ajcsportstalk

By D-rock

August 6, 2006 06:00 PM | Link to this

It’s great to get a win today. It would have been nice to have a solid closer in May, but I’ll take this now. That said, I think its valuable for some of the young guys to be in a grind-it-out wild card race (Frency, McCann, James, and now Aybar I guess). Even though pulling it out looks slim, and winning a 5 game series slimmer, I think putting these young guys through this crucible will pay dividends down the road. Plus, they didn’t sacrifice a whole lot for this new ‘pen. We lost Wilson, which really smarts. However, JS knows his stuff, and it looks like Aybar may be the new leadoff hitter next year. Anyway, this train’s going nowhere without some better starting pitching. I’ve got no confidence if Smoltzie’s not on the mound.

By KB

August 6, 2006 06:05 PM | Link to this

Five of six on the next homestand will give the Bravos a fighting chance! If they can take a lead to the 8th inning, the game is over! Baez and Wickman look great.

By Kentavo

August 6, 2006 06:08 PM | Link to this

What’s gonna happen when Giles is put back in the leadoff slot when Chipper comes off the DL?

By SAL

August 6, 2006 06:31 PM | Link to this

Absolutely not! The past four games against Pittsburgh and Cincy should have all been won. Braves were lucky to play .500 on the road trip. Braves can’t win at home even against teams with losing records (oh, I forgot Braves have losing record also).

How about the baserunning blunder by Aybar? He certainly fits in with this group lacking fundamentals.

And Cox talking about Shelled (Scheill) on pre-game as he just needs to regain his arm strength. Geez, if his arm is in question, why do you call him up and start him 3 times?

This team will tease you just enough to get you to think maybe then they disappear again and again.

Should aggresively tried to move Andruw and Hudson before the non-waiver deadline. Next year will be a rerun with Francouer following Andruw’s bad example at the plate, Chipper vacationing on the DL, and no hoping that Smoltz and Hampton can anchor a rotation assuming Braves keep Wickman and Baez to close out games.

By KB

August 6, 2006 06:41 PM | Link to this

They should absolutely never trade Andruw Jones. There is not a better cf out there that would make it a fair trade!

By Roger

August 6, 2006 07:08 PM | Link to this

We still have a lot of games left, but it will be hard to jump over so many teams. The other teams have their own problems, though, and are far from unbeatable. A wild card win would give us a boost for the future.

By Lemke Fan

August 6, 2006 07:13 PM | Link to this

the wild card isnt impossible but it’s improbable

By gotigers72

August 6, 2006 07:29 PM | Link to this

No playoffs this year I’m afraid. But do you see what Wickman does when he comes in? Throws strikes, gets ahead in the count, then makes the hitter swing at his pitch. Also keeps the ball DOWN, and keeps it out of the middle of the plate. Except for Smoltz, all of the Braves pitchers could learn from watching him pitch.

Baez has also been lights out. I hope they can sign both of them for next year. McBride is looking better. With his stuff, all he has to do is throw strikes. It sure is a breath of fresh air to watch pitchers pitch that don’t nibble, get behind in the count, and then walk a hitter or have to throw a cookie because they’re behind in the count.

By Andy

August 6, 2006 07:38 PM | Link to this

it is amazing the difference when a closer comes into the game—the stress level is just amazingly different—yeah wickman can blow a save or two—BUT—at least he’s gonna throw strikes and give you a feeling of confidence—rhank god.

By Robert(Justice Is The Best)

August 6, 2006 07:43 PM | Link to this

Winning the wild card will be tough. It won’t be tough becuase there are so many teams ahead of us. That is a flawed argument. The reason it will be tough is that the Braves can’t seem to have a prolonged period of winning. They will go a week or a week and a half of good play then tank it. They have 52 games left. They have to run off a good 20 to 25 day period. The Twins went 34-8 over a 42 game period. The Braves are as good as the Twins and don’t have near the competition. This team can definitely go on such a streak. The question is will they?

