Show #147: Braves Get Another Series Win Against Phillies
Characterizing the Braves. Chipper’s knee. Heyward’s shoulder. Uggla at the plate. And the Civil Rights game.
192 Responses to “Show #147: Braves Get Another Series Win Against Phillies”
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Pages: « 1 [2] 3 4 5 6 7 8 » Show All
May 16th, 2011 at 8:01 pm
Prado!
May 16th, 2011 at 8:02 pm
Hey Hammy, remember when you hated Prado?
May 16th, 2011 at 8:20 pm
I agree with Brad. The number of black players in the MLB reached its peak in the 70′s and has dwindled ever since. The rising popularity of the NFL and Michael Jordan coincides with this dip. The whole thing is cultural. Black people quite simply see baseball as boring. Basketball and football have have more moving around and are easier to learn at a later age. Baseball is to be started in the early ages. Baseball has a fail rate greater than the other sports. Even overall baseball isn’t as popular as football and basketball because people don’t have long attention spans and only want to see a slam dunk, or a tackle. The sad thing is, if people really took the time to learn the game of baseball , they would like it. I swear, some people just know the terms “strike three” and “home run”. All I have to say is to just learn the game. Teach your kids the game.
Also the MLB may not have as many black players in the game as they would like but Major League baseball is the most diverse of all the pro sports league.
NFL- Black and White
NBA- Black and White (European)
NHL- White
MBL White, Black, Asian, Latinos
May 16th, 2011 at 8:43 pm
Really, Braves?
May 16th, 2011 at 9:57 pm
That was worth freezing my Twitter off. Go Braves!!
May 16th, 2011 at 9:58 pm
The Curse of the Steverino is broken. See, Steve? Prediction dee-nied!!
May 16th, 2011 at 10:09 pm
Frustrating win, but I’ll take it. Great swing by Heyward. Hopefully they light Wandy up tomorrow and rest the premium BP guys.
2.5 games back! Man, that was fast.
May 16th, 2011 at 10:12 pm
Shouldn’t have been close… but a win’s a win.
May 16th, 2011 at 11:19 pm
Shouldn’t have been that close – true. But this is the classic kind of game the Braves have given away all season. Except they didn’t tonight. I think this was a huge win. And, to echo Anne’s sentiments, it was really freaking cold there tonight.
I agree with much of what was said here about the dwindling numbers of black ball players. My only point is that when you take a big chunk of the potential fan base out of the equation, it’s not good for the long term health of the sport. And I want the sport to be as healthy as possible.
2.5
May 17th, 2011 at 12:44 am
I just finished watching the crazy marlins-mets game. I was of course rooting for the mets so that the marlins will drop down. Top of the 11th and 2 outs they let Badenhop (pitcher) hit, and he delivered on a full-count, run-scoring, go-ahead single. Prior to that he was 1 for 23 lifetime. Then in the bottom of the 11th and 2 outs, count full, bases empty, mets pitcher Niese hit a triple and represented the tying run. But Jose Reyes struck out to end the game.
May 17th, 2011 at 6:54 am
Thanks, mark in Memphis. Feeling the love.
May 17th, 2011 at 10:09 am
Curt, thanks for the Daily Show link. That was hilarious.
May 17th, 2011 at 11:28 am
Moylan twittering from pre-op: http://lockerz.com/s/102407343
I can’t help using the word Twitter!
May 17th, 2011 at 11:33 am
Nate, it was great. Jon Stewart rarely disappoints in alerting us to the absurdity of it all.
This Lowe for Granderson thing seems to be picking up some steam – whether real or fake. They were discussing it on MLB yesterday and what a smart move it would be for both teams.
May 17th, 2011 at 11:42 am
Just for some edumacation for all y’all.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cracker_%28pejorative%29
I will admit, that my source was actually my father who is generally in the know about a lot of things. This goes to show you, once again, that you should never trust your dads (this will ring true especially for kids named Jack, Charlie, Ike, Harry, and Oscar). Personally, I like the Shakespeare etymology, but that’s how I doth rolle.
Last night, I saw a replay of the entire Daily Show episode that had the McDowell clip. It was fantastic. The whole bit with Will Farrell was great.
May 17th, 2011 at 11:52 am
Lowe for Granderson? That would be a great trade. We get a young centerfielder with speed and power. Not to mention another African American player on the braves.
