Show #179: The Braves Turn It All Around
The 5 game win streak. Chipper’s impact. Heyward’s emergence and the 4th outfielder spot.
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- ICYMI: New podcast. The EOF injury. Mac & Heyward return. Medlen's start. Better off w/out BJ & Uggla? http://t.co/F6ynm0kDzy #Braves May 20, 2013 4:08 pm
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Atlanta Braves News
- Momentum on Medlen's side as Braves streak into Citi Wednesday, 22 May 2013, 10:27 pm
- Gattis' slam powers Braves' sixth straight win Wednesday, 22 May 2013, 10:00 pm
- 'Suffer' shirts fit Braves to a tee Wednesday, 22 May 2013, 4:45 pm
- Braves getting used to late-inning heroics Wednesday, 22 May 2013, 4:45 pm
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- Freeman's 10th-inning hit wins Braves fifth straight Wednesday, 22 May 2013, 5:42 am
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April 16th, 2012 at 1:20 am
Great podcast. I would agree with leaving Heyward where he is but he needs to hit in front of Freeman. But in Freeman’s defense he may not have gotten a hit Saturday but he had a couple of great at bats. And I’d rather have Diaz over Constanza.
Good sign: The offense if finally hitting. Outside looking in, if Im an opposing team and I see names like Bourn, Prado, Chipper, McCann, Uggla, Heyward and Freeman, I’m worried. Imagine adding Andrus or Escobar to the lineup.
Bad sign: Pastornicky has not been hitting well lately and I question his range on a couple of groundballs that got past him this week that he should have gotten to. JJ also needs to get it together. Although, I was happy to see his velocity up. His command still lacks.
Seriously if you look at Durbin’s career numbers and the fact he keeps getting Major League jobs, you come to the conclusion that he is the luckiest pitcher in history. He the Lane Kiffin of the majors.
April 16th, 2012 at 10:34 am
havent listened yet. but glad to have a reason to.
hello from seoul korea.
just landed. report no incoming missile fire.
hwvr…im so ronerery, so ronerery…
April 16th, 2012 at 10:38 am
anyone been to Seoul/Incheon?
its 10:40 at night, dark outside.
are there petrochemical plants near the airport?
its either that or my limo driver has farted.
April 16th, 2012 at 11:18 am
Will – what have you told about posting here when you’re drunk?
April 16th, 2012 at 11:46 am
LOL, @ Steve….at least he is not “drunk calling” you at 2AM!
April 16th, 2012 at 11:55 am
Will is cracking me up. Great show guys! I’m most encouraged by the starters pitching deeper in games. Question: would it be stupid to use Medlen for more than an inning when he pitches? It seems a waste for him to warm up, pitch an inning and then sit.
April 16th, 2012 at 12:47 pm
….we passed through another “petrochemical park” about 20 minutes later…
needless to say it was a long drive to the hotel.
so sad but true that I come across as drunk even when sober… permanent damage, apparently. apologies, Steve, I know you like to maintain a family-friendly site….
(Have you met my family?…i blame them)
just finished listening… good show..
Fair on Heyward. you promote success, push a good thing. move Heyward up, let him step up. Freeman needs the work. Constanza has hit over .300 lifetime (according to some poster on DOB). “Why the Constanza Hate?” or some post like that…just saying.
I like what Walker said about the offense…..if they just live up to 80-90% of their potential and nobody has major slumps…awesome offensive lineup all the way thru.
are there any good signs that Gonzalez is better? or is the team carrying him?
go braves
g’nite
April 16th, 2012 at 1:03 pm
Haven’t listened to the podcast all the way yet…
DOB just posted a staggering stat: Chad Durbin has allowed a HR in 7 consecutive appearances, dating back to his final 4 games with Cleveland last year (he gave up SIX home runs in those four games). Actually, I guess that’s not too staggering.
He reminds me a bit of Jo-Jo Reyes, a guy that NEVER had a scoreless appearance for the Braves. That’s right — in 41 games (37 starts, 194 IP), he gave up at least one run every single time. It wasn’t until May 20 last season — his 9th start with Toronto — that he didn’t allow a run.
April 16th, 2012 at 2:20 pm
If they were to replace Diaz on the bench, why assume it would be Constanza?
If they drop a right handed batter from the bench, wouldn’t they want to replace him with right hander from the minors?
Durango isn’t batting as high as Parraz (.292/.358/.375 vs. .317/.391/.415), but Durango is a switch hitter… I think I would take one of them to replace Diaz, if they decided to, vs. adding another bench lefty to replace a bench righty…
Durango has a line of .282/.349/.333 against RHP and .333/.400/.556 against LHP albiet only 9 ABs (39 ABs against RHP).
Parraz has a line of .281/.361/.375 against RHP and .444/.500/.556 against LHP for the same number of 9 ABs.
Parraz 1-2B, 0-3B, 1-HR, 5-BB, 6-SO, 2-SB
Durango 2-2B, 1-3B, 0-HR, 5-BB, 8-SO, 6-SB
I assume that Parraz is going to have more power potential and Durango is going to have speed. I think I would lean toward speed, but Parraz’s OBP is better in every case…
Thoughts?
April 16th, 2012 at 2:31 pm
Constanza is a AAAA player. Plain and simple.
April 16th, 2012 at 2:57 pm
Great show, guys…in everything, but I am a fan of Tampa Bay. Horrible stadium, Great manager.
