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March 2008
Back from D.C. … is it opening day?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Now that the Braves have done a whirlwind trip to D.C., helped open a new park and provided almost no offensive support for Tim Hudson (sound familiar?), time to open the season for real tonight against the Pirates at Turner Field.
What’s that? That game at Nationals Park counted? Oh, nevermind.
Why does tonight feel more like a season opener than Monday, even though that was nationally televised and had a president throwing out the ceremonial first pitch? Why, of course: Because tonight’s a home game, the start of a series, and yes, because Tom Glavine is making his much-anticipated first start back with the Braves.
You gonna cheer or jeer? I’m guessing the vast majority here tonight cheers. And I mean the vast, vast majority. But we’ll see.
But seriously, upon further review I’m going to have to revise my ballpark rankings, at least in one respect. This is important. Please pay attention (OK, it’s not really that important).
After I took another look at the bland exterior of Nationals Park as I was leaving last night, and then compared that to Turner Field when I drove by it on the way back home from the airport late this morning, I gotta say it’s no contest.
Say what you will about the kiddie carnival-like attractions at Turner Field — not what I look for in a ballpark, but I understand how those with little kids might love it — but there’s no denying the place looks like a ballpark, with the brick exterior and the exposed steel upper deck and all.
And though I like the interior of Nationals Park, gotta put it behind Turner Field and the new parks in Philly and St. Louis in terms of overall evaluation, because of the points the D.C. park loses for having an exterior that looks more like the Georgia World Congress Center than a ballpark.
OK, getting to the important stuff. Peter Moylan gave up a walkoff homer to Ryan Zimmerman last night, in case you were out and missed the ajc.com postgame update. Threw him a poorly located sinker that started up and away and ended up squarely over the middle of the plate, about belt-high. He did what a hitter such as Zimmerman is usually going to do with a pitch like that. Crushed it.
So what does this mean for Peter Moylan> He had a sore elbow early in spring training, then pitched well for most of three weeks, then had a rough outing in the last game at Florida when he pitched the first inning and gave up three runs against the Mets. So what does Sunday’s outing mean?
Well, probably nothing other than he made a bad pitch in his first outing. It’s not the first time, you might recall.
Last year in his first outing after being called up from Triple-A, Moylan gave up three runs, three hits and one walk while recording just one out in an April 15 game against Florida. He had slept little if any the night before, after scrambling to catch a flight from some Triple-A outpost.
Anyway, immediately after that rough outing, Moylan reeled off a torrid five-week stretch in which he posted a 0.43 ERA and .125 opponents’ average, allowing eight hits and one run in 21 innings over his next 14 appearances.
In fact, after that debut last season, and Moylan posted a stunning 1.51 ERA and .201 opponents’ average over his remaining 79 appearances and 89-2/3 innings.
Hoss’ homer in opener: Certainly there wasn’t a whole lot to recommend of the team’s five-hit offensive “performance” against Nationals starter Odalis Perez and four relievers including Ray “I Will Have a Job As Long as Baseball is Played” King.
But Chipper Jones hit a home run off a left-hander (Perez), and that’s potentially very good news for him and the Braves. Because if Hoss gets his right-handed swing on a par with his left, it could mean big things.
He led the NL with a 1.029 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) last season, but Chipper’s 1.171 OPS vs. righties dwarfed his .803 OPS vs. lefties.
He hit .274 with seven homers and a .458 slugging percentage in 201 at-bats vs. lefties, compared to .378 with 22 homers and an astounding .699 slugging percentage in 312 at-bats vs. righties.
But it wasn’t always this way. In fact, in some of Jones’ best seasons he actually hit as good or better against lefties than against righties.
As recently as 2006, he hit .293 with six homers and a .576 slugging percentage in 92 at-bats vs. lefties, and .332 with 20 homers and a .602 slugging percentage in 319 at-bats vs. righties. Not that dramatic a difference.
In his career-worst .248 season in 2004, he hit 30 points higher (.268) against lefties than against righties, and had a slugging percentage that was 105 points higher against lefties.
In his .305-27-106 season in 2003, he hit .306 against lefties and .304 against righties, but Chipper had only two homers and a .380 slugging percentage in 121 at-bats vs lefties, compared to 25 homers and a .555 slugging percentage in 434 at-bats against righties.
His power splits were fairly even in 2002 and 2001 (though he hit .376 vs. lefties and .320 vs. righties in ’01), but go back to 2000 and things really get interesting.
Do you folks remember what he did in 2000, the year after he won the MVP? Jones turned in a .311-36-111 season that included basically a demolition of lefties.
He hit a blistering .415 against left-handers, with 12 homers in 130 at-bats, along with a .480 OBP and .777 slugging percentage. Against righties that year, he hit .281 with 24 homers, a .382 OBP and .506 slugging percentage.
And in his MVP season (.319-45-110) in 1999, Chipper also fared better against lefties than righties. That year he hit .352 with 15 homers, a .450 OBP and .739 slugging percentage in 142 at-bats against lefties, while against righties he hit .308 with 30 homers, a .438 OBP and .598 slugging percentage.
So you see, that’s my very long-winded way of saying, if Chipper starts hitting lefties as well or better that righties, it’ll be interesting to see what kind of overall numbers he produces.
I just find it fascinating that a guy’s lefty-righty numbers can fluctuate so much from year to year, or at least every few years.
OK, gotta get to the park now. By the way, I’m listening to the new Van Morrison that comes out this week or next. Good tuneage. Someone let me know when you hear the new Black Keys CD produced by Danger Mouse. That’s one I’ve gotta get soon as it’s out (tomorrow?).
“DESOLATION ROW” by Bob Dylan
They’re selling postcards of the hanging
They’re painting the passports brown
The beauty parlor is filled with sailors
The circus is in town
Here comes the blind commissioner
They’ve got him in a trance
One hand is tied to the tight-rope walker
The other is in his pants
And the riot squad they’re restless
They need somewhere to go
As Lady and I look out tonight
From Desolation Row
Cinderella, she seems so easy
“It takes one to know one,” she smiles
And puts her hands in her back pockets
Bette Davis style
And in comes Romeo, he’s moaning
“You Belong to Me I Believe”
And someone says,” You’re in the wrong place, my friend
You better leave”
And the only sound that’s left
After the ambulances go
Is Cinderella sweeping up
On Desolation Row
Now the moon is almost hidden
The stars are beginning to hide
The fortunetelling lady
Has even taken all her things inside
All except for Cain and Abel
And the hunchback of Notre Dame
Everybody is making love
Or else expecting rain
And the Good Samaritan, he’s dressing
He’s getting ready for the show
He’s going to the carnival tonight
On Desolation Row
Now Ophelia, she’s ‘neath the window
For her I feel so afraid
On her twenty-second birthday
She already is an old maid
To her, death is quite romantic
She wears an iron vest
Her profession’s her religion
Her sin is her lifelessness
And though her eyes are fixed upon
Noah’s great rainbow
She spends her time peeking
Into Desolation Row
Einstein, disguised as Robin Hood
With his memories in a trunk
Passed this way an hour ago
With his friend, a jealous monk
He looked so immaculately frightful
As he bummed a cigarette
Then he went off sniffing drainpipes
And reciting the alphabet
Now you would not think to look at him
But he was famous long ago
For playing the electric violin
On Desolation Row
Dr. Filth, he keeps his world
Inside of a leather cup
But all his sexless patients
They’re trying to blow it up
Now his nurse, some local loser
She’s in charge of the cyanide hole
And she also keeps the cards that read
“Have Mercy on His Soul”
They all play on penny whistles
You can hear them blow
If you lean your head out far enough
From Desolation Row
Across the street they’ve nailed the curtains
They’re getting ready for the feast
The Phantom of the Opera
A perfect image of a priest
They’re spoonfeeding Casanova
To get him to feel more assured
Then they’ll kill him with self-confidence
After poisoning him with words
And the Phantom’s shouting to skinny girls
“Get Outa Here If You Don’t Know
Casanova is just being punished for going
To Desolation Row”
Now at midnight all the agents
And the superhuman crew
Come out and round up everyone
That knows more than they do
Then they bring them to the factory
Where the heart-attack machine
Is strapped across their shoulders
And then the kerosene
Is brought down from the castles
By insurance men who go
Check to see that nobody is escaping
To Desolation Row
Praise be to Nero’s Neptune
The Titanic sails at dawn
And everybody’s shouting
“Which Side Are You On?”
And Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot
Fighting in the captain’s tower
While calypso singers laugh at them
And fishermen hold flowers
Between the windows of the sea
Where lovely mermaids flow
And nobody has to think too much
About Desolation Row
Yes, I received your letter yesterday
(About the time the door knob broke)
When you asked how I was doing
Was that some kind of joke?
