March 10, 2011

Show #137: Our Interview with Craig Calcaterra

We sit down with the HardballTalk blogger to discuss the Braves, Phillies, Mets and, of course, Frenchy.   Follow Craig on Twitter:  @craigcalcaterra

Show #137 - Craig Calcaterra Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 

20 Responses to “Show #137: Our Interview with Craig Calcaterra”

  1. 1
    Steve Says:
    March 11th, 2011 at 10:32 am

    I think this is really, really funny. http://www.battingstanceguy.com/2011/03/08/mlb-experts-discuss-babe-ruth

  2. 2
    Jimbo Says:
    March 11th, 2011 at 11:58 am

    5th starter- Medlen comes back and pitches with his left arm.
    hmm i really dont know who id like to see in there b/t beachy and minor, but I hope to see one of them in the pen depending on who doesn’t start.
    I think it would be cool if they would rotate switching the two between pen and starting

    I do like we have the problem that we’ve got so many good young pitchers that it will be difficult to decide who gets that 5th spot

  3. 3
    Steve Says:
    March 11th, 2011 at 1:24 pm

    Jimbo – I’m all for the Medlen left arm plan. And it would ensure that every start of his is the lead story on SportsCenter.

  4. 4
    Ham Says:
    March 11th, 2011 at 1:55 pm

    I would vote for Beachy. I know he has a bit higher era this ST, but he seems to have better control. I would love to have Medlen back more than anything.

  5. 5
    Kate Says:
    March 11th, 2011 at 2:30 pm

    I want Minor as the 5th starter. It’s always nice to have a lefty in the rotation (unless it’s Jo Jo).

  6. 6
    Anne Says:
    March 11th, 2011 at 2:46 pm

    Switch Pitcher! I like it!

  7. 7
    Curt Says:
    March 11th, 2011 at 3:27 pm

    Weren’t you the guys who when a certain host brought up the impact of Medlen on this season, you both passed it off as a non-factor? Kind of an “oh well” thing?

    Kate, I think I am voting for Minor too. He seems to have a good mindset and the lefty won’t hurt. I do not want Beachy or Minor watching baseball. I want the loser to be starting in Gwinnett and developing, not sitting in the pen as a long reliever. We already have that guy on the team.

  8. 8
    Steve Says:
    March 11th, 2011 at 4:00 pm

    Curt – your point about Medlen? I don’t think anyone would argue that the team would be much stronger with him as our #5, but it is no way debilitating. Do you disagree? Or, put another way, what the ___ are you talking about?!

    All other things being equal, I vote for Minor. I want the lefty in there. It can only help.

  9. 9
    Steve Says:
    March 11th, 2011 at 9:28 pm

    From DOB today: Eric O’Flaherty had been scheduled to pitch, but didn’t make the trip and was replaced by Varvaro. The Braves haven’t given a reason yet for O’Flaherty’s absence.

    After his lost season in 2010 I’m ready to completely overreact to this and get worried.

  10. 10
    Walker Says:
    March 11th, 2011 at 11:08 pm

    LOOOOL!!!

    Steve My favorite had to be Ken Burns. “Baseball is the only sport that rewards deception. In 1860 was the advent of the curveball. You STEAL a base.” LOL

    The Tom Verducci one was good too.

  11. 11
    Jimbo Says:
    March 12th, 2011 at 7:26 am

    good point Minor being left handed would be good, as far as having one of them in the pen i wouldn’t want them riding the bench watching ether but seems like we could use one more good arm in there for long relief (Id hate to see KK in that role or any role) when Medlen was in that spot last year we used him quite a bit although im sure they could benefit from more regular starts in Minors too

  12. 12
    Danny Says:
    March 12th, 2011 at 2:18 pm

    Minor definitely gets me more excited than Beachy. Also, I like that idea of Beachy in Medlen’s old bullpen spot.

  13. 13
    Kate Says:
    March 12th, 2011 at 4:08 pm

    Update from DOB today: Eric O’Flaherty was scheduled to pitch Friday, but he’s had some back tightness and the Braves have held him out for two days as a precaution. O’Flaherty said he would probably pitch Sunday.