April 16th, 2012 at 5:24 pm
Wow. Just looked up that Heyward had a higher FanGraphs WAR and Baseball Reference WAR than Freeman last year. Baseball Prospectus had Freeman at 0.3 WARP over Heyward.
I wonder when we are going to get the calls for Freeman to be benched for a fringe-level journeyman or sent to Triple-A or the conjecturing that he isn’t willing to make adjustments.
April 16th, 2012 at 8:51 pm
Don’t quite understand giving up the platoon advantage on Wright there.
April 16th, 2012 at 8:51 pm
David Wright is a good player. He is not elite and he is not great.
April 16th, 2012 at 8:52 pm
Poop.
April 16th, 2012 at 9:01 pm
I hear ya Ski…loud and clear.
April 16th, 2012 at 9:08 pm
Not scoring there really was a shame. No momentum now and Livan coming in (creating even less momentum).
April 16th, 2012 at 9:32 pm
You heard it here first – I agree with Curt & Steve. Poor Matty. This gets me no time served toward my restraining order, however. Curt – I’m worse than you, with no plans to get to The Ted before July 4th!! WTF?
Oh, tonight’s score update I’m looking at just hurts. Durned Mets.
April 16th, 2012 at 9:39 pm
Anne – did you dump your tickets? Shame.
I was thinking about you when we were talking Diaz. Me thinks he has overstayed his welcome.
Will, the petrochemicals can’t be any worse than the nuclear cloud floating around Japan. Shake it off.
April 16th, 2012 at 9:44 pm
Fredi didn’t help. Intentional walking Wright and failing to pinch hit for Wilson. And choosing to pinch hit Francisco instead of Freeman.Another day another bad managerial job.
April 16th, 2012 at 9:56 pm
Omg Fredi thinks catcher’s interference is a hit. Smh
April 17th, 2012 at 8:05 am
#21 — yeah, I saw that in the postgame comments. And this guy is the manager of a major league baseball team.
My thoughts on Heyward’s spot in the lineup: I’m torn about it, even though I’ve posted several times on here that Fredi needs to hit him higher. Curt, you made the point that it’s not a good idea to mess with a guy while he’s doing well, and maybe hitting lower in the lineup is where Heyward is most comfortable. That’s a good point, and I’d hate to see Heyward move up to the 2 or 3 spot and hit .200 while there.
As I was thinking about it, I also think it’s a good idea to have a hot hitter behind guys in the middle of the order so that that hot hitter can drive them in. Then I looked at Heyward’s stats this season. Out of his 37 plate appearances, only 13 have come with any runners on base. That’s only about a third of the time. McCann and Uggla aren’t really doing enough to get on base much, and Freeman’s definitely struggling to do much of anything.
Furthermore, batting Heyward 7th means that Pastornicky/Wilson is behind him. When he’s 6th, the 7-hole hitters have been Francisco, Ross, and Hinske. So there’s not much protection for Heyward, and there’s no reason why, if he does keep hitting well, opposing pitchers won’t pitch around him to get to our weak 8 and 9 hitters.
So, my concern with leaving Heyward in the lower third of the lineup is that we’ve got a dangerous hitter who doesn’t have the chance to do any damage. And, the way this lineup’s poor team OBP (Chipper and Heyward are the only regular guys with OBPs above .330), I think it makes more sense to have Heyward (.444 OBP) getting on base to give Mac, Ugg, Freeman, and Chipper RBI opportunities as opposed to Heyward driving them in…especially when those guys aren’t getting on.
April 17th, 2012 at 8:34 am
Curt – no season tickets this year. They broke my heart last season. Only plans are, as mentioned, July 4th – and the husband and his Delta crew have gotten a suite for a Dodgers game on August 18th. I’m sure I’ll head out some time before those, though. I need to see if “my” usher Alan is still there!
April 17th, 2012 at 9:39 am
@14 – Disagree on Wright. With the exception of last year when he was injured, I’d certainly call Wright elite. He may not be an all-time great like Chipper, but Longoria is probably the only third baseman in the league I’d rather have than Wright.
April 17th, 2012 at 10:30 am
I don’t think Diaz is getting dropped anyways, at least not for a long time. So, its sort of a moot point would would replace him. So he only has two hits, but he has only had 17 PA’s. I will be awhile before we can really decide if Diaz has anything left to give.
April 17th, 2012 at 10:38 am
Just because the number of good 3rd basemen are scarce does not mean a pretty good player is elite. It might make him more valuable but not elite. Remember playing in NY pumps alot of athletes up and makes them overrated . Imagine if Chipper played his whole career with the Yankees. I doubt he would ever just get a 1 minute segment on Sportscenter if he announced his retirement.
April 17th, 2012 at 11:03 am
#22 – I wouldn’t want to completely discount the possibility that guys are comfortable in certain spots in the order but I don’t know how much it actually comes in to play. It think it gets overstated.
These guys are major leaguers. Baseball is such a repetitive game and these guys have been playing almost every day at a fairly high level, against other professionals, since they were 18-22 years old. When a guy is at the plate, I seriously doubt that he’s thinking, “oh, I’m in the second spot in the order today so I’m really feeling the pressure much more so than usual.” Maybe I’m just being naive.