All these people that you mention
Yes, I know them, they’re quite lame
I had to rearrange their faces
And give them all another name
Right now I can’t read too good
Don’t send me no more letters no
Not unless you mail them
From Desolation Row
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Welcome to Nationals Park; empty your pockets
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Washington, D.C. — Greetings from new Nationals (this space for sale) Park in our nation’s capital, where getting through the various layers of security to enter this place today made going to the airport feel like a breeze by comparison.
That’s what happens in a post-9/11 world when the president’s in the house, which he will be tonight for this nationally televised opener between the Nats and Bravos.
(By the way, that space really is for sale. They’ll rename this place soon as they settle on a multimillion naming-rights deal with some corporation.)
As for security, what a procedure the Crusading Everyman was put through: Leave your computer bag outside. Go through a scanner into a little room. Watch as a grim-faced security guy — another Secret Service member told me to “get over there, pal” and I did, immediately — rifles through everything in your bag and turns on every electronic device. Watch the dog sniff your Cohibas.
Oh, then repeat much of this upon entering the clubhouse, where you’re (meaning, me) wanded after emptying your pockets again. Hey, the players had to go through the same thing. Bush is going to stop by each clubhouse before throwing out the ceremonial first pitch tonight.
OK, but enough of that. Let’s get to the stuff you care about.
First off, a Smoltz update. Bobby Cox said he threw great today in the minor league game in Florida. I’ll give you the numbers when I get them from the PR man, but he went five innings without discomfort, according to Bobby. “He gave up five on hits on changeups — said he was throwing them too hard because he felt so good,” Cox said.
Again, I’ll give you the numbers soon as I get them. But Cox said Smoltz is on schedule to pitch next Sunday. “He’s ready,” the manager said. And no, Braves aren’t going to consider using a six-man rotation. “You can’t,” Cox said, and left it at that.
OK, tonight’s gam: It’s chilly already and going to get colder as we get into the late innings. It’s in the upper-40s now, gonna be in the lower-40s before we’re done. But only a slight chance of rain, that’s the good news.
Secondly, the ballpark. The place is very nice, and from my seat in the pressbox I’ve got a view of the Capitol dome beyond the left-field bleachers (any minute now I’ll have a view of Jeff Schultz’s shiny dome to my right, assuming they allow our dubious columnist through security outside).
It’s not a spacious pitcher-friendly ‘park like RFK, but also probably not the hitters’ haven that Philly or Houston is. Looks fair dimension-wise, 335 down RF line, 336 down LF line, 377 in LF power alley, 370 with a higher (14-foot) wall in RF power alley. The power alleys at RFK were nearly 395 feet, just absurd (the signs said 380, but those distances weren’t actually to the power alleys, but rather closer to the lines).
Oh, speaking of pressboxes … Having been warned ahead of time that they plan to open the windows to the pressbox — why do these teams believe that those of us working inside pressboxes care to get the “overall atmosphere” in these instances? Why?! — I’ve come prepared, wearing my lined Eddie Bauer jeans, wool socks, boots, two shirts and sweater, with the coat, fingerless gloves (perfect for typing) and Irish wool cabdriver-looking cap at the ready.
Bowman just informed me he has on four shirts. He’s a large human with merely one shirt, but with four he is bear-like.
Now, the ballpark. Very nice. Reminds me a lot of Philly’s park, and also has some Turner Field-ish touches you can tell Stan Kasten had included. I’m talking about the Chop House in right field and the railings and viewing decks at Turner Field where folks can stand and watch the game while drinking a beverage — there’s a lot of that here.
Is it incredible? No, but we’re jaded or spoiled these days in the era of stunning new ballparks. There’s no distinguishing features, like the view of downtown Pittsburgh at PNC Park, or the bay beyond right field at San Francisco, or the throwback brick-and-exposed-steel of a bunch of recently built ballparks, or the intimacy of the grand old cathedrals of ‘ball, Fenway and Wrigley.
But it’s nice, like Turner Field without the cartoon stuff. I’m told that the cherry blossoms will be blooming beyond the left-field fence by next week. When I asked why the ones all along the river are in full bloom already and not these, I was told they’re a different type. So there.
Anyway, this is a cool place. I’ve not had a chance to take the tour yet, because it took so long to get in. But I can tell you, the visiting clubhouse is the nicest in baseball, or at least tied with Colorado. It’s huge, with dark-wood locker stalls and a weight room that looks like an L.A. Fitness. The indoor batting cage behind the visiting dugout is massive.
Now, without taking a tour of the wide concourses or sampling the available food, I’d say this ballpark would rank on the edge or just outside my top 10, just slightly behind, say, San Diego’s new park and in the general vicinity of Turner Field or perhaps a couple spots ahead of our Atlanta ‘yard.
I ranked all 30 ballparks a couple winters ago, but I’ll recap the top 10 or so for those who might not have been blogging here back then. Let me point out, I’m not ranking them based on media amenities or clubhouses or pressbox location, etc. (if I was, believe me, Wrigley and PNC Park, with its nose-bleed level pressbox, would be near the bottom). Nor am I ranking them based on size of seats or available parking, etc (if I was, Fenway would be at the bottom).
No, I rank them based on overall aesthetic appeal as ballparks, as places to attend a game (and yes, I’ve sat out in the seats at every one of the places, at least for an inning or two).
And I didn’t save my rankings from a couple winters ago, so I’m not certain how I ranked them, but this is close, and it’s how I’d rank them right now.
Fenway Park; 2. Wrigley Field; 3. San Francisco (AT&T or whatever it’s called now; 4. Dodger Stadium; 5. PNC Park, Pittsburgh; 6. Camden Yards, Baltimore; 7. Safeco Field, Seattle; 8. Petco Park, San Diego; 9. Cleveland’s Jacobs Field (or whatever it’s called now); 10. Coors Field; 11. Royals Stadium; 12. St. Louis/Philly/Washington, et al (It’s too tough to distinguish or split hairs ranking the latter three, and yes, you could put Turner Field in there, too. I’m probably just jaded on Turner Field from being there all the time and noticing any annoyances that the occasional visitor might not have a problem with).
Oh, and I realize that plenty of people would put Yankee Stadium in their top five. I’m not one of them. Not since it’s makeovers robbed it of so much of its original nostalgiac appeal. Fenway and Wrigley still feel like they must have decades ago. Yankee Stadium does not, from the incessantly loud music during batting practice to the sensory overload of ads, etc.
Favorable pitching matchups: The first couple of pitching matchups look good for the Braves, who have Tim Hudson going against one-time Brave Odalis Perez and Tom Glavine going against Pittsburgh’s Ian Snell in the home opener Monday in Atlanta.
Hudson is 5-1 with a 1.09 ERA in eight career starts against the Expos/Nationals, including 4-0 with a 0.60 ERA in four last season.
Perez? He’s 1-3 with a 5.21 ERA in seven games (six starts) against the Braves, and was unemployed two months ago before signing a minor league contract with the Nationals.
Glavine is 22-12 in 43 starts against the Pirates, including 4-0 with a 2.76 ERA in his past eight. Snell is 1-2 with a 4.73 ERA in five games (four starts) against the Braves, and he’s given up five homers in 12-2/3 innings at Turner Field.
OK, are the denizens ready for some ‘ball? Some real ‘ball? Because in a few hours, we’re starting it, folks. One-hundred-sixty-two (at least) to go.
Let’s do this.
”THE RIGHTEOUS PATH” by Patterson Hood (Drive-By Truckers)
I got a brand new car that drinks a bunch of gas
I got a house in a neighborhood that’s fading fast
I got a dog and a cat that don’t fight too much
I got a few hundred channels to keep me in touch
I got a beautiful wife and three tow-headed kids
I got a couple of big secrets I’d kill to keep hid
I don’t know God but I fear his wrath
I’m trying to keep focused on the righteous path
I got a couple of opinions that I hold dear
A whole lot of debt and a whole lot of fear
I got an itch that needs scratching but it feels alright
I got the need to blow it out on Saturday night
I got a grill in the backyard and a case of beers
I got a boat that ain’t seen the water in years
More bills than money, I can do the math
I’m trying to keep focused on the righteous path
I’m trying to keep focused as I drive down the road
On the ditches and the curves and the heavy load
Ain’t bitching bout things that aren’t in my grasp
Just trying to hold steady on the righteous path
There’s this friend of mine I’ve known all my life
Who can’t get it right no matter how hard he tries
He’s got kids he don’t see and several ex-wives
And a list of bad decisions bout eight miles wide
Trouble with the law and the IRS
And where he’ll get the money’s anybody’s guess
He’s a long way off but if you was to ask
He’d say he’s trying to stay focused on the righteous path
Trying to keep focused as we drive down the road
Like we did back in High School before the world turned cold
Now the brakes are thin and the curves are fast
We’re trying to hold steady on the righteous path
We’re hanging out and we’re hanging on
We’re trying the best we can to keep keeping on
We got messed up minds for these messed up times
And it’s a thin thin line separating his from mine
Trying to hold steady on the righteous path
80 miles and hour with a worn out map
No time for self-pity or self-righteous crap
Trying to stay focused on the righteous path
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Braves return and summer’s not far behind
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Top of the morning to you, and happy first day of summer — hey, just going along with Jill Vejnoska’s very fine and enthusiastic story about getting baseball back at Turner Field tonight.
