Show #92: We Sit Down with Braves Great, Javy Lopez
Javy Lopez discusses a wide range of topics including the ’95 Series, the ’96 Series, his relationship with Maddux, and much, much more.
359 Responses to “Show #92: We Sit Down with Braves Great, Javy Lopez”
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February 9th, 2010 at 6:19 pm
Actually I was hoping to sit by Curt. Slip some Kool Aid in his brew.
February 9th, 2010 at 6:28 pm
^There’s nothing metaphorical about that post. Just to clear that up.
February 9th, 2010 at 7:40 pm
Johnny Damon’s text reply to AJC about possibility of an offer from Braves: “I hope. They are definitely a team that is on top of the list.”
Yeah…like the ONLY team on the top. The other team’s on the bottom of the list.
February 9th, 2010 at 7:58 pm
Jeez, you miss a couple of days on this blog and it takes an hour to read all the posts!
Anne, thanks for the inside stuff on the SunTrustClub. Also, don’t listen to Bub, he’s 13 if he’s a day.
Steve. I was not the big Who fan that you and Will were but liked them a lot. At work on Monday, several people were saying “ugh, they were terrible, who puts those oldies on the SB, they weren’t even really playing…etc” I thought it was cool and pretty hilarious those “oldies” were up there singing “teenage wasteland” What a gas!
Curt, great photo of Walter Johnson. Not many people know he is the great grandfather of Robin Williams.
Princess Leah, I agree with Anne. If I ever come across any meaningful Prado memorabilia I will forward it on to you.
Friday week! Go Braves!
February 9th, 2010 at 8:30 pm
I apologize in advance for the length. This’ll take a bit.
This snip from Rob Neyer backs up my parks theory:
“Regardless, the Mets’ 2009 power outage wasn’t exclusively a Citi Field phenomenon. They ranked last in the majors in road homers last season with 46. Pittsburgh had the second-fewest with 50. The Yankees and Phillies, who play in hitter-friendly ballparks, also ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in road homers with 116 and 108, respectively. ”
See, I’ve been arguing (did I say this here already?) that a small home park makes hitter better on the road. And a large home park makes hitter worse on the road. I’ve never researched the numbers, but when has that ever stopped me from flashing a hypothesis?
Anyways, I know the Yankees and Phillies have just plain good hitters, but the Mets (I know, injuries, but…) fall all the way to dead last in road homers? That’s too much.
My theory is that the park-padded numbers hitter achieve at home make them relax. They relax early in the season about fulfilling their offensive obligations to the team, due to the good numbers. They relax their swing, knowing that good solid contact is all you need for a chance to get it out of the park. They relax about their personal contracts because the numbers are looking good.
And when they get out on the road? Still confident. Still relaxed. It simply carries over. They don’t try to kill the ball when they are visiting Turner Field. Their habits are set.
Meanwhile, you might think visiting hitters would gain confidence when they visit you in your small park. Maybe a little, but not nearly the kind of permanent hitter’s swagger that settles in on a player who plays a band box all year.
Then, there is the converse. If you are a hitter playing in a place like Citi, you take on habits of strain, mental and physical. And those follow you on the road, even when you visit Philly.
Maybe the Phillies would play division-winning ball if their home field was the Ted. I dunno. But hitting is so much about rhythm. And rhythm is so much about confidence. And confidence in baseball is mightily helped by putting up good numbers… Which breeds more good numbers… more confidence… more rhythm.
You could say that the pitchers of team with a small home park suffer a balancing opposite, but I think that a very twisted thing happens instead. Pitchers learn how to survive in their small home ball park. They get a lot of breaks on their ERA cuz, hey, it’s a band box, right? And then, on the road, they have double confidence. Meanwhile, visiting pitchers get all screwed up thinking how few mistakes they can make and survive that game in that park. I know some of you will sniff the fallacy in this part of the argument, and I can only answer it by saying that in the end, I don’t think that the small ballpark voo-doo works against pitchers as much as it works FOR hitters. I’ll bet there are numbers that would support this. Not that I’m going to go find them or anything.
February 9th, 2010 at 8:48 pm
The heck do ya mean?
February 9th, 2010 at 8:57 pm
A small home park helps a team win more games.
February 9th, 2010 at 9:09 pm
Okay, I just read back over it. It’s lame. Season needs to get here already.
February 9th, 2010 at 9:17 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9Or4QGI80Y
maybe geezers now, the Who used to blow my teenage mind…check out
Hammy – now I see why Bobby Valentine wouldn’t give ABT an interview about Japanese pitchers…he has been in the middle of a royal disaster – basically being fired for his embarrasing $20 million contract – and over being an alleged primma donna. Its not very Japanese to make too much money….somebody forgot to tell KK! Good for KK! Thats actually a good sign – he has control over his own mind.
February 9th, 2010 at 9:21 pm
I look forward to sitting next to Bub and sharing a nice cool glass of reality.
As far as the Tex trade, my thoughts at the time were:
1. Excited that the Braves were actually making a move and a big one at that
2. Felt like maybe they were mortgaging the future a little by giving up so much
3. Completely supported the move thinking it would propel them to the WS
But with time and retrospection, this could be one of the worst trades ever. I think Schuerholz needs to be held much more accountable for it, and I’m not sure why he hasn’t been. It was as if he felt that he was leaving his GM post, so why bother with the future of the team. I think he traded something like 4 of the top-10 farm hands in that deal? How are we going to feel if the next generation Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera were traded for nothing? We literally have nothing to show for that deal.