I guess where it could come in to play more is if a guy gets dropped in the order and he reads it as a slight or presses. But I even have my doubts that that is a huge factor. I just suspect that most guys who make it to the major league level are extremely professional, in the highest sense of the word. They may not like being pushed down in the order but I suspect that guys who make it to the majors have extreme focus, in addition to talent and personality, to overcome what they might perceive as a slight, in addition to overcoming lots of other factors which impacts on performance we sometimes overstate.
April 17th, 2012 at 12:38 pm
@26 – On top of being top 3 in the MLB at his position (which I think qualifies a player as elite), Wright is an elite player overall. I think you’re not giving him credit because his last three season have not looked as nice statistically. That’s happened for two reasons:
1) in both 2009 and 2011 Wright struggled with head and back injuries, limiting his effectiveness for long stretches, and
2) in 2009 the Mets moved to the cavernous Citi Field. His numbers over this three year period have been noticeably, but not drastically, better on the road, particularly his power numbers. In this case, NYC worked against him. The Mets moved the fences in this year, and I’d be willing to bet that as long as Wright stays healthy, he will have a monster season.
A few numbers to back this up. Wright was top 10 in offensive WAR in 2005, 2007, 2008. He was #5 in the league in WAR in 2007 when he was only 25. In 2008 he was just outside the top 10. Despite his numbers being diluted by 3 seasons at Citi and a few years of injury, he still has a career 135 OPS+ and a career OPS of .890. In comparison, Vlad Guerrero has a career OPS+ of 140. Chipper of 141. All of this looks elite to me, especially for a guy who probably has 5-7 more years of productive baseball ahead of him.
April 17th, 2012 at 12:53 pm
http://t.co/vsAkrArK
Insane.
April 17th, 2012 at 1:36 pm
#29: that really is impressive
April 17th, 2012 at 1:42 pm
Great interview with RA Dickey (he’s written a memoir) on NPR’s Fresh Air. Sorry I won’t be able to make tomorrow’s day game to see a knuckleballer.
April 17th, 2012 at 2:24 pm
#29-30 I was wondering what made Moylan tweet about Ankiel’s arm. Niiice.
April 17th, 2012 at 3:03 pm
Y’all should read the two newest blogs. One from Shaun, one from Vinnie. They’re the top two in the Recent Blogs section on the left side of the home page.
April 17th, 2012 at 3:10 pm
Heyward hitting second. To quote Jim Powell, “it’s party time in Atlanta.”
Okay, so maybe that’s an overreaction.
April 17th, 2012 at 3:38 pm
Ankiel has the best outfield arm in baseball. I used to love playing him in center when I played MLB the Show. I sacraficed offense though.
April 17th, 2012 at 6:42 pm
Shaun: Regarding Heyward in the 2 hole, I get that he’s our leading OBP guy so he’s perfect in the 2. But he’s also our leading SLG guy, so would you have been just as happy if he was in the 4 or 5?
April 17th, 2012 at 7:19 pm
Former MLBer (and one-time Brave) Jim Bouton on “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me” this past weekend. He’s promoting his book Ball Four now out on e-book. Some great quotes: “What doesn’t excite me about the game [today] is the stepping out of the batter’s box. What are you stepping out of the batter’s box for? After every pitch, the guy’s gotta step out of the box, fix his glove…all that. If they eliminated velcro it would knock 20 minutes off of every game.” “AND I don’t like guys hitting home runs and raising their arms up like they just discovered a cure for cancer. In our day, you hit a home run, you ran around the bases, you went in the dugout and you shut up. You know why? Because it’s just a home run. It’s not a religious experience.” The host asked, “Did you ever hit one?” Reply: “I never hit a home run.” (some thought) “All right, so maybe I would’ve raised my hands.”
April 17th, 2012 at 7:20 pm
He could easily hit 2nd or fourth right now. It really doesn’t matter.
April 17th, 2012 at 9:25 pm
Am I the only one who wants to grab Medlens hat and bend it?
April 17th, 2012 at 9:51 pm
I do too. But then my 11 year old LOVES it. We’re old.
April 17th, 2012 at 10:35 pm
Merlin bent his hat during an interview in Spring Training on FSS. Believe it or not, it actually looked weird on him.
April 17th, 2012 at 10:36 pm
Damn auto spell!
April 18th, 2012 at 7:35 am
Merlin had a terrible spring training, in all fairness
April 18th, 2012 at 7:56 am
Just watched condensed game. Delgado looked good huh! Did number 10 pull his Chipper running to third? Looked gimpy after.
April 18th, 2012 at 10:17 am
I hate the flat bills, and they’re not going away. I help coach a middle school team, and all our kids wear the flat bills. They love it. I think we’re all just gonna have to get used to it. And FYI, I’m not getting lumped in with you “old folks”.
That said, Meds was on it last night. Just a bulldog on the attack.
Really enjoyed the show guys, and I love this winning baseball stuff. Time to win the series. Go Braves!
April 18th, 2012 at 10:30 am
The only run in the Astros/Natinals game was on an error when a ball fell between 2 players.
April 18th, 2012 at 11:23 am
Steve @36, all the in-depth studies suggest you want your best hitters hitting 1st, 2nd and 4th, with the best sluggers hitting lower and the better on-base guys hitting higher.
I would prefer McCann 4th and Heyward 2nd or even leadoff, although 2nd is probably ideal.
And the idea behind not putting your very best hitters 3rd is that they will on average come to the plate with fewer runners on than the 4th or 5th hitters.