Really, these two games are kind of weird, exhibition games but at the home stadium. Not as many fans around and the final score still doesn’t matter.
But it’s still a cool time. The stadium is back in business. No more driving past Turner Field and thinking how sad the place seems with nothing going on inside, no reason to turn the lights on. Also interested to see what the new seats look like behind home plate. And to see if pitchers are aghast at the foul territory they just lost.
And besides, this weekend brings back one of my funniest, most embarrassing moments, that I still have to laugh at.
Ten years ago or so, the AJC bosses sent me out to cover these games to give the beat writer a rest, and I suppose, to see if I could handle the rigors of covering the team for the AJC (had done so for the Macon Telegraph, but a different deal.) What did I do with that opportunity? I referred to Curtis Pride as Charlie Pride. In print. I did…. And my only consolation was that it was in small print in one of our old game report boxes.
Oh, and that they gave me the beat job anyway. Amazing, ain’t it?!
So here we go again, this time giving DOB a chance to decompress. What a nice job he did with spring training, eh? And to add to the accolades he’s won for this here blog, he just racked up a newsroom award yesterday for his work here. Maybe the check he gets will help offset some of those CDs he loaded up on in spring training. Well done.
So me? I’ll just be dotting the i’s and t’s for him these next two days. I’d expect the final cuts to be announced after the game tonight and one more trade to be announced any time now. I will keep you posted, of course.
If they trade for a bench player, I’d say Brent Lillibridge would likely be the guy sent back to Richmond. Martin Prado is pretty well assured of making the team as a backup infielder, at least until Omar Infante returns to health.
Unless he’s part of a deal, or unless the Braves trade for a backup first baseman, Scott Thorman would be there. An interesting call will be as a fourth outfielder between Gregor Blanco and Josh Anderson, and backup catcher, where it would seem Corky Miller has the edge over Brayan Pena and Clint Sammons. And is there a chance Joe Borchard makes this team?
The bullpen figures to be Rafael Soriano, Peter Moylan, Manny Acosta, Will Ohman and now Chris Resop, Blaine Boyer, and Royce Ring. Then you could have Jeff Bennett with a roster spot as long relief/spot starter with John Smoltz opening the season on the DL.
All of this will be sorted out shortly. It’s time. As for who might be available to join the bench on short notice? I just saw where the Diamondbacks were sending Trot Nixon down. Not sure if Nixon, 33, is exactly what the Braves would have in mind — and he hit .222 this spring — but he did spend most of spring playing first base.
DOB reminded me yesterday that Jair Jurrjens will be pitching tonight against his beloved Indians, the team he faced in his major league debut (August 15, four runs allowed in seven innings of a loss) and got his first major league win against August 21 when he held them to one run on one hit in 6 2/3 innings. Both those outings were against ace Fausto Carmona, against whom Jurrjens held his own, and here he’ll go against Carmona tonight.
Jurrjens got his first major league win by beating Carmona 2-1 in a game Carmona went all eight innings for the Indians.
Jurrjens also beat the Indians with three perfect innings in a spring training game March 5. So what a perfect way for him to get a feel for pitching at Turner Field, against an old nemesis.
I know you guys can’t help but have noticed what happened to so many former Braves this week. Get a load of what it looks like to list them all together: former Braves who got released or sent down to the minors this week: Marcus Giles, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Kyle Davies, Pete Orr, Ryan Langerhans, Chris Reitsma, Rudy Seanez - and not too long ago were Horacio Ramirez, and from our camp Javy Lopez. Am I missing anybody?
Does that mean John Schuerholz and Frank Wren knew exactly what they were doing by letting those guys walk?
Speaking of former Braves, and this time it’s actually complimentary. It’s official. The pitcher the Braves will face in their season-opener in DC in Odalis Perez. This is a guy who went 8-11 with a 5.57 ERA for the Royals last year, giving him the highest ERA of a year ago of any projected Opening Day starter.
He had visa problems getting to Nats camp from the Dominican this spring and didn’t pitch his first game until March 15. He went 0-2 with a 4.96 ERA in three Grapefruit League starts but manager Manny Acta says he deserves it.
“He won more games than any one of our starters last year in the big leagues,” Acta told reporters. “He’s the only one of our staff who has won 15 games before and he has pitched well in spring training.”
If you have to justify the move, perhaps it’s not a great one. And this says quite a bit about what’s going on with their rotation - John Patterson was released and Shawn Hill is still having arm problems, for starters.
I do recall, from back in the day, that Perez has a thing for dramatic moments, remember how well he used to pitch coming on in relief when he first came up? Maybe there’s still some of that in him. We shall see. Very soon!
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Smoltz has “best day” and new mindset
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lake Buena Vista, Fla. — Before I put Dark Star in my rearview mirror for another year and we take this act north, we’ll quickly tell you about an interesting morning here at the ballpark.
The past and the future collided, at least figuratively. One minute we’re talking to John Smoltz about his bullpen session — it went very well — and the next I’m watching big Jason Heyward take batting practice. More on that in a minute.
First, the Smoltz update.
Bearded Icon threw about a 20-minute session in the bullpen beyond right field this morning, then talked about it being the best day he’s had all spring, no discomfort in his sore shoulder, all systems go for his planned April 6 start.
When Smoltz has the me-against-the-world tone (or at least me-against-the-skeptics tone) that he had today, that’s usually a good sign for the Braves. Means he’s feeling good and eager to prove wrong whoever it is he believes is questioning his ability to be the ace he’s been, or questioning his spring throwing regimen, or whatever. Questioning something.
I firmly believe that Smoltz thrives on this scenario, which he probably exaggerates a bit in his mind for these purposes. Or maybe he’s just been on the ol’ blog here and seen the comments from some, or just heard from friends that they’re talking about him on the radio back home.
Point is, you can tell when he’s in a mood, when he acts as though he’s tolerating your questions, but that he’s running the show and he’s not going to allow your line of questioning, or the doubters or skeptics, to affect him whatsoever. When, of course, that’s precisely what is happening - like I said, he thrives on this.
It’s almost as though he’s got to have something to come back from, someone to prove wrong, to make the motivational forces complete. And right now, he’s got plenty.
He’s got injury (shoulder strain), doubters (he has pitched in only one game all spring), skeptics (why did he follow this program), and of course, Father Time (Smoltz will be 41 in May) all conspiring against him. Or at least that’s what I’m sensing is going on in that complicated mind of his.
But hey, I should probably stick to telling you what I know to be facts.
He strode out to the bullpen today and threw for 20 minutes without any hint of the soreness in the trapezius muscle, the problem that led to his being scratched from his Friday start and led the Braves to decide he’ll start the season on the disabled list and be activated — provided no setbacks — to make his first start April 6 against the Mets and probably Johan Santana in a Sunday afternoon game that will provide just the big-game atmosphere that Smoltz absolutely lives for.
“I got everything accomplished that I wanted to,” Smoltz said of today’s session. “It went really well. It was great. It was the best day I’ve had down here.”
He said this with a tone that said, Told you so, all you alarmists.
“I just needed some time for it to settle down,” Smoltz said. “Now it’s settled down.”
Smoltz said he threw a normal bullpen, threw all his pitches, and that the ball felt great coming out of his hand (pitchers always talk about how the ball felt coming out of their hand).
Smoltz will take two days off, then come back and throw in a minor league game here in Florida. How long would he throw in that game?
“I’m just gonna throw until I’ve had enough,” he said. “I got off the mound [today] when I had enough.”
Oh, folks, I’m telling you, the man is in one of those moods. You do not want to be in his way when he’s fueled by whatever it is that fuels him.
When a reporter asked him if he was concerned this might be a lingering type of injury that crops up again during the season, Smoltz looked him in the eyes and said, “Yeah, it’s a possibility. But I’m gonna change that mindset.”
In other words, he’s not going to worry about it or be pessimistic, whether others are or not.