By PM

August 6, 2006 07:46 PM | Link to this

How can you not trade Andruw Jones? He makes WAY too much money for this team to afford. Of course he is a great CF, but what if you could have 3 other pieces of the puzzle for just him. I know his power and defense will be missed, but the salary cap space will be nice to work with for once. No one wants Chipper, he’s hurt too much to validate the money he commands. Hampton is in the same boat, but he could actually help the Braves next year. I also think Hudson will regain his Oakland form. Why not go after Juan Pierre or Ryan Freel? If you trade ‘Druw, you can get one of those guys, a top of the line starting pitcher and another BIG young bat. This team is sorely missing a true leadoff hitter. You people are sorely mistaken if you think Aybar will be a viable lead off hitter. Lead off hitters are natural, you can’t just put anyone there (GILES). If Andruw wants to stick around, he needs to take a discounted offer and be happy with what he’s been blessed with.

By don

August 6, 2006 08:01 PM | Link to this

The Dodgers have not lost since they traded for Betemit. Today, Betemit got the big hit to put the Dodgers ahead for good

Tom LaSorda told a reporter that the Dodgers had been trying to get Betemit for a couple of years. He said he was amazed that the Dodgers gave up so little to get Betemit.

How is Aybar doing? The Braves won today in spite of his base running blunder and his hat trick. He appears to offer nothing of value.

By Tiger Woods

August 6, 2006 08:07 PM | Link to this

The braves go 500 on the road, beat a lowly Pirates team two out of three, and now things are looking up? This team is consistently inconsistent. Braves fans are delusional, chop, chop.

By Hokie Hank

August 6, 2006 08:19 PM | Link to this

I do hope Joe “Homer” Simpson will stop harping now about how many saves the bullpen has blown for his secret crush John Smoltz.

The Braves bats bailed Smoltz out of another potential loss today. That has happened a number of times this season—more than offsetting the blown saves factor.

You can’t have it both ways Joe. Try being a little more objective.

By KC

August 6, 2006 08:29 PM | Link to this

There is definitely far more than a glimmer of hope. On paper… the Braves are as good a team as there is in the NL. That’s on paper. Obviously, they’re not playing at that level.

The 2 biggest things hurting them right now are the underperformance of Tim Hudson and Chipper being on the DL. If both of those things were ironed out fairly quickly, I don’t think there’s any team in the Wild Card race that could stop them.

Having said that, I’m not sure they can truly count on either of those things (Chipper’s health or Hudson’s consistency) enough to plan on October baseball this year. But, we mdefinitely have much more than a glimmer of hope. All it will take is one more of those 11 of 13 winning stretches to get us within a game or 2 of the wild card lead, and this team is very capable of that. As one of the Braves announcers said today, the Braves are only firing on about half of their cylinders right now.

By BirdMahn

August 6, 2006 08:38 PM | Link to this

How can you say Andruw makes WAY too much money? He must not, if there are other teams willing to trade for him and pay his salary. Do you know something those other GMs don’t? Let’s see…gold glove CF, hits for power, drives in at least a hundred every year. Any legitimate clean-up hitter with Andruw’s credentials will cost you about the same. I just don’t get it. You want to trade a possible hall-of-famer for a pitcher and a few so-so hitting prospects?

By Mike in Macon

August 6, 2006 09:30 PM | Link to this

FIRST of all..these young guys and our veterans certainly give you a glimmer of hope..(So does Jessica Simpson)..but we aren’t playing very consistently right now with inconsistent starting pitching and an inability to drive in runners on base..However, this can turn around very quickly and I hope it does..Gotta have faith! SECOND, Aybar is a utilityplayer filling in for CJ..he is not our leadoff hitter for 2007..perhaps any trade that comes down might address this issue..for now, Giles is our man (Renteria is probably the best suited for it and return Giles to 2nd in order). THIRD, Jones is high-priced whether he deserves it or not..but so is CJ,Hudson, Smoltz, etc…can any team afford them all…probably not except NY,Boston, etc…so there comes a time when someone (JS) has to deal with it..glad it’s him, not me! LASTLY, to Hokie Hank (good name for you)..Smoltz has been brutalized by our bullpen this year (fact not fiction) and Simpson is accurate there (like it or not)so find another reason to dislike Simpson..Smoltz is a #1 guy on almost every team in baseball..Glad to have him.

By Biff Pocoroba

August 6, 2006 09:36 PM | Link to this

I could puke over the Betemit trade. Schuetholz has insured the Dodgers post-season appearance, while deflating the Braves’ chances.