I think it’s good to have a decent slugger in the two whole because a slugger can advance the leadoff man without the manager feeling like he has to use up an out and bunt the leadoff guy over, if the leadoff guy is on base.
I think by far the biggest mistake managers make regarding a lineup is putting a weak hitter, who may be a contact hitter and a good bunter but who can’t hit, in the number two spot.
Why not put a traditional number three hitter in the two spot instead? That way you aren’t wasting an out and using the number two hitter to advance the leadoff man one base in order to get him in scoring position for the 3-5 hitters. I’d rather just have the leadoff man on first and the 3-5-type hitters trying to drive him immediately following the leadoff man, than have an out on the board and the leadoff hitter on second.
We’re lucky this year because the only options for Fredi there are Prado and Heyward and maybe Chipper. None of those players are bad options; unlike Alex Gonzalez or McClouth.
April 18th, 2012 at 11:25 am
Steve, regarding Heyward being the leading slugger, I’m not sure that’s his true talent level. When all is said and done this season, I think he’ll be up there but I think he’s more of a decent slugger with great on-base skills.
April 18th, 2012 at 11:56 am
Bourn
Heyward
Chipper
Mac
Uggla
Freeman
Prado
Pastornicky
P
I like this lineup because it puts our speed at the front of the order with good RBI guys hitting behind them. I like Prado at the bottom of the order because it keeps our 7-8-9 from becoming a complete black hole and turns over the order quicker, imo. Having speed at 1 and 2 puts more pressure on opposing pitchers and defenses. Jason looks like he’s picked up a thing or two from Bourn, and both have elite speed.
April 18th, 2012 at 11:59 am
When Chipper’s out you could just slide Heyward back one spot, put Prado in the 2, and Francisco in the 7.
April 18th, 2012 at 12:57 pm
I’m starting to think JJ, not Delgado, goes when Huddy comes back. He looks awful.
April 18th, 2012 at 1:07 pm
Why didn’t JJ ask for the mound to get work before wright’s at bat?
April 18th, 2012 at 1:11 pm
I don’t care what Hammy says…Prado is awesome!
April 18th, 2012 at 2:12 pm
Durbin is loosening up? No no no no no
April 18th, 2012 at 2:25 pm
The Braves’ offense so far this season is looking how it should have looked last season.
April 18th, 2012 at 3:23 pm
Somewhere Larry Parrish is shaking, in the fetal position.
April 18th, 2012 at 3:27 pm
Good second time around for offense against Dickey and Santana. Video scout paying off already.
April 18th, 2012 at 3:31 pm
I like Fredi Livan Hernandez in to close. #highfivesBubdylan
April 18th, 2012 at 3:48 pm
Another good win. Still unsure about JJ but it’s early. GO BRAVES!
April 18th, 2012 at 3:59 pm
#highfivesprincess
National League Runs Scored:
Braves – 65
Cardinals – 59
Dodgers – 54
Rockies – 52
D-Backs – 52
Everyone else – under 50.
Philly – 35
Damn.
April 18th, 2012 at 4:09 pm
Nate @ 49, the research into batting order suggest that speed is better utilized in front of high-contact singles hitters rather than in front of your best power hitters. The idea is even an average runner is going to advance and possibly score on extra-base hits and homeruns.
Speed is nice, but the top of the order should be all about on-base ability. Plus your good all-around hitters should hit near the top so they are getting the most plate appearances.
April 18th, 2012 at 4:57 pm
btw, #60 came before I saw the tweet. So much for originality.
April 18th, 2012 at 5:27 pm
Great win today — aside from JJ’s continued struggles, we’re on a roll. I am pumped for the Arizona series, for several reasons:
- The offense is going strong, especially Heyward and now Freeman is busting out of his slump
- We don’t have to pitch JJ against them
- We’re catching them at a good time — Chris Young is on the DL, and Justin Upton is hurt (not sure if he’s on the DL yet). So this seems like a good time to face them in their house of horrors.
April 18th, 2012 at 9:15 pm
55 – agree 100%
56 – hilarious
The leading the NL in runs scored thing is nothing but hard to get my head around. We scored 8 runs total in the first 4 games against the Mets! Of course we scored 23 the next two games…
April 18th, 2012 at 9:16 pm
#63: I agree. We’re surging and the Dbacks are beat up. Good time for sure.
April 18th, 2012 at 11:20 pm
I would hope for the optomized lineup tomorrow. But this is more realistic and should be the lineup that has the snakes begging for mercy. Fredi has no choice now but to bat Heyward in the top of the lineup. He gets on base too much.
Bourn
Heyward
Chipper
Mccann
Uggla
Freeman
Prado
Pastornicky
April 19th, 2012 at 8:37 am
I will be the first to offer that Pasto has not been near the train wreck I anticipated.
And he begins his collapse in 3, 2, 1…….
April 19th, 2012 at 9:00 am
Curt — so .167/.219/.367 isn’t a train wreck?
Kidding (sort of). His numbers aren’t great, but at least he isn’t striking out a lot or making too many errors. And he’s had a couple of clutch hits for us so far this year, including the two-run double that broke open the game on Tuesday night.
66: I like that Heyward has had a good couple of games in the top of the order. At the same time, I’m trying to not get too excited yet — 2 games is too small of a sample. He did have 3 Ks yesterday. Typically, I’d say that you can throw out yesterday’s game since it was against a knuckleballer, but everybody else seemed to be doing just fine against him. I think I need to see more of him in the top of the lineup, but I’m glad he’s up there.
