picking the Braves because they’re not the best in the division.

But then, you’re wrong about the national media not respecting the Braves as well. Peter Gammons sounded as if he was auditioning for a Turner South gig with all the praise he was heaping on Atlanta.

Last word of warning, folks: I’d tend to listen to Joe Morgan before I’d listen to Terence Moore.

By Vince

April 2, 2007 1:58 PM | Link to this

This site is reporting that the Braves have got Crawford from Tampa Bay for Davis, Devine, Escobar and Staltimacia. http://www.chop-n-change.com/ This is a pretty good site—probaly a april fools joke, but the trade would be worthy(even if it is only a dream).

If there’s any truth to this (which I doubt) Would someone at the AJC kindly let Terrance Moore know about it?