Baez & Wickman look great but where will they be in 2007?

This season is over & only the dreamers on this BLOG can keep it going.

Homestand? The Braves SUCK at home !

By John the Handsome

August 6, 2006 10:01 PM | Link to this

Give it up fans. Your team is a loser and what have they really done? One World Series. The Brave hats will end up like Auburns after this years. I love it.

By KneeJerk

August 6, 2006 10:01 PM | Link to this

Robert (Justice)- you brought up something that I’ve been thinking for a long time, which is the thought that the wildcard will be tough because we have to pass so many teams. It makes no difference if 17 teams are ahead of you. You only have to catch 1: the leader. If the lead changes hands, then you catch the new leader. Don’t look now, but we passed a team today.

By KneeJerk

August 6, 2006 10:03 PM | Link to this

John, if this isn’t “your team”, then why are you here?

By Ron Roberts

August 6, 2006 10:06 PM | Link to this

It’s time to get off the Betemit trade like it was a bad thing, folks. You can harp on Aybar’s base-running blunder all you want (did Betemit play error-less ball for us?) but you forget that, in that trade, we also got Baez, and he’s looked solid for us.

As for any talk of winning the wild card, I say let’s get to .500 first. Then we can see where we are. My hunch is, we’d only be 2 games or less from the spot, if so.

But truth be told, I don’t think this team can survive another Jason Sheill start. No offense to the guy, I know he’s doing his best, but it’s an automatic L in the column right now, and a playoff-caliber team can’t afford those, and a team 8 games under .500 and 5.5 games back of the wild card certainly cannot afford them. But then again, playoff-caliber teams don’t have “aces” who perform like Tim Hudson has, either. He has to pull it together soon - like the next start through the end of the season. Figure that happening.

I’m also hoping Chuck James can settle down, too. See, for my money, this is where the Braves miss Leo Mazzone. And I’m not a “we sorely miss Leo” guy, per se; I just think situations like the rough patch James is going through, and the Tim Hudson underperformance is where Leo did well.

It’s just painful knowing such a key (and winnable) pair of series at home come at a time when Chipper’s still on the DL. And as far as where Giles should hit goes, I think he’s proven that there’s just something psychological about him in the leadoff spot and we should avoid putting him back there, at all costs. Problem is, we don’t have ther luxury of options, so I’m guessing the conventional wisdom will be “he’s hot now, so maybe sliding him back to the leadoff spot won’t derail him.”

Geez, it’s just the first inning he’s guaranteed to actually lead off, right?

By KneeJerk

August 6, 2006 10:09 PM | Link to this

Ron, I totally agree. Hudson is the “wid card”. We don’t need outstanding starts, just 3 quality starts out of 4.

By Ron Roberts

August 6, 2006 10:25 PM | Link to this

And one more thought…

…this team has 32 of it’s last 52 games at home. Going 32-20 the rest of the way (not saying we’d win all our games at home, but with so many at home, we should go that, dammit…) would have us 83-79 to end the season.

Is that enough to win the wild card? Ehh, probably not, but right now, 3 games over .500 wins it.

And one last point… the number of teams ahead of us matters not. We’ve jumped ahead and fallen behind 2-3 teams at a time in a day a lot the last few weeks, and if the Braves get hot while the others continue middling at or just below .500, they’ll pass ‘em all.

Folks, the team that ends the season hot tends to win the wild card. There’s 52 games left, and nobody’s gotten hot in this race yet. With Kyle Davies about to return, and pitching well in his rehab assignment, what this team needs is for Hudson to be Hudson the rest of the way out. Shoot, if that miracle occurs, I’ll put Smoltz, Hudson (the guy we thought we were getting), Ramirez, C. James and Davies against any rotation we’d have to battle to win the playoff spot.

By Braves fan in PA

August 6, 2006 10:29 PM | Link to this

I have a glimmer of hope that this team can make a unbelievable run at the WC. But, that glimmer is hanging by a thread that will be torn if the Braves don’t have a good homestand. I keep saying, and ill say it again that the pitching really needs to step up from now to the end of the season. We cannot win the WC with only one pitcher. It takes a team, to win, and right now their not playing as a team.