April 19th, 2012 at 10:27 am
Heh…hard one to swallow indeed…
http://t.co/Mi0OoE4R
April 19th, 2012 at 12:04 pm
Pastornicky is 13th out of the 16 NL shortstops with at least 25 plate appearances in OPS, for what that’s worth at this point, which isn’t much.
I think Pastornicky will end up being above replacement level offensively. I think it’s unlikely Simmons would be above replacement level offensively at this point in a full season in the majors.
And I think Pastornicky’s defense, which probably isn’t great, gets underrated because of the comparisons to Simmons.
I think the offensive differences in these two players are somewhat significant and the defensive differences, while very noticeable, would not impact the team as much as some seem to believe.
April 19th, 2012 at 1:02 pm
Shaun, I think it’s at least close enough that you don’t dare interrupt Simmons’ development.
April 19th, 2012 at 2:36 pm
Good point, Bubdylan. Even if it’s closer than I think between those two, Simmons very likely needs more seasoning in the minors offensively. While I think Pastornicky has little to gain and little to prove with more minor league time.
April 19th, 2012 at 4:14 pm
Yeah, I put it clumsily, but I meant that even if someone argued that Simmons would be an improvement (which I would not), it would still be too close to risk damaging Simmons.
April 19th, 2012 at 10:54 pm
Welcome to the gun show Marteeeeeeen!!!
April 19th, 2012 at 11:30 pm
Uggla and Heyward both went oppo field in that inning for huge clutch hits. New hitting coach is surely making a difference.
April 19th, 2012 at 11:30 pm
(Not that I’m watching any Braves games :/ )
April 19th, 2012 at 11:44 pm
Heyward scared the hell out of me with that head first slide. Beautiful hit though.
April 19th, 2012 at 11:51 pm
I like our team.
April 20th, 2012 at 12:05 am
This offense is crazy.
April 20th, 2012 at 12:06 am
#79: Yea this is absolutely nuts.
April 20th, 2012 at 12:12 am
Don’t look now but Braves are playing seriously good baseball. I challenge even the likes of Curt to find something to complain about. Besides Uggla’s error cause ya know, he could pummel you with his pinkie.
April 20th, 2012 at 12:13 am
Didn’t our man who said Freeman wouldn’t be an impact player also hate the Mike Minor draft pick?
April 20th, 2012 at 12:15 am
Bub, you’re a smart man. Just so you know, my auto correct tries to change Bub to Bun every time I type it. That’s my disclosure in case I don’t catch it one day.
April 20th, 2012 at 12:24 am
No problem. My autocorrect tries to change Leah to “sweet hot mama” … just in case I ever fail to catch it. :/
Stupid technology.
April 20th, 2012 at 12:24 am
Why is Ventors pitching when we have an 8 run lead? Has Fredi learned nothing?
April 20th, 2012 at 12:26 am
Adam, Fredi can’t let us have a totally facepalm-free ballgame.
April 20th, 2012 at 12:26 am
Plus we have to keep Durbin rested in case we need him in a tight game tomorrow.
April 20th, 2012 at 12:28 am
Seriously could slap Fredi Gonzalez about now.
April 20th, 2012 at 12:29 am
Good game.
April 20th, 2012 at 12:37 am
I hate to defend Fredi but he was just keeping Venters sharp. He needed the work. It will pay off in his next outing because he won’t be rusty.
April 20th, 2012 at 12:40 am
Bah. A pox on ‘im. I remember that stay-sharp rationale last year generally coming in right before he had to pitch in three more games in a row due to circumstance.
However, the offense gives me a lot of hope the Jonny can get his rest this year even with Arnie Grape in the dugout.
April 20th, 2012 at 12:59 am
Good point but he hasnt pitched in 5 days and last year there was no Medlen. Also we were playing extra inning games every week.
I repeat I cannot believe I’m defending Fredi. He is still a bad manager until proven otherwise. Im proud of my team right now.
April 20th, 2012 at 5:23 am
sitting in the ER waiting for lik
e
ly kidney stone diagnosis. I’ve found something more painful than watching Fredi!
5 days? ok, I didn’t realize that. Well, it’s no fun when I can’t knock Fredi for something. Well, at least we won.
April 20th, 2012 at 5:53 am
No kidney stone. Just extreme kidney pain. Well… never heard of that. Going back to bed. The pain meds definitely work…
April 20th, 2012 at 6:19 am
Feel better Bub!
Is it too early to call this team the greatest ever?!?
Seriously, though. They look like a different team from last year and first four. Jason Heyward may make Matt Kemp look like a fourth outfielder if he keeps this up!
April 20th, 2012 at 8:29 am
Leah, I’m working on it
April 20th, 2012 at 9:45 am
Bub – hope ya feel better man!
April 20th, 2012 at 10:12 am
Pain’s gone. No idea what it was. Glad it’s not a stone. Thanks for good wishes.
April 20th, 2012 at 10:15 am
Glad it’s better Bub! Even more gladder it’s not a stone. can I just say that west coast games kill me?
April 20th, 2012 at 5:32 pm
Love West Coast games. A salve for my insomnia.
April 20th, 2012 at 6:32 pm
A shame neither Chipper or Heyward are hitting 2nd against a tough righty.