May 17th, 2011 at 11:53 am
guys, there are alot more than 3 black players on the teams between the phillies and braves. just fyi.
would more black players encourage more black fans at the park? this is a weird question to me. ill answer it with another question…does it really work that way? do white people go to see white players? do hispanic people go to see hispanic players? i dont think having black players or not has much to do with who comes to see the games, and part of me kinda hopes I’m right. Does that make sense? Is it ok if we just like baseball and dont worry about the race of the players?
I would be willing to bet that the % demographics of players in MLB is fairly close to the % demographics of the US.
I love the celebration of Civil Rights in Baseball, which had a huge influence on the Civil Rights movement, by the way. I hope they continue to have the weekend in Atlanta.
May 17th, 2011 at 12:40 pm
What does Granderson’s contract look like? Do you think it would be a straight up swap?
Kudos to those little girls for holding it together during the McDowell/bat recreation and the quoting of McDowell by Allred. I would of been laughing through pretty much the whole thing.
May 17th, 2011 at 12:42 pm
Post game quotes mentioned Fredi talking to the team about not letting up against the Astros. Hopefully it’s being taken seriously.
May 17th, 2011 at 1:18 pm
DAP, re #42. I realize that some people look at it as a big diversity issue. That’s not where I’m coming from. My point is, if MLB can stem this shift, they should, because it will help the long term health of the sport. And I’m not just talking about increasing the number of black players. I’m talking about marketing to the black community in general. You may be right that it is an oversimplification (and an incorrect one) that more black players on the field would equate to more black fans in the stands. Regardless, a big part of the population is turning it’s collective back on the sport and that’s never a good thing.
May 17th, 2011 at 1:20 pm
Nate (#43), here are the particulars on Granderson’s contract:
08:$1M, 09:$3.5M, 10:$5.5M, 11:$8.25M, 12:$10M, 13:$13M club option ($2M buyout)
For what it’s worth, I have trouble believing this rumor. I realize their pitching is bad, but their offensive weapons are dropping like flies, too. Posada, Jeter, A-Rod … seems hard to fathom they’d give up Granderson.
May 17th, 2011 at 1:28 pm
I realize that the whole race conversation is fraught with the opportunity to say politically incorrect things, so I tread lightly here. For me, I think that with fewer black players on the field, it COULD lead to fewer black role models that are baseball players, which could lead to fewer young black people identifying with baseball players and as a result not wanting to play the game (as much) when they grow up. This seems like, if valid, it would be a downward spiral.
I also agree with a lot of what else is being said on the comments. I don’t think that the demographic of baseball equal the demographics of the US (the World quite possibly), but I definitely don’t think that the Braves’ demographics mirror those of the city of Atlanta. Not sure if it is a major problem for baseball overall, but I do wonder if it would boost attendance at Braves’ home games.
No way the Yankees trade Granderson for Lowe straight-up. Sounds like wishful thinking.
May 17th, 2011 at 1:37 pm
According to Olney, Braves have no interest in trading Lowe.
May 17th, 2011 at 1:38 pm
One more thing, why doesn’t Chipper just go ahead and have the surgery?! Is the tear in his meniscus going to heal itself? Is that even possible? If so, then that is the only reason that he shouldn’t have surgery immediately, right? What is the upside of him waiting?! Injuring it further? Playing sub-optimally?
. . .
Okay, so I took a break and actually looked up if a meniscus can heal itself – the answer is it can in some situations, but generally only if you give it a lot of rest. There is a real danger of injuring it further if you try to come back too quickly. I think my above point is still valid then.
(I think I just threw up in Mark in Memphis’ mouth.)
May 17th, 2011 at 2:18 pm
I don’t think the suggestion that more black players would bring out more black fans is an oversimplification. I also don’t think it suggests that blacks would only be fans if there were more players representative of their culture on the field. Being a Falcons season ticket holder, I see plenty of black guys wearing Matt Ryan jerseys. You root for the team and the players, not their race (hopefully).
But for the Braves, being in Atlanta, you are missing out on a large swath of people in the city if you are somehow not reaching the African American community. There have been whispers for years that there is some racial element to the constuction of the Braves because of their lack of black players, which I personally find ridiculous. Hank Aaron is the iconic Atlanta Brave. Jason Heyward is the face of the Braves.
I think the point I was wondering about, is why aren’t there more African Americans at Braves games? Or at baseball games in general?