“I’m going to have a real good time,” he said. “Have a blast, and hopefully win a lot of games along the way. I’m not going to get consumed, like before.”
Then Smoltz said something you could just tell he was waiting to say.
“I’ve got a lot of pitching left,” he said. “You can sometimes get caught up in things you have to explain.”
Then he repeated, “I’ve got a lot of pitching left.”
Get out of the way.
The Big Kid: I watched Jeff Francoeur’s reaction when a bigger, younger Atlanta-area kid passed him this morning in the dugout, where the entire team congregates for a few minutes each morning before going on the field.
Frenchy looked up to see who was so much taller than him, smiled, and tapped Jason Heyward on the back to say a silent hello.
“He’s all of 6-5,” Francoeur said after sizing up last year’s first-round draft pick from McDonough and Henry County High.
Heyward is only 18 years old, and he does indeed look a bit taller than his 6-foot-4 listed height. The Braves brought the right fielder over for today’s Grapefruit League finale, as they do for many of their top prospects who aren’t in major league camp, though they’re usually older than 18.
Folks, he’s going to be a big man. I see young Derrek Lee in Heyward, who is long-limbed and has a slender waist. He’s also got some of the strongest hands I’ve ever seen on a young kid.
I mean, watching his raw swing in BP, you’re amazed that he can hit 450-foot homers using practically nothing but hands. He doesn’t get his hips into the swing at all, doesn’t use his lower body. Really, it’s all hands and wrists.
“He’s strong,” said Braves hitting coach Terry Pendleton, who was asked if he saw a lot of raw material to work. “Absolutely. He’s strong. They say the fields back there are too small for him.
“And he’s going to fill out.”
When he gets a year or two in the system, working with hitting coaches, look out. He’s the No. 2-rated prospect in the organization, and looks like he could easily add 20 pounds to his 220-pound frame.
Like I said, Derrek Lee comes to mind. I covered D-Lee as a Marlins rookie. Immense talent, but it took a few years to put it all together in the majors.
Heyward’s raw power is at the top of the scouting scale, and some have projected him to be a 40-homer guy in the majors someday. He’s a right fielder for now and will play this season at Class A Rome, after getting only 43 at-bats in rookie ball last summer. Take a trip up there to see him if you can.
And don’t be surprised if, in a few years, he’s playing first base for the Braves. They haven’t said they have any intentions of moving him, but with the young outfielders they have in the organizatioin, and with Heyward’s size and left-handedness, I can see that getting a lot more consideration if Mark Teixeira leaves as a free agent after this season.
I asked Heyward if he was nerve-racking, hitting in front of Bobby Cox and Pendleton this morning. He’s a soft-spoken, classy kid whose parents attended Dartmouth. But he’s not passive or shy.
His response to that question: “No, that’s fun,” he said, smiling. “Nerve-racking — that time’s over with. I’m in professional baseball now. Time to relax and have fun.”
Trade watch: Nothing new to report on the trade front, but I expect the Braves to make a deal at any time between now and Saturday night. Just haven’t heard much in the way of rumors.
Did hear the Giants are looking for a backup catcher. Right now their options are Eliezer Alfonzo and Steve Holm, and I’d think Brayan Pena would be an upgrade over that.
Today’s game: Braves are using relievers and prospect Charlie Morton to handle the pitching today against the Mets (it was to have been Tom Glavine’s start, but he was moved up a couple of days to get ready for the Game 2 home-opener start Monday in place of Smoltz).
Expected to Toe the slab for the Braves today are Peter Moylan (who’ll start it), Chris Resop, Royce Ring and Morton. Mets are starting lefty Oliver Perez, noted Braves menace.
Braves lineups goes 1. KJ, 2. Escobar, 3. Chipper, 4. Tex, 5. Francoer, 6. Diaz, 7. Kotsay, 8. McCann, 9. Corky (catching). They’re using the DH and McCann is handling the duties. Heyward should get some playing time in the late innings.
”GHOST OF TRAVELIN’ JONES” by Ryan Bingham
An empty sack of dust
Or just a box of bones
Call me what you will, son
My name’s Travelin’ Jones
And I search for the fire
Stumbled upon with a precious desire
Travelin’ Jones
Have you seen the miles
Have you smelled the whiskey and the smoke
Burnin’ out underneath your tires
Travelin’ Jones
You’re the Travelin’ Jones
Tell me the secrets of an endless road
It’s not where you’ve been, son
It’s what you understand
Do you know the right from wrong
Tell me, boy, are you an honest man
Have you ever felt the fire
Stumbled upon with a precious desire
Have your fingers bled, boy
Off sin’s strings
Tied to that wooden box
That you’re playin’ across your knee
Have you ever felt the fire
Stumbled upon with a precious desire
Travelin’ Jones
I’ve seen the miles
I’ve played in every honky-tonk bar
Behind that chicken wire
Travelin’ Jones
You’re the Travelin’ Jones
Tell me the secrets of an endless road
An empty sack of dust
Or just a box of bones
Call me what you will, son
My name’s Travelin’ Jones
And I found the fire
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Yates traded, another move coming?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lake Buena Vista, Fla. _ Ah, the last week of spring training, when the Braves trade away out-of-options guys like Tyler Yates (dealt to Pittsburgh this morning) and I try to stuff everything accumulated over the past six weeks into the luggage that was already full when I flew down here.
But I’m guessing you’re probably more interested in the Yates deal and other potential trades, rather than how I’m gonna make extra room to take home the 15 CDs and Bob Dylan coffee-table scrapbook and Harley-Davidson denim shirt and a few other things I’ve purchased since I got to Florida.
So we’ll get to it.
Oh, before I forget: Braves going with their “real” lineup today against Nats: 1. Johnson, 2B; 2. Escobar, SS; 3. Chipper, 3B; 4. Teixeira, 1B; 5. Francoeur, RF; 6. McCann, C; 7. Diaz, RF; 8. Kotsay, CF; 9. Bennett RHP.
OK, the trade. For the past week or so, it had become increasingly apparent that Yates was most likely to be moved from among the four out-of-options relievers. Blaine Boyer, Chris Resop and lefty Royce Ring remain standing, and I think the trio will probably make it to opening day.
The Braves got 22-year-old right-hander Todd Redmond in exchange for Yates. Redmond (yes, the name will make Braves fans cringe) was rated the No. 27 prospect in the Pirates organization, no great shakes but a potential back-end rotation member in a few years. He’ll go to Double-A. More on him in a moment.
GM Frank Wren said the Braves need to make one more move to make their roster “manageable” before opening day. He wouldn’t name names or even positions, but I’m thinking that either Brayan Pena or Scott Thorman (both out of options) will be moved in the next day or two, with Pena most likely to go.
The switch-hitting Cuban has drawn far more trade interest and is expendable due to the Braves having Corky Miller and Clint Sammons as backup-catcher options. Stay tuned. We’ll let you know something soon as we hear it.
Braves can take an extra reliever if they want to because John Smoltz will be DL’d for first week of the season. I just asked Bobby Cox and he confirmed that’s a possibility.
So the 12-man pitcher staff to open the season could go like this. First, the certainties: Starters Tim Hudson, Tom Glavine, Jair Jurrjens and Mike Hampton (they’ll begin the season in that order); relievers Rafael Soriano, Peter Moylan, Manny Acosta and Will Ohman.
Then you have Boyer and Resop, who both seem like sure things to me to be on the roster, unless the Braves get some too-good-to-refuse offer before opening day, which I don’t foresee. I also think Ring will make it, at least until Smoltz gets back, at which time they could try to get him through waivers.
And the extra spot? Jeff Bennett’s name is all over it, in my view. He’s not out of options, so the Braves could move him to the minors when Smoltz gets back. But he might also be too valuable as a spot-starter to send down.
Ring could be the odd man out a week in, but that’s getting way ahead of ourselves, and so much can happen between now and then, a sore elbow here or a trade offer there, etc.
Another Redmond: Hey, it’s not spelled Redman, it’s Redmond. Like Mike Redmond, the former Marlins catcher who used to wreck Tom Glavine and the Braves. Not like Mark Redman, the lefty who was merely a wreck for the Braves last season.
But anyway, the scouting report on this kid they got from the Pirates is that he has a very good curveball, good changeup and sinker, and excellent command. Tops out at about 90 mph with his fastball, which is just OK by big league standards.
He had a very good season in 2006 in low-A, going 13-6 with a 2.75 ERA and 148 strikeouts with only 38 walks in 160 innings.
Last season, not so good. He was 8-13 with a 4.39 ERA in 28 starts, 25 of them in high-A and three at Double-A. He gave up 166 hits and his strikeouts dropped to 107 in 160 innings, though he still kept the walks down (35).