Our hitters have to be patient(JEFFY THAT GOES FOR U). U can’t expect to hit a homerun every at bat. Be patient, take pitches and play little ball when needed. Good luck on this crucial homestad. GO BRAVES.

By John the Handsome

August 6, 2006 10:38 PM | Link to this

Knee Jerk, the reason I am here to just to have ball games to watch. Little League is over. I used to like the pros but they are nasty looking and heck, they may go on strike. I think that did it for me. Is it too much to have a code that they must shave and look decent.

By don

August 6, 2006 10:53 PM | Link to this

Well, Ron Roberts, I suppose that we can say that Baez and Wickman are good rentals for the remaining two months of the season. However, as Biff pointed out, where will they be next year? Most likely they will go the way of Drew, Farnsworth, and a few others. Betemit will be a Dodger for many years. Stupid trade.

Say what you will but the Dodgers began winning when they acquired Betemit. What has Aybar done since his four hit debut?

Are you actually one of the Braves television guys- maybe Joe or Chip?

By Ron Roberts

August 6, 2006 11:05 PM | Link to this

No, I just see what the trade has done for the Braves. Don, teams make trades hoping it helps both teams. It has.

We shipped away a 26-year old journeyman infielder with limited range, moderate speed and a late bloomer in general, for a 23-year old journeyman infielder with good range, good speed and can’t be a late bloomer since he’s only 23. Oh, and we got D. Baez, too, who’s only been lights out as a setup guy since we got him. And you do remember we needed bullpen help, right?

By Vic Correll

August 6, 2006 11:18 PM | Link to this

I am sick of Ron Roberts, Lew, KC and all the other apologists on this BLOG !

This team was questionable coming out of Spring Training. Needs were not addressed by Schuerholz in the off season. Come June everybody was anticipating a repeat of June’s past, but what we got was an ugly reminder of the pre-1991 Braves.

Poor Betemit never had a chance for a starting job with overpaid stiffs like Giles and Chipper in front of him.

Adam Wainwright, a previous Schuerholz give away, sure looks good now.

Look at the bozos we got for Johnny Estrada.

Look at those guys in Detroit that we gave up for Farnesworth last season.

LaSorda says the Dodgers had been trying to obtain Betemit for two years, & was surprised what little LA gave up to acquire him. Thanks to ex-Braves like Maddux, Betemit, Drew, and Furcal the Dodgers should go deep into the post-season. Thank you, John Schuerholz !!!

Why get excited over Baez & Wickman when they probably won’t be here in 2007, putting us right back where we were ?

Tim Hudson has been a disaster and people on this BLOG are still waiting for the Oakland-era Hudson to magically re-appear. It AIN’T happening ! Like Hampton, Schuerholz has saddled the Braves down with another big contract nobody else would want.

No fundamentals. Nobody can move a runner over. Poor base-running. I’d give anything if the Braves had a Billy Martin or Whitey Herzog - type manager, instead of the “players manager” who everybody likes because he looks the other when they are half-assing it on the field. Bobby Cox would not last two seaons in Boston, New York or Philadelphia. The fans in Atlanta are more receptive to mediocrity, and will accept another meaningless divisional championship instead of a world series appearance. Don’t look for any more post-season appearances anytime soon. McCann and Francoeuer will probably be traded soon for some potential free agents !

By Ron Roberts

August 6, 2006 11:30 PM | Link to this

Who replaced Estrada behind the plate, Vic?

What are Chipper’s offensive stats? Does Betemit’s numbers dictate starting him and benching Chipper?

How many games has Betemit played at 2nd base, Vic?

How many games did Farnsworth save for us, last year, when we needed a closer, Vic? Were we supposed to give Detroit nothing for his services?

Hell, nobody’s apologizing for the moves Schuerholz has made; I wish he’d never let Jermaine Dye go. I wish he’d worked to keep Millwood around, too. Would we love having Zach Minor in our rotation? Damn right. But you and I can second-guess all we want to. The Braves’ GM made moves to get this team into the playoffs, and more often than not, those moves have bettered the team, even if only temporarily.

And just so ya know, I wasn’t thrilled when the Braves picked up Tim Hudson, Raul Mondesi and Brian Jordan, either. So you can rest your yap about me being an “apologist.”

By casinogames

August 12, 2006 03:28 AM | Link to this

casinogames casinogames