Bourn cf,
Prado lf,
Freeman 1b,
McCann c,
Uggla 2b,
Jones 3b,
Heyward rf,
Pastornicky ss,
Beachy p
April 20th, 2012 at 9:44 pm
Is anybody elses picture of the game cut off on the left side? I can’t see the Braves runs or the inning.
April 20th, 2012 at 10:19 pm
My screen is fine but I’m listening to the AZ announcers brag on Freddie.
April 20th, 2012 at 10:45 pm
My screen is fine, too.
Bub, that sucks about your mysterious pain. Hope it’s been a better day.
It really has been a heady week for the Bravos. Haven’t felt this good about the team in a long time.
April 20th, 2012 at 10:48 pm
Prado not happy. Just said some swear words in Espanol.
April 20th, 2012 at 10:50 pm
#104 does anyone else feel like the last 10 games have been a fluke and fear the team will be like last year’s team again any day?
April 20th, 2012 at 10:55 pm
Leah, #106, I don’t expect the pitching to hold up this well, but I think the offense is legit. I thought that coming into the season, even with my poor hopes for the bullpen and starters.
April 20th, 2012 at 10:57 pm
*by starters, I mean rotation.
April 20th, 2012 at 10:58 pm
Bub, I’m afraid we’ve been listening to Curt too much.
April 20th, 2012 at 10:59 pm
The screen fixed itself after a few minutes. I’ll take it.
#106 Yes. Yes 1000 times.
April 20th, 2012 at 11:04 pm
If you mean because Curt’s pessimistic, I have to claim originality for my own pessimism. It’s the first Spring I’ve ever entertained such dismal hopes for the Braves. I thought we’d get very bad years from Hanson, JJ, Pastornicky, Chipper, and the manager, possibly Prado and Hudson, too. Also thought a general funk and bad team chemistry would abound. I’ve been mostly wrong. Still expect the pitching to fade some, but the team’s got more potential than I gave them credit for.
April 20th, 2012 at 11:05 pm
Prado? You doubted…wha?
April 20th, 2012 at 11:10 pm
Another OPP field hit for Heyward. I wonder if anyone’s keeping track of our hitters going the other way. The new hitting coach seems like the real deal. The plate approaches are night and day from last year. Reminds me of the Red Sox when they put together their hitting philosophy a few years ago. The Rays, too.
April 20th, 2012 at 11:11 pm
Yeah, I doubt Prado every year. It can’t be helped.
April 20th, 2012 at 11:12 pm
Ho hum, 5 run lead off Cahill. Completely expected.
April 20th, 2012 at 11:12 pm
Beautiful Beautiful slide by Chipper
April 20th, 2012 at 11:13 pm
I prefer to look at it as idealism. I always believe things should be better, and spend a lot of time thinking of ways to make them so, or why they can’t be.
This week has been a lot of fun.
April 20th, 2012 at 11:13 pm
Are the D-Backs this bad? Loving the general awesomeness and I may be madly in love with Greg Walker.
April 20th, 2012 at 11:13 pm
This is how I dreamed the Braves offense would be.
April 20th, 2012 at 11:14 pm
Look at Prado taking all these pitches with Cahill on the ropes. The stuff dreams are made of.
April 20th, 2012 at 11:14 pm
#114 Dead to me.
April 20th, 2012 at 11:15 pm
D backs are banged up, Leah. So, no. Definitely not this bad offensively.
April 20th, 2012 at 11:17 pm
Beat up already…that ain’t good. Neither is watching Prado hobble around home plate. In other news, hearing other organists play reminds me how much I like that Matthew guy.
April 20th, 2012 at 11:22 pm
Offense….yes. 7-0 braves. Heyward and freeman and Mcann are on fire.
Bub – I had a similar thing happen last summer. I was on a business trip and I had a terrible gut pain right around my kidney. I was so uncomfortable sitting in a plane, could barely walk. Went through a bunch of tests, including an ultrasound. They found nothing. It stopped and I thought I must have passed a kidney stone. But the test results said no, it was not a kidney stone. It came back once more and then just went away. The last doctor said it was probably infection in the lining of the small intestines. Can happen from food, from almost anything. It hasn’t happened at all since then.
April 20th, 2012 at 11:23 pm
Steve, Curt, did you guys see Anne’s tweet about ABT meeting up the night they retire Smoltz’s number? Not sure if we could get tickets but it’s a good thought. I was just curious since I didn’t see a reply and ya know…you guys are so good about responding to tweets.
April 20th, 2012 at 11:32 pm
Hey Leah. The Smoltz retirement night is a definite maybe for me. I would be there without question except it’s one of my boys’ birthday weekend (one who has no interest in going to a game) and I’ll have family in town, etc. etc. So, I won’t know for until it gets closer to the game.
Also, give us another chance on Twitter. We monitor it much more closely than in the past. It’s really not a bad way to communicate with us.
April 20th, 2012 at 11:33 pm
Chipper goes deep here.
April 20th, 2012 at 11:36 pm
I don’t know if this is average, a few, or a lot, but out of Cahill’s 94 pitches tonight, he had only 13 that were called for strikes. Seems like the Braves are going up there being very smart about their pitch selection.
This week has been incredible. Watching our offense reminds me of how the Phillies have been over the last couple of years, and how their hitters would never give away at-bats. Everything’s clicking, and we’re doing so good that we’re not even giving Fredi the option of putting on the hit-and-run!