And the positive note was that he pitched well after the promotion to Double-A, posting a 3.12 ERA in three starts with 15 hits, three wlks and 12 strikeouts in 17-1/3 innings.
OK, that’s more than really I care to write at this point about a former 39th-round draft pick with a 22-21 career record in three minor league seasons (but a solid 3.27 ERA with 318 strikeouts and 89 walks in 393 innings … seriously stop me, please.)
Could the Braves have gotten more? Obviously not, or they’d have pulled the trigger. Other teams were probably waiting to see if the Braves would release Tyler before the deadline Wednesday to do so and owe non-guaranteed contract players only 45 days’ termination pay.
But also, they didn’t have teams knocking down their doors, probably, because Tyler’s had a bad spring after posting a 5.18 ERA in a career-high 75 appearances last season.
Really good dude, Yates is. He’s a Hawaii native, and he and his wife liked Atlanta so much they just bought a house in the north ‘burbs. And he has a filthy slider and throws hard, too.
But command is sketchy at times, and he had too many bad streaks to rely on him in a prominent role this time around, in an improved bullpen and a team with serious playoff aspirations. The Braves had younger guys and/or other guys out of options who had better arms. So he got dealt.
“It’s part of the business,” Yates said, as he picked up his bag and headed out of the clubhouse. “See you guys Monday.”
The Braves play the Pirates in the home opener at Turner Field on Monday.
Tex for MVP: He’s batting .188 this spring, but Mark Teixeira isn’t the least bit concerned about his Grapefruit League batting average. And neither are the Braves.
Some great hitters have great springs. Some have terrible springs. They have one thing in common: Their spring results are quickly forgotten once the season begins.
“I never get hits in spring training,” said Teixeira, who’s a .286 career hitter in five major league seasons, and ranks fifth in the majors in extra-base hits (365) during that period, eighth in RBI (555) and ninth in homers (170).
“My spring training is more geared toward getting ready for 162.”
He played all 162 games in the 2005 and 2006 seasons for Texas, and last season had his first DL stint for a quadriceps injury when he was still with the Rangers.
Teixeira has 106 homers and 359 RBI in 456 games over the past three seasons, including a stunning 17 homers and 56 RBI (with a .317 average) in his 54 games for the Braves after a July 31 blockbuster seven-player trade.
Chipper Jones was dressing this morning in the clubhouse and Tex was sitting at his stall across the way.
“I just read a magazine where they predicted you’d be the National League MVP this year,” Chipper said.
“Whoopidy-do,” Teixeira replied, and both of them laughed.
“You should be flattered they think highly enough of you to predict you’ll be the MVP,” Chipper said, with his familiar smirk.
“You want to hit fourth and I’ll hit third, then maybe it’ll happen,” Teixeira said, smiling.
Chipper shook his head no, and smiled.
OK, so back to Tex’s spring. He’s 9-for-48 going into today’s game against the Nationals here at Dark Star. He’s got one double, one homer, eight RBI. His .271 slugging percentage is lower than Brent Lillibridge’s (.314), and his .250 OBP is almost as low as Thorman’s (.241).
And you won’t find one person on the team who is the least bit concerned (about Tex, that is). For good reason.
“The point of my spring training isn’t to get hits, it’s to get ready for the season,” said Teixeira, who said that he does so much extra work during the spring that he’s not going to be at his best for Grapefruit League games.
“Lifting extra weights, taking extra batting practice, if you do those things you’re probably not going to perform [well in spring games],” he said.
If you’re trying to make a team, that’s one thing, he said. You gear your work towards performing in the games and trying to earn a spot.
But if you have a spot, you gear it towards getting ready for the long grind ahead.
“If you don’t do the things to prepare for 162, you can peter out during the season,” he said. “Happened to me my rookie year. Couldn’t lift a bat the last month of the season. In spring training I played every day, wasn’t doing extra work.”
How does he feel this spring, entering his free-agent contract year?
“I feel great,” he said. “I’m happy with where I’m at. Ready to get out of here and start playing for real.”
Hitting coach Terry Pendleton said the switch-hitting Teixeira has gotten his swing into form as the spring’s progressed. And T.P. also agreed that spring training stats mean next to nothing for veterans.
“I was horrible in spring training,” said Pendleton, who was the NL MVP in 1991 for the worst-to-first Braves. “I remember in ‘92 we left [spring training] and went to Little Rock to plan an exhibition game against the Cardinals. The skipper [Cox] said to me, ‘I’ve got to be honest, I’m a little concerned.’”
“I said, ‘Don’t worry about me, I’ll be alright.’
Pendleton continued, “He said [before the Cardinals exhibition], ‘I’m gonna give you two at-bats today and then you’re out,’ OK?’
“I went deep twice, back-to-back [at-bats]. He said, ‘OK, we’re alright.’”
Lefties are different: Will Ohman blew into camp talking a mile a minute, often in a loud voice that filled the room. He’s gregarious, to say the least. This raised a few eyebrows in the low-key Braves clubhouse, at least initially.
But Ohman’s outgoing personality - he says he’s “loquacious” — has found a fit in the eclectic bullpen mix, with its tattooed, gregarious Aussie (Moylan) and its glaring but good-natured Dominican (Soriano) and quiet flamethrower (Acosta).
Or maybe I’m just letting the fact that I like Ohman’s musical tastes color my opinion. So be it.
He’s only the second major leaguer in 14 years who ever welcomed a music recommendation from me and actually purchased the CD I suggested. The other was also a lefty reliever, Vic Darensbourg of the Marlins in the late ‘90s.
Vic, a tough little dude from South Central L.A., and I used to talk about jazz and and old-school funk. And I recommended a CD by the jazz singer Cassandra Wilson, Blue Light ‘Til Dawn He totally dug it.
And Ohman? He’s a rocker, and I heard a Social Distortion song on his ringtone the first day he got to camp. We talked about Social D and Mike Ness (lead singer) and about how every album they put out was solid. Even the live album, I said.
He didn’t know about the live album I referred to, Live at the Roxy. Couple days later, he came in and said I was right, he had bought a copy and loved it.
So lefties may be “flaky” in the baseball vernacular, but they’re the ones with good musical taste.
Ahh, sweeping generalizations are a good thing.
”DON’T THINK TWICE” by Bob Dylan (covered later, much later, by Mike Ness — with a sneer)
Well there ain’t no use to sit and wonder why
If you don’t know by now
And it ain’t no use to sit and wonder why
It doesn’t matter any how
When the rooster crows at the break of dawn
Look out your window and I’ll be gone
You’re the reason I’m traveling on
But don’t think twice
It’s alright
And it ain’t no use in turnin’ on your light
The light I never knew
And it ain’t no use in turnin’ on your light
I’m on the dark side of the road
I wish there was something you could do or say
Make me wanna change my mind and stay
We never did much talking anyway
But don’t think twice
It’s alright
There ain’t no use in calling out my name
Like you never did before
And there ain’t no use in calling out my name
I can’t hear you anymore
I’m Thinking and wondering on the way down the road
I once loved a woman
A child I’m told
I’d give her my heart but she wanted my soul
Don’t think twice
It’s alright
Well going down that old lonesome road
Where I’m bound
I can’t tell
But goodbye’s too good a word
So I’ll just say fair thee well
Well I ain’t saying you treated me unkind
I coulda done better
But I don’t mind
Just kind of wasted my precious time
But don’t think twice
It’s alright
Yeah, don’t think twice
It’s alright
It’s alright
Don’t you ever think twice
It’s alright
Yeah, don’t think twice
It’s alright.
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Talking trades and Smoltz’s shoulder
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Port St. Lucie, Fla. _ We’re at beautiful Port St. Lousy, and we’ve got Tim Hudson going for the Braves and both Johan Santana and Pedro Martinez pitching for the Mets.
What’s that? Oh, nevermind. Santana and Martinez are both pitching on backfields here. So we’ll just get back to waiting for a trade announcement and keep an eye on this game to make sure no one gets hit in the face by a pitch.
By the way, we’re way behind on posting a blog today, so we’ll keep this one short. Had to stop by Dark Star Ballpark to watch John Smoltz throw today, the first time he’s done any kind of throwing since he was scratched from last Friday’s start with shoulder soreness.
The good news: He said he felt “normal,” and didn’t have the soreness he felt when he had to cut short a side session last Wednesday. But before anyone starts to wonder, no, the plan hasn’t changed. Smoltz to the DL to begin season.
He’ll throw again Wednesday or Thursday, then off the mound this weekend if there are no setbacks. He would pitch in a simulated game next week against minor leaguers at Class A Rome, just up the road from Atlanta for those of you not familiar with the Peach State.