February 9th, 2010 at 9:24 pm
“See, I’ve been arguing (did I say this here already?)…” um, where else exactly have you been talking baseball?! I also think psychologically a hitter would be able to feel like he just needed a little more umph to get it out of the park if he’s used to a hitter friendly home field. While in reverse a hitter may get a little too relaxed in a smaller park if he’s used to a bigger park. I have no clue what I’m talking about or if it agrees or disagrees with your previous comment. Hell, maybe I just reiterated what you said in girly talk. I do know it’s a good thing you’re funny cause that comment will kill my iPhone.
So Damon should be so steeped in confidence by hitting in Yankee Stadium that he’s ready for a bigger park like TF. I get it…I hear ya.
I’m taking MattChu’s advice and have planned a mother/son outing to a local collegiate baseball game. It does help to have baseball coming up on a date I can actually see on the horizon. So GO …whatever the battle cry is for University of Vermont.
I’m hoping lots of Prado/Infante signed memorabilia comes your way this season.
Tcc and Anne, “my grace” appreciates your servitude.
February 9th, 2010 at 9:35 pm
TCC – I am with you. I got sucked in a workhole, and I resurface to too many comments to take in. A couple of thoughts:
- Our boy, Wheel (that’s how I pronounce it – you can take a boy out of the south, etc.) is the one who turned me on to the Who. 5:15, Will? Classic. (For me, I kept expecting them at halftime to say “And now, from CSI New York . . . We Won’t Get Fooled Again!)
- I remember jumping up and down and hugging my roommate, Bill, when Sid slid. That was the first and last time I ever did that.
That’s all I got for now.
February 9th, 2010 at 11:04 pm
Leah, to answer your old question, which I kind of forgot about: Head Full of Doubt, Ill With Want, and Incomplete and Insecure. (Yikes. Running theme, anyone?). And, even though the lyrics are the main thing for the whole album (for me), those are the three most haunting melodies.
And I’ve decided that the sharp organ blast that comes on the word “light” in “darkness upon me that’s flooded in light” is my favorite moment on the whole CD. Did I say that already? I swear… I’m getting old.
To answer your more recent question, I talk on the mlb.com board sometimes. It’s rough over there, but I get the advantage of not giving three dangs what anybody thinks of my lame opinions.
February 10th, 2010 at 12:38 am
Late Night Post! Wow Bub, the songs are all mixed up on my iPhone. My favorites are January Wedding, Laundry Room, and Ill With Want. RIP Captain Phil Harris from Deadliest Catch.
February 10th, 2010 at 12:27 pm
Anybody seeing DOB’s tweets? Bring it!
February 10th, 2010 at 12:52 pm
DOB is one Damon-stokin’ hombre. Using Atlanta to get a better contract from another team: a 21st Century tradition.
Griffey: always wanted to play for Bobby.
Furcal: ready to get back to Bobby. Just fax me dat der term sheet.
Damon: I hope so… top of the list.
February 10th, 2010 at 12:59 pm
There ya go Bub…dashing my hopes. He seems to still want a 2 year deal and THAT I would not go for.
February 10th, 2010 at 1:15 pm
Hey, don’t let me dash your hopes. The Braves’ interest appears to be real. And it’s a no-lose situation for me. I’ve warmed up to having Johnny in the line-up (and in the media guide, I’ll admit that), so if we get him, hey that’s groovy. But if (when) he goes somewhere else I can rev up my Diaz-watch to full speed again. Either version is good for this fan.
But I highly doubt Wren will spend much. If Detroit is already in the lead with a two-year offer, I would expect them to remain in the lead. (Of course, the two year offer could be more Borastic Malarkey). The last Boras contract we outbid everybody for was Lowe. And we were unbelievably desperate for a quality pitcher. I don’t see Wren feeling that desperate just to add a LF when we already have a Diaz-Melky-Schafer (assuming Heyward in RF) depth chart out there.
Recent bidding wars: Burnett (lost), Furcal (lost), Griffey Jr. (lost), Lowe (won = lost).
February 10th, 2010 at 1:18 pm
Nice ink on Heyward from Rosenthal, via Bowman:
Jason Heyward is more than the top prospect in baseball.
He’s the player who could transform the Braves from a modest threat into a World Series contender. [...]
Teams routinely delay the promotions of top prospects until the cutoff date passes for them to qualify for an extra year of arbitration, usually around May 15. The Braves did just that with Hanson. But they had four starting pitchers ahead of him.
Their need for Heyward is more urgent.
February 10th, 2010 at 1:23 pm
Sorry, that’s not via Bowman. It’s over at Choptalk, from Gondee.
February 10th, 2010 at 1:23 pm
Bub…I totally just copied that link to post. I LOVE reading about Heyward. Again, I have to reiterate I only want Damon if it’s the right price and for a year.
February 10th, 2010 at 1:39 pm
Hamilton, LOST=creepy!
February 10th, 2010 at 1:57 pm
New show coming Monday, the 15th. Talking prospects with Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus.
And a little something to torture Bub: http://markbowman.mlblogs.com/archives/2010/02/source_says_braves_made_offer.html
February 10th, 2010 at 5:00 pm
Cruel, Steve. And I called you Captain.
February 10th, 2010 at 5:11 pm
MLB says Braves have offered 2-4 Mil for one year. Hmm.