In non-Braves news, I went and saw “Cabin In the Woods” today. If you’re a horror movie fan, I think you’ll appreciate this one a lot.
April 20th, 2012 at 11:39 pm
OK, aside from being 100% wrong, I still feel good about my prediction.
David – I really want to see Cabin in the Woods. I’m a big ho for Joss Whedon.
April 20th, 2012 at 11:40 pm
Will, thanks for the anecdote. Poking around online, mystery kidney pain happens now and again. I hope I escape as luckily as you and it stays away.
7 runs. Crazy stuff.
April 20th, 2012 at 11:41 pm
#128, first paragraph, I’m with you. The approach is almost more exciting than seeing all the runs. The marks of a smart offense, to me, are patience and going opposite field. They’re a clinic on both right now.
April 20th, 2012 at 11:45 pm
Since David brought up the movies…has everyone seen The Artist? Awesome.
April 20th, 2012 at 11:49 pm
For the record, gall stones have me a lot of problems in the lower back. Nothing constant. Just random flairs. With lots of pain.
April 20th, 2012 at 11:49 pm
Remind when the Smoltz thing is?
April 20th, 2012 at 11:49 pm
Leah, drove my sister to B-ham to catch the Artist in a great theater. Loved it. Will get it on Blu-ray the day it hits the shelves. Maybe a bit too heavy on the Singin’ in the Rain rip-off dept at the end, but I forgive it completely. A wonderful movie experience.
Speaking of Blu-ray, if any of you have made that jump, Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol is a must-have. Leah, Brad Bird from Iron Giant, Ratatouille, and the Incredibles directed it.
April 20th, 2012 at 11:49 pm
Someone needs to tell their 3Bman to stop getting tattoos.
April 20th, 2012 at 11:50 pm
lol, every time I look up, the Dbacks are finished hitting again and the Braves are on base. It’s like Opposite World.
April 20th, 2012 at 11:54 pm
MI is on the movie night list. Just loved The Artist!
Curt, I believe June 8th. Or maybe the 6th but I think the 8th. If only there was some sort of electronic data base we could turn to and find out. Bugger.
April 20th, 2012 at 11:57 pm
When was the last time Kimbrel pitched? I know we don’t to over use him but I hope he remembers how.
April 21st, 2012 at 12:02 am
Phillies have bases loaded and none out. If anyone wants side entertainment, this should be good. I predict only one run will come out of it. Their offense is miserable.
April 21st, 2012 at 12:05 am
Chipper and Freddie need some teeth whitening strips. That’s my only comaint in 7 2/3 innings.
April 21st, 2012 at 12:06 am
Andrew Cashner’s hitting 100 MPH with his 4 seamer. Yeesh. Never heard of him.
April 21st, 2012 at 12:07 am
Poop. Phillies are scoring. Oh well, guess it can’t be a perfect evening.
April 21st, 2012 at 12:10 am
Freddie has figured it out y’all.
April 21st, 2012 at 12:11 am
Freeman’s now a hit away from batting .300, that was quick.
April 21st, 2012 at 12:14 am
We look so freaking good.
April 21st, 2012 at 12:15 am
Bases loaded, none out, Jason Heyward up. Any predictions? I dare not.
April 21st, 2012 at 12:16 am
For the love…no more scoring. Sleepy.
April 21st, 2012 at 12:17 am
Tyler Pamperstinky is up now. Good feeling’s gone.
April 21st, 2012 at 12:17 am
#148 Dead to me.
April 21st, 2012 at 12:19 am
Haha. I mean this game. Just no more scoring tonight. It has to end at some point.
April 21st, 2012 at 12:20 am
Wow. 3 straight whiffs on 88 mph sinkers. Dang, Tyler.
April 21st, 2012 at 12:20 am
Poor Rev Nicole. I wouldn’t have minded him getting a hit.
April 21st, 2012 at 12:21 am
Yuck.
April 21st, 2012 at 12:23 am
People behind home ate are ticking me off. SIT DOWN!
April 21st, 2012 at 12:24 am
*plate
Going to sleep.
April 21st, 2012 at 12:31 am
Well crap. Kimbrel’s ERA is shot to hell.
April 21st, 2012 at 12:34 am
lol, great game. Braves are playing so good right now it’s silly.
April 21st, 2012 at 12:35 am
Night, Leah, all.
April 21st, 2012 at 2:00 am
I can’t believe Leah said “no more scoring”. Now we need to sacrifice a live chicken.
April 21st, 2012 at 8:28 am
I know I know. Sorry. It’s not like they listened. I was dilusional due to the exhaustion. *sigh* I’ll take care of the live chicken.
April 21st, 2012 at 11:31 am
Nobody in the NL East has a losing record.
Which teams in our division do you feel are legit? I think all but the Mets have a real chance.
April 21st, 2012 at 2:41 pm
Running away for a few days. Didn’t want y’all to think something happened, what with the ER talk and all.
Go Braves!
April 21st, 2012 at 6:35 pm
Congrats to Philip Humber.
April 21st, 2012 at 8:05 pm
Some cool baseball things that happened today:
1) Humber’s perfecto. Well done, kid!
2) I’ve always hated the Yankees and always will. But after being down 9-0 in the 7th inning against Boston today, they made a HUGE comeback and won 15-9. Wow.