Braves have some fallback plans in place (which they won’d divulge), but the plan they hope to follow has Smoltz returning April 6 from DL to start a Sunday afternoon finale against the aforementioned Mr. Santana, according to a couple of Mets writers who said that’s how their rotation shakes out the first week.
How big would that atmosphere be at Turner Field, with Smoltz coming off the DL and Santana making his first Mets appearance at Turner Field? Smoltz does like the big-game atmosphere, and that’s about as big as you’ll get in April, outside of opening day (but opening day is in March this year, so nevermind that).
Speaking of opening day, Tom Glavine is excited about pitching the home opener Monday against the Pirates at Turner Field. And I’m thinking that’s really going to feel more like opening day than the added Sunday night special opener at Washington, seeing as how that’s just one game and it’s the day after the Braves play two exhibitions against Cleveland.
With most of baseball opening on Monday, it’ll at least feel like a second opening day for the Braves, and not “just” a home opener.
So what’s the reception gonna be like for Glavine? To me, there’s little doubt it’ll be a big ovation. Sure there will be some boos, but in a packed house I doubt you’ll hear them over the cheers. Maybe I’m wrong, but that’s what I expect anyway.
OK, I told you I’d keep this thing short, and I’m going to. We’ll get it posted now, since the first inning’s already started and I want the good denizens to be able to have the usual banter and such.
It’s been good this spring, hasn’t it? It’s been a lot of good discourse here, really has. We’ve cultivated quite a motley (and I mean that in a good way) and knowledgeable audience of hardcore and not-so-hardcore Braves fans and a lot of music lovers, too. Makes doing this a pleasure (well, not always, but usually).
Oh, and if you’re ever in Winter Haven, do yourselves a favor and stop by Andy’s Igloo. The best milkshake in the world, I was told. So I drove a mile or so from the ballpark to this old-school walk-up (or drive-thru) burger joint and tried it. And you know what? It’s at least as good as any I’ve ever had.
Tremendous. Vanilla shake, very large for less than $3. Gotta love it. I skippled the goat’s milk fudge stop on the way back.
Made good time on the drive to Port St. Lucie today and caught the Braves bus twice (I had to stop for gas). Rober Earl Keen, the CD by the new super-duo The Gutter Twins (Greg Dulli and Mark Lanegan) and Cohiba made for a nice driving experience.
Now I’m enjoying some ball and a pulled-pork sandwich, making it all but about two ballparks this spring where I’ve sampled the pulled-pork. This one’s tasty, or at least better than I’d expect to be served by New York types.
”DOWN THAT DUSTY TRAIL” by Robert Earl Keen
When I was a young boy
The only things that really mattered were
Making friends and having fun
Walkin’ down the railroad track
‘Til you reached the river
Turn around and head on back
When the day is done
Ain’t it like they always say
Everybody goes their own way
Nobody knows no one can tell
It’s always been the same for me
Guess it’s just the way it must be
Headin’ down that dusty trail
When I was a young man
The only things
that got me goin’ were
Gettin’ high and chasin’ love
Lyin’ down beside my girl
On the banks of the river
With nothin’ but some mustang wine
And all the stars above
It’s a twistin’ turnin’ windin’ road
I get lost and broken down
I’m a stumbler and it won’t be long
‘Till stumble back around
Since I became my own man
Everything that matters to me is
Making sure I’m staying true
To my friends and the ones I love
‘Till cross that river
All alone I’m movin’ on
Until my time is through
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Braves trades are brewing
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Winter Haven, Fla. _ I’ve always told myself that one of these years I’d stop by Webb’s Goat’s Milk Fudge in Haines City on my drive over to a spring training game in Winter Haven.
I was wrong.
Unless it’s open when I drive past tonight on my way back, or I have some other uniminagable reason to ever drive to Winter Haven again after the Indians pull up stakes and head to Arizona next spring, then it looks as though I will not be sampling any goat’s milk fudge. At least not from Webb’s.
Anyway, let’s get to it. Smoltz’s shoulder or trade talk, which do you want first? OK, trade talk it is.
No, wait, first I need to tell you, Bobby Cox confirmed this morning that Tom Glavine would slip into the home-opener start March 31 if sore-shouldered John Smoltz is on the DL, which seems like a certainty at this point.
Smoltz didn’t throw today at Dark Star, but said he would do some light throwing tomorrow for sure. If the arm’s ready, he’ll pitch in a minor league game or simulated game this week. Folks, you all probably realize this, but it’s DL for sure, with him expected to come back and pitch in the seventh game of the season April 6.
The Braves would open with Tim Hudson pitching opening night Sunday at D.C., then Glavine on Monday at Turner Field. After the Tuesday off day, Cox said either Mike Hampton or Jair Jurrjens could pitch Game 3, with the other going, obviously, the next day. He hasn’t decided whether to split up the lefties with Smoltz out of the rotation.
With Smoltz in the rotation, Cox said he would have split up Glavine and Hampton. He didn’t give specifics, but I think it would have gone Hudson, Smoltz, Glavine, Jurrjens, Hampton.
Oh, yes, without announcing Jurrjens was in the rotation, Cox did announce it by saying Jurrjens could go in the third slot, or Hampton could. You have to read between the lines, put 2 and 2 together, etc, a lot on this beat. Not that anybody expected Jurrjens wouldn’t be in the rotation, which has seemed like a done deal since that game March 5 right here in Winter Haven, when he pitched three perfect innings against the Tribe in his second Grapefruit League start.
By the way, Pirates plan to start Ian Snell in the March 31 game at Turner, followed by Tom Gorzelany and Paul Maholm.
OK, now trade talk: When I asked GM Frank Wren 20 minutes ago whether he anticipated a trade, he gave me a refreshing, honest answer: “I do. I think we’ll make a deal or two,” he said. “I’m not sure of the magnitude yet.”
The Braves are looking to add a bench player with a more-proven bat than they have now, but I can’t give you any names yet. You know how these things go - it’s likely going to be an extra player from another team that has a surplus at a position, like the Braves have a surplus of relievers.
Nobody thought the Jorge Sosa-for-Nick Green a few years ago was much of an impact deal for the Braves at the time, but Sosa ended up being a pretty major piece for the Bravos, at least for a season.
You know the out-of-options Braves relievers, but just to remind they are Blaine Boyer, Chris Resop, Tyler Yates and lefty Royce Ring. Boyer and Resop have had very good camps, and Ring’s shown at least some progress using more breaking balls to help him against right-handed hitters.
Not saying Ring won’t get traded, especially since Braves expect to have lefty Mike Gonzalez back from Tommy John surgery the first week in June, Cox said again today.
But to me, Yates looks like a goner. Plenty of teams interested in a guy who had 75 appearances last season and had a 3.96 ERA in 56 appearances in 2006. I look for Yates to be traded this week.
Who else? Perhaps catcher Brayan Pena, who has plenty of interest from catcher-needy teams. He’s a switch-hitter who can play a few other positions and not embarrass himself there (the outfield corners and the infield corners).
I don’t expect the Braves to keep both him and backup 1B Scott Thorman, both out of options. They might not keep either, but I definitely don’t see a 25-man roster with both of them on it.
Braves might trade Thorman and not have strictly a backup 1B (which is what Thorman is, a backup 1B and pinch-hitter; he hasn’t played any OF this spring). In the event Mark Teixeira got hurt, they could use one of several guys - Mark Kotsay, Matt Diaz, Pena if he’s on the team, Infante when he gets back - to play a few innings or games at first base.
And if Teixeira has a DL-type injury? Well, the Braves would need to go get a guy anyway, since Thorman has done nothing to make them believe he’d be ready to be a productive every-day 1B, no more than he was last season when he had that job.
So the Braves would have to make a trade for a Nick Johnson or someone else if Tex got hurt. Keep in mind, he’s only had one significant injury in five seasons, and that was a quadriceps muscle strain last year that kept him out about four weeks. Other than that, Tex has been extremely durable.
Oh, and this is a free-agent contract year for the Scott Boras client. He’ll be playing 155-160 games as long as he stays healthy.
Braves seem like they want to keep Corky Miller as their backup catcher.
They like rookie catch-and-throw guy Clint Sammons a lot, but he’s young and probably needs to keep playing plenty at the minor league level, rather than once a week in the majors. Plus, he’s not much of a hitting threat off the bench - Corky at least can give you a little pop (double-digit homers in the minors in ’05 and ’06, and a grand slam this spring, plus some mighty displays in batting practice. Hey, I still get impressed by B.P. sometimes, I’ll admit it).
Stay tuned. Trade news could happen anytime this week. We’ll let you know soon as we hear any rumors.