  14. 14
    Anne Says:
    March 13th, 2011 at 12:23 pm

    Thinking on my walk this morning…last year the Braves Girls/cheerleaders/Curt’s Harem wore Chipper’s number on their backs. This year…Kawakami’s!

  15. 15
    Curt Says:
    March 13th, 2011 at 3:40 pm

    Me likey.

    One of our best guests returns for tonight’s show

  16. 16
    Tim in Orlando Says:
    March 13th, 2011 at 4:34 pm

    Spring Forward With POWER!

    Beautiful day at the ball park. Nice crowd, not too big – not too small. Guess everyone set their clocks ahead. Got a new scorebook. Whoo Who! And it was my good friend Marshall’s birthday. Only one problem….. cheerleaders! There must have been a gazillion cheerleaders running around the Wide World of Sports complex. It’s the most I’ve ever seen in my 14 years coming to spring training. One poor guy was lost in the sea of cheerleaders because when he saw my Braves cap he asked “Are you going to the ball game? Where’s the stadium?” I said, “Follow me.”

    Gene Garber took out the lineup card. First time I’ve seen him here. The Big Cat, Andres Galaraga, was signing autographs before the game. The theme of the day was pitching and power. I know Steve has expressing some concern in the podcast about the lack of power this spring. Based on one game I wouldn’t say we’ve recovered, but it’s looking a lot better. The long home runs from Wilkin Ramirez, Chipper and BMac were wonderful. Especially Brian’s. You had to worry that the incident with Coach Salazar might thrown him into a funk, but a 2 for 4 day with a long home run to deep left-center is a very good sign. He also caught 8 innings. Chipper was 2 for 3. Even JJ has a long triple to the left-center gap. The bats were booming.

    The pitching was solid. JJ pitched 5 innings, giving up 0 runs, 2 singles, 4 Ks, 1 BB on 64 pitches (41 strikes, 23 balls.) Never in serious trouble. The closest being in the 4th when he gave up two leadoff singles, but struck out the next two batters and finished with a popup to Freeman to end the inning. JJ was followed by O’Flaherty (seems recovered from his back problem), Kimbrel (nasty – 3 outs on 7 pitches), Proctor (single then struck out the side), and Martinez (within one pitch of preserving the shutout then giving up a long HR). All-in-all Braves pitchers gave up 1 run on 4 hits, struck out 10 and walked 1. A good day on the mound.

    Fredi had a long conversation with the home plate umpire between the 5th & 6th innings. Not sure what it was about. They didn’t seem to be arguing about anything, just talking. Unusual – they might have been talking about which theme park to visit for all I know.

    This is the 3rd week of games and is my favorite week of spring training. The pitchers go 5-6 innings and the batters bat 4-5 times and go to the 6-7 inning. It’s almost like a real game. Well, at least 2/3 of one. The last week, managers sometime crank it back a bit to rest some guys in preparation for the start of the season.

    Red Sox come a calling on Wednesday. They’ll have a big group of fans at usual. Champion Stadium will be rockin’! At least the cheerleaders will be gone.

  17. 17
    Bubdylan Says:
    March 13th, 2011 at 10:50 pm

    Where is show?

  18. 18
    Leah Says:
    March 14th, 2011 at 1:06 pm

    This is it…my worlds are all coming together…

    http://atmlb.com/f9KYjz

  19. 19
    DAP Says:
    March 15th, 2011 at 11:21 am

    I’m going with Minor in the 5th starter slot. Each of Lopez, Beachy and Minor are throwing pretty well, making the decision look tougher than it really is, probably. Mike Minor is the only one of those 3 who is left handed, a first round draft pick, and has the stuff to blow guys away with K’s. If they are all pitching well, (which they are) I think Minor gets the job.

  20. 20
    Leah Says:
    March 16th, 2011 at 2:12 pm

    Sherrill is going to make me crazy this season. Dude is everywhere!

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