3) I don’t ever want to wish injury on any professional athletes, but I don’t really mind Cliff Lee going to the DL with a left oblique strain. Hopefully that will have lasting effects on his pitching throughout the season.
Let’s go Braves!
April 21st, 2012 at 8:11 pm
Is it just me or did the Braves website list the start time of this game as 8:40?
April 21st, 2012 at 8:50 pm
If anybody’s at the game tonight, could y’all go down and let the fans behind home plate know that they’re supposed to wave all night long to friends sitting throughout the stadium? Apparently they didn’t get that memo.
April 21st, 2012 at 10:13 pm
VENTERS!
April 21st, 2012 at 10:13 pm
Venters = awesomeness
April 21st, 2012 at 10:16 pm
#166: Absolutely. I saw it as 8:40 days ago and when my son told me the Braves were up 1 – 0 at about 8:15 tonight I told him he was wrong.
April 21st, 2012 at 10:28 pm
Kimbrel is nasty. Nice win.
April 21st, 2012 at 10:30 pm
Another day, another win. I can get used to this. Who was it who said that winning is so much better than losing?
April 21st, 2012 at 10:39 pm
Excellent win. Nice to see Hanson making some adjustments after a hairy first couple of innings. I was worried that our luck would run out and Ventbrel would blow a save, but they pitched with authority.
I can’t wait to listen to tomorrow night’s podcast!
April 21st, 2012 at 10:43 pm
I can’t wait to hear how Curt sounds when he’s excited!
April 21st, 2012 at 11:04 pm
Just a measly 3 runs??
April 21st, 2012 at 11:25 pm
The most exciting thing to me about tonight’s win was both Venters and Kimbrel. They both looked 2011 good. Just absolutely untouchable. Love it.
April 22nd, 2012 at 12:28 am
Not to mention the great starting pitching we’ve been getting.
April 22nd, 2012 at 8:01 am
Remember how when Bobby was manager the TV cameras wouuld always show him? Anyone notice that they hardly ever shoe Freddie?
April 22nd, 2012 at 9:19 am
That’s because Bobby was always standing and cheering on his players. Fredi just sits on the bench thinking up his next stupid move.
April 22nd, 2012 at 9:42 am
#179: Fredi really does have that unfortunate look of being confused by whatever he’s watching.
April 22nd, 2012 at 11:56 am
I have a question for Bobby V, how do you leave a reliever in long enough to give up 5 ER and not record a single out? Fredi didn’t get away with stuff like that in Miami, so you better believe it ain’t gonna pass in Boston where people actually watch the games.
April 22nd, 2012 at 1:16 pm
Ham’s Sox – Cubs WS I looking good early
April 22nd, 2012 at 1:20 pm
Note to Fredi:
JASON HEYWARD is 22 YEARS OLD.
He can play every day.
April 22nd, 2012 at 1:27 pm
According to fangraphs Jason is 3rd in all of MLB in WAR. Yet he hits seventh and randomly gets benched. His defense is so important in RF.
April 22nd, 2012 at 1:31 pm
So if Delgado pitches another gem…. When Hudson comes back does J.J. Go to the pen?? Of course not!!
April 22nd, 2012 at 1:39 pm
Yeah, I don’t agree with Heyward getting benched. Let ‘im play, Fredi!
About Humber’s perfect game from yesterday: does the Seattle stadium not have the check-swing cameras? You know what I mean — the one directly perpendicular to a right-handed batter? I find it maddening that, in all of the highlights, there’s not a true shot showing whether or he checked his swing or whether he swung.
April 22nd, 2012 at 1:40 pm
Fredi can’t even make a proper Sunday lineup. He failed to get Diaz or Ross involved. Somewhere Bobby is shaking his head in disappointment.
April 22nd, 2012 at 1:52 pm
@186 I looked everywhere but to no avail. It was so frustrating I just wanted to see if the ump missed it or not.
April 22nd, 2012 at 4:35 pm
I know I’m late to this party, just seeing the lineup… The Jason benching makes zero sense to me. How at all (and certainly after the last couple of weeks), Fredi is treating Jason like a platoon option is just beyond me.
April 22nd, 2012 at 5:04 pm
Awesome catch. Somebody get Prado a bigger dip.
April 22nd, 2012 at 5:25 pm
Is Fredi watching this game? Why not argue that awful call?
April 22nd, 2012 at 5:25 pm
I miss Bobby Cox arguing calls. It seems Fredi doesn’t do that. Bourn was safe.
April 22nd, 2012 at 5:29 pm
That’s the 3rd time in the past week or so that I have seen Bourn called out at 2nd when he was definitely safe.
April 22nd, 2012 at 5:36 pm
How is it that In Atlanta GA I can tell when somebody is safe than someone in Phoenix that is a few feet away?
April 22nd, 2012 at 5:52 pm
Oh no…… Durbin….. I can’t watch
April 22nd, 2012 at 5:53 pm
What happened to Medlen or C Mart?
April 22nd, 2012 at 5:53 pm
If I’m Randall Delgado’s ERA, Chad Durbin is the last guy I want replacing me with 2 men on base.
April 22nd, 2012 at 5:54 pm
New name for Durbin…. “Durwin” or “Durwood” ala Bewitched.
April 22nd, 2012 at 5:56 pm
Fredi Gonzalez is the Les Miles of MLB.
April 22nd, 2012 at 6:48 pm
Hard to swallow losing a game basically because we walked the pitcher.