Oh, and I don’t get a sense the Braves are interested in Reed Johnson. They’ve got enough outfield depth, and he makes good coin. Robert Fick also drew no response that would lead me to believe Braves have interest.
Wes Helms? That’s a possibility, if they can’t do better.
John Smoltz update: OK, how’s your level of consternation over the Bearded Icon’s shoulder injury? Braves had said he’d do some light throwing today or tomorrow, but he didn’t throw today. Smoltz said probably tomorrow.
Unless and until he can’t pitch in the seventh game of the season April 6, or unless someone with knowledge of the situation will tell me otherwise, either on or off the record, then I’m going to have to assume Smoltz and the Braves aren’t downplaying the injury and that it is, indeed, just soreness in the trap muscle between his shoulder and neck.
“I think he’s coming along fine,” Cox said today.
Don’t know how they’d gauge that, other than Smoltz saying his shoulder feels better just moving it around (he hasn’t thrown since Wednesday).
Smoltz has rested his shoulder since being scratched from his Friday start, which would have been just his second Grapefruit League game (he skipped his other turns in order to follow his unique, some might say radical, throwing program of simulate games to let him work on breaking pitches).
“It’s stuff you go through in spring occasionally,” Cox said of Smoltz’s shoulder. “We wanted to play it safe. He’s ready to go. He’s been throwing since January, so he’ll be able to stretch out to six or seven innings.”
I’m not saying it might not be something worse, just saying there’s no reason to speculate irresponsibly just yet. Look around baseball and see how many veteran pitchers, and some young pitchers, have sore elbows or shoulders in spring training. It happens. A lot. I just noticed Kevin Millwood didn’t debut until last week for a similar situation.
Kelly’s sore knee: Martin Prado is playing second base again today in place of Kelly Johnson, who has a slightly sore knee from playing so much on the hard fields down here. “I’m just resting Kelly,” Cox said. “He’s played a ton. Too much, really.”
Today’s lineup: 1. Mark Kotsay, CF; 2. Yunel Escobar, SS; 3. Chipper Jones, 3B; 4. Mark Teixeira, 1B; 5. Jeff Francoeur, RF; 6. Matt Diaz, LF; 7. Martin Prado, 2B; 8. Brayan Pena, DH; 9. Clint Sammons, C.
Buddy Carlyle toeing the slab for the Bravos, RH Jake Wesbrook for the Tribe.
Music warning: Don’t read the next two paragraphs if you’re not into music (I always feel compelled to warn folks who like to complain about any divergence from baseball talk). I had my second and final CD buying splurge of spring training over the weekeend, my annual trip to downtown Orlando and Park Ave. CD, an outstanding indie shop. Found some terrific stuff.
I got Paul Thorn’s A Long Way from Tupelo, which I listened to on the drive over this morning. The white-boy former professional boxer and bluesy singer-songwriter is outstanding, on the appropriate named Perpetual Obscurity label. I also got Mike Doughty’s Golden Delicious, The Gutter Twins’ Saturnalia, and Bauhaus’ first CD or original material since 1983, Go Away White. And for the funk lovers out there, I strongly suggest the splendidly late-60s/70s era Carolina Funk compilation from the First in Funk set. If you like James Brown, you’ll love this stuff. I got two others from the fairer sex, and both are great: Kathleen Edwards’ new Asking for Flowers and a CD by someone I’d never heard of but loved when I listened to on the headphones at the store, Nicole Atkins’ Neptune City. Enjoy. I do.
“TOM TRAUBERT’S BLUES” by Tom Waits
Wasted and wounded, it ain’t what the moon did, I’ve got what I paid for now
See you tomorrow, hey Frank, can I borrow a couple of bucks from you
To go waltzing Mathilda, waltzing Mathilda,
You’ll go waltzing Mathilda with me
I’m an innocent victim of a blinded alley
And I’m tired of all these soldiers here
No one speaks English, and everything’s broken, and my Stacys are soaking wet
To go waltzing Mathilda, waltzing Mathilda,
You’ll go waltzing Mathilda with me
Now the dogs are barking and the taxi cab’s parking
A lot they can do for me
I begged you to stab me, you tore my shirt open,
And I’m down on my knees tonight
Old Bushmill’s I staggered, you’d bury the dagger
In your silhouette window light go
To go waltzing Mathilda, waltzing Mathilda,
You’ll go waltzing Mathilda with me
Now I lost my Saint Christopher now that I’ve kissed her
And the one-armed bandit knows
And the maverick Chinamen, and the cold-blooded signs,
And the girls down by the strip-tease shows, go
Waltzing Mathilda, waltzing Mathilda,
You’ll go waltzing Mathilda with me
No, I don’t want your sympathy, the fugitives say
That the streets aren’t for dreaming now
And manslaughter dragnets and the ghosts that sell memories,
They want a piece of the action anyhow
Go waltzing Mathilda, waltzing Mathilda,
You’ll go waltzing Mathilda with me
And you can ask any sailor, and the keys from the jailor,
And the old men in wheelchairs know
And Mathilda’s the defendant, she killed about a hundred,
And she follows wherever you may go
Waltzing Mathilda, waltzing Mathilda,
You’ll go waltzing Mathilda with me
And it’s a battered old suitcase to a hotel someplace,
And a wound that will never heal
No prima donna, the perfume is on an
Old shirt that is stained with blood and whiskey
And goodnight to the street sweepers, the night watchmen flame keepers
And goodnight to Mathilda, too
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Easter baseball fever — catch it
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lake Buena Vista, Fla. _ All the best to you and yours on this holiday that feels like, well, every other day at spring training.
Mark Kotsay put it best when he walked by me while ago in the clubhouse and said “Happy Easter” in a weary tone as he held up the meatball sub he was carrying to his locker stall.
Buddy Carlyle also had a meatball sub he was about to devour after batting practice while ago. “This will hold me over until I can eat dinner with the family,” said the pitcher, who has his wife and two kids here with him.
Hitting coach Terry Pendleton is as eager as most here to get back home on Thursday and be with his family. By the batting cage this morning, I commented to him that it sure didn’t feel like Easter.
“No, it feels like … Wednesday,” he said. Then he turned to Marquis Grissom, seated next to him behind the cage. “Every day here feels the same, isn’t it?”
And it does. The schedule doesn’t vary, Monday through Sunday. It is mind-numbing, which is why it’s always nice to see what we saw this morning: Boxes and luggage, pile up in a corner of the clubhouse.
Yes, it’s that time. Taking this show north after Thursday’s game against the Mets, for two Friday and Saturday against Cleveland at Turner Field in what promises to be an extremely busy weekend for the Braves.
(Oh, before I forget, Grissom has been here a few days, interacting with fans, suiting up for pregame, etc. Frank Wren put into place a great program this year, to get Braves alumni more involved with the team. Niekro was here earlier this spring. They love it, throwing BP, talking to players, signing autographs, etc. And the current players genuinely appreciate having them here and talking with them. OK, just wanted to mention that. Now where were we?…)
Game here at Dark Star on Thursday, games in Atlanta Friday and Saturday, season opener Sunday night at Washington, D.C., then home opener Monday against the Pirates at Turner Field. Whew. Let’s hope for no inclimate weather to disrupt flight arrangements.
(By the way, forecast for D.C. isn’t good, temps in the 40s and good chance of rain Sunday.)
The active camp roster’s down to 34 now, and the sign on the wall this morning notified them that all of them are going north for the weekend games in Atlanta. The 25-man roster doesn’t have to be set until Saturday midnight, but cuts could be announced after Friday’s game.
The Braves have had recent trade discussions about several players, including out-of-options relievers Chris Resop and Tyler Yates. There was also interest in Ryan Drese, though he presumably put a damper on any chance there was of getting anything of value back after his five-consecutive-walk meltdown Friday.
I’m getting the sense the Braves will keep utility infielders Martin Prado and Brent Lillibridge on the opening-day roster, and that they haven’t decided between Josh Anderson and Gregor Blanco for fourth outfielder or between Corky Miller, Clint Sammons and Brayan Pena for backup catcher.
If I had to guess I’d say Miller will get that job, because they want Sammons to get at-bats at this stage of his career, and he won’t get many with the big club. Pena could still possibly make the club as a third catcher, pinch-hitter and emergency corner infielder/corner outfielder, but I don’t know for sure.
The Braves have received plenty of trade interest in Pena, but I don’t know if they have an offer they think is good enough. A scout told me it’s a certainty he’d never make it through waivers without being quickly snatched up by another team in need of catching.
As for the final bullpen decisions, much depends on whether they pull the trigger on a deal. But I do get the sense that out-of-options Blaine Boyer and left Royce Ring are going to make the team. Tyler Yates, I’m not sure about.
Who’d you rather have in your bullpen, Yates or Jeff Bennett? I know one’s out of options, and it’s not Bennett. But still, don’t know if that’s enough reason to retain Yates. I guess we’ll see.
If John Smoltz starts the season on the DL (more on that in a minute), it’ll open one spot for the first week of the season, but would only put off a potential waivers and/or trade decision for one week.
Speaking of waivers, 2 p.m. Wednesday (March 26) is the deadline for teams to request unconditional release waivers on players with no-guaranteed contracts without having to pay their full 2007 salary. (Such players would be owed only 45 days’ termination pay.)
It’s an important date for a lot of teams who might have underperforming players who fall into that group.
The Braves don’t really have any such non-guaranteed-contract players that fit the description, but it’s still an important date for them, because they might have interest in such a player on another team.
Regarding Smoltz: In case you missed it, he was scratched from his last start Friday with soreness in his right shoulder where the trap muscle meets the neck.
The Braves currently have Jeff Bennett listed as the starter Wednesday vs. the Nationals, which is Smoltz’s next turn to pitch. But that Bennett assignment isn’t surprising, because the only way the Braves could backdate a potential Smoltz 15-day DL assignment for up to nine days of spring training would be if he didn’t pitch in a Grapefruit League game in those nine days.
Smoltz could pitch in a camp game or in a minor league spring training game and not affect the DL backdating. Then if the Braves decide to DL him, he could slip into the rotation for the April 6 game the first time the Braves need a fifth starter.
Such a plan wouldn’t disrupt their rotation and wouldn’t require anyone to make a spot start.
I asked pitching coach Roger McDowell if Smoltz was still on schedule to pitch Wednesday and he said yes. When I said, “In a game?” Roger said yes again, then went into the coaches office to eat lunch. This was just an hour or so ago.
Smoltz was expected to rest for two days (Saturday and today) before testing his arm in a side session Monday. So until tomorrow, we probably won’t know anymore about his status.
I didn’t see Smoltz in the clubhouse today, so I’m not certain how he’s feeling (other than really good about Michigan State advancing to the Sweet 16).
No one with the Braves seems very concerned, on or off the record, about Smoltz’s status, so I’m going to assume it’s as relatively minor as he’s suggested, at least until there’s reason to believe otherwise.
OK, that’s enough for now. We’ve got an Easter Sunday game to play against the Astros, with Mike Hampton (0-0, 1.17 ERA toeing the slab for the Braves against the Woodman, Woody Williams (0-2, 13.89 ERA, oy).
Here’s the Braves lineup: 1. Kotsay, CF; 2. Escobar, SS; 3. Chipper, 3B; 4. Teixeira, 1B; 5. Francoeur, RF; 6. Blanco, LF; 7. Prado, 2B; 8. Corky, C; 9. Hampton.
Someone remind me in a little while to tell the story about Matt Diaz getting worried after not seeing his name on the board in today’s batting-practice groups or the list of available reserves for the game. Funny stuff.
Oh, and have I mentioned that Yunel Escobar is whistling again this spring? In the batting cage, on the field, he whistles. It’s his thing, which he did all the time in the minors, to the point it distracted folks.
But in big major league ballparks, with all the crowd chatter and other noise, that’s not an issue. When I mentioned to his buddy Brayan Pena that I took it as a sign that Escobar was getting more comfortable and at ease, Pena agreed. “It’s him, he’s being himself,” he said.
”NO PLACE TO FALL” by Townes Van Zandt
If I had no place to fall
And I needed to
Could I count on you
To lay me down?
I’d never tell you no lies
I don’t believe it’s wise
You got pretty eyes
Won’t you spin me ‘round
I ain’t much of a lover it’s true
I’m here then I’m gone
And I’m forever blue
But I’m sure wanting you
Skies full of silver and gold
Try to hide the sun
But it can’t be done
Least not for long
And if we help each other grow
While the light of day
Smiles down our way
Then we can’t go wrong
Time, she’s a fast old train
She’s here then she’s gone
And she won’t come again
Won’t you take my hand
If I had no place to fall
And I needed to
Could I count on you
To lay me down?
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Smoltz and alarming words: Sore shoulder
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lake Buena Vista, Fla. _ Ah, just another bright, sunshiney Jimmy Cliff day here at Dark Star, gone are the dark clouds that … wait, what’s that? Smoltz has been scratched? Shoulder soreness?
Send up the flares! Call Dr. Andrews, stat! Or Adam-12! Or FEMA! (no, wait, we need immediate attention, so don’t call FEMA).
But seriously…. In case you missed it, Smoltz was sratched from today’s start against the Tribe because of soreness in his throwing shoulder. And of course, the immediate reaction among many is concern, or here-we-go dread.
But after talking to him and having him point out the location of the situation (oh, the alliteration) (BLOGMEISTER NOTE: double parenthesis being used, because a poster informed me later today that it’s assonance; so, oh the assonance. ok continue), I have formed a diagnosis. Which is, he’s getting old. We all are — or a lot of us, at least.
(Running a mere four miles on the road now leaves me feeling like I’ve been through some sort of boot camp.)
But as it’s not soreness in the rotator cuff/labrum area, and Smoltz assured me it is not, then there wouldn’t appear to be reason to panic. Concern, yes. That’s fair. Anytime it’s John Smoltz, your 40-year-old ace, and it’s a week until opening day, you should have some concern.
But honestly, this seems like the type of stuff he’s been dealing with the last couple of seasons, I’d guess more often than not. Certainly more often than he’s divulged at the time.
If it was the regular season, Smoltz would try to pitch with this. “That’s a no-brainer,” he said when I asked him about that this morning, to try to get a gauge of the severity.
If Smoltz was put on the DL to begin the season, the date could be backdated for up nine days into spring training (provided he doesn’t appear in a Grapefruit League game during that span).
With the Braves having a scheduled day off April 1 after the second game of the season, they could skip a starter and not need a fifth starter until April 6, when Smoltz could be back from the DL.
Jeff Bennett is filling in today, and Bennett might boost his chances of making the team with a solid effort. We’re about to get started here. He’ll be facing most of Cleveland’s regulars, though Travis Haffner isn’t in the lineup.
Back to Smoltz. He was standing at his locker, reading over his NCAA basketball pool sheets when I approached him after hearing about him being scratched. Chipper Jones said something funny to him about his first-day picks, etc.
In other words, there was no pall over the clubhouse, nor over his locker stall in particular.
The soreness is not in the shoulder that would indicate rotator-cuff or labrum problems, the type that most commonly require surgery.
“So many people the last few years have just been waiting to say, ‘This is it,’” John said, referring to those who’ve anticipated a career-threatening injury to the man who’s had four elbow surgeries.
“I will let everyone know when it’s it. That’s not a problem.” And this, he said, is not “it.”
He plans to make his final spring start on March 26, but he conceded possibility that he’d open the season on the DL.
And Bobby Cox said as much, too. The manager said he didn’t think he’d go on the DL, then added a “but…” and some other words, thinking-aloud stuff that wouldn’t look right in a sentence here.
He did drop an F-bomb, but it was only to say that “everybody else in baseball is doing the same thing,” referring to starters being held out of starts, etc. Well, I don’t know that everybody is, but a lot of older dudes are.
Again, Smoltz is getting old - in baseball years. As one Braves official told me, it takes a while to get these older guys cranked up, but once you do, they’re fine.
Smoltz will be fine. OK, wait, let’s got with “relatively fine.” Because I think it’s time that everyone stop expecting him to make 35 starts and throw 220 innings. It’s not going to happen, I’d suggest.
Smoltz knows his limitations, knows his body, which is why he has said since the end of last season that he hoped the Braves would have the luxury of having a “sixth starter” in their bullpen to fill in once in a while for an older starter who might need to skip a turn.
To his credit, he didn’t fight the decision to skip today’s turn, like he would’ve in the past. He knows that if he’s to be healthy for the long run, and particularly for the hoped-for pennant drive, then he needs to be smart and not pitch that extra inning or two when he’s fading, like he did in past seasons, or make that start when he’s aching, like he did last summer after hurting his shoulder when he slipped making that warmup pitch at Milwaukee.
He ended up on the DL a month after that incident, because he never rested it long enough for inflammation to subside. Sounds like he’s ready to be more realistic now. And cautious.
“‘CEPT YOU & ME, BABE” by Greg Brown
Half the people you see these days are talking on cell phones
Driving off the road & bumping into doors
People used to spend quite a bit of time alone
I guess nobody’s lonely anymore
‘cept you & me babe, ‘cept you & me
It’s raining sheets of