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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Pages: « 1 [2] 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 … 15 » Show All
February 1st, 2010 at 10:38 pm
Hey, it’s me…the Princess. I’m doing good to keep up with half of what you guys discuss much less who said what. And yeah funny guy, I side with Curt. That guy knows everything.
February 1st, 2010 at 10:44 pm
Leah, to answer your question, other than University of Georgia football, attendance is pretty sporadic. Band wagon hopping is an essential part of the Atlanta sports fabric. If your team is good, the fans will come. Other than that, it’s when the big visiting teams are in town. You want to see Hawks/Grizz on a Tuesday night? No sweat. Try seeing them play the Lakers on a Saturday. Same goes with all of them and both major Tech men’s teams. Now there might be a million legitimate reasons for the fan malaise, but overall Atlanta is not a great sports town. Toughest ticket in Atlanta right now? No clue. Hawks are really good but plenty of seats are available. Thrashers are pretty average and their attendance is awful. Falcons ‘sold out’ all their games, but I’ll bet there were 10-12k empty seats per game. Tech basketball is drawing pretty well, but they are top-25 and their attendance has been awful the last few years while they were struggling.
But I don’t see that Atlanta is that much different than any other city. It just catches more heat.
February 1st, 2010 at 10:54 pm
Been very excited about the interview all day. Still can’t quite believe how thoughtful and deliberate he was. It was the first of the athlete interviews where it just felt like a regular guy, speaking from his gut. Not to disparage Glavine or Murph in anyway. It’s just that, in comparison, Javy felt much more open and unguarded than they did. That said, I was also kind of chicken-sh*t with Glavine and Murph compared to Javy in terms of the questions I posed. I just felt permission to ask him more of the real fan stuff I wanted to hear about.
In parallel, I’m kind of frustrated in terms of getting the word out. We’ve got this interview I’m really proud of and think that Braves fans would love and I feel sort of stuck about pushing it out to more people. I’ve spent the night posting on every Braves-related Facebook page, but it doesn’t seem like enough. Marketing, marketing, marketing. It’s an elusive aspect of all this …
I agree that non-sell outs in the post season are absolutely inexcusable. It’s on the people of Atlanta, plain and simple. But it doesn’t seem so far fetched to tie payroll to regular season attendance. I grant you, Curt, the correlation between attendance and payroll may be some arbitrary figure not based in reality. But somewhere there’s a math problem where the connection between attendance and payroll exists and is valid. I just don’t know if the team is truly living according to that connection.
February 1st, 2010 at 10:56 pm
Steve, I thought about plugging it over at the MLB.com message board, but I wasn’t sure if you wanted those loonies over here or not.
Did you try DOB?
February 1st, 2010 at 11:00 pm
Also, have you thought about featuring the interviews (Javy, Glav, Murph, and say, your favorite handful of guests) more prominently on the front page somehow?
I actually like that it’s classy and subdued, but just thought I’d mention it…
February 1st, 2010 at 11:12 pm
Hey Bub – I did post about it on DOB’s blog last night. That was my first move. Feel free to post about it wherever you want. Seriously, if you’re up for it, do it.
We’ve got the Murph interview highlighted at the top. The Glavine one feels a little old at this point. Once Show #93 goes up, we’ll be sure to add Javy up there with Murph. It’s a great point. Thanks.
February 1st, 2010 at 11:16 pm
Yeah, I cannot even read some of the message boards out there. I honestly think t-shirts are the way to go (not sure if I’ve mentioned that). I sent a tweet to a freelance writer (@heelsonthefield, Bub she’s cute and she loves baseball, but I think she’s a Phillies fan) hoping she would spread the word and got nothing. Other than putting in the church bulletin on Sunday I’m no help to you. That is frustrating because it is a killer interview.
“But I don’t see that Atlanta is that much different than any other city. It just catches more heat.” Really. I’m not being sarcastic I just didn’t realize that. I guess different cities will have their particular sport. Like the Penguins in Pitt will always be sold out. Wonder if there will be people on the field at PNC park this year much less in the seats. Same with college sports, grab a Duke football ticket almost anytime but try finding a ticket to any basketball game. Any thoughts on why Atl. catches more heat? I have to say in November I flew through Atl airport and did not see 1 braves logo of any kind. Not one. I was shocked. I know it’s the offseason but really? Come on! Maybe I was in the non Atlanta Braves terminal.
February 1st, 2010 at 11:18 pm
I’ve never posted on DOB but maybe if we ALL flood the message board those boneheads will sense a theme and take a listen. Uh oh…maybe then they will read the message board. Just kidding guys, didn’t mean to call you boneheads. Most of you are brilliant. But not you, yes you, you ARE a bonehead.
February 1st, 2010 at 11:24 pm
Alright, I hit the one at MLB.com. A thread I titled “Candid, Groovy New Javy Lopez Interview.”
Katie bar the door.
February 1st, 2010 at 11:32 pm
“Katie bar the door.” I love that phrase! My grandfather used to say it all the time. Sure you’re not a geezer Bub? I went to DOB’s blog and choked, got too nervous. I can’t keep up with their commentary. I work better on a much smaller scale. Sorry I let you down Steve. I promise to tell my Twitter followers and Fb friends.
February 1st, 2010 at 11:36 pm
Any ideas that anyone has, or anyone you guys can reach out to. We’ve used all the contemporary ways we can think of to get the word out.
February 1st, 2010 at 11:41 pm
Like Peter Bailey says of George, I was born older.
Actually, I was just born square. Older movies, older music, and older people have been my choice since I was less than ten years old. It’s hard to catch up. I just now got to the 80′s. Huey Lewis is gonna be big.
February 1st, 2010 at 11:55 pm
Night, folks.
February 1st, 2010 at 11:58 pm
Oh, and Steve, it’s been so long since I accessed ABT from the very front page that I forgot you do have a great big banner front and center of the Murphy interview.
February 2nd, 2010 at 12:01 am
Leah, there was a chance a few years ago that the Penguins were leaving Pittsburgh due to attendance and revenue problems. Luckily that did not happen for the greater world of sports, but few teams are recession proof. I think the NFL of all the leagues, generally holds up better, just because of how huge the NFL is right now, but even it is not without its problematic franchises. Don’t surprised if the Bills move to Toronto in the next few years and possibly the Chargers will move to LA. Even the Saints would probably be playing in San Antonio right now if not for the NFL investing $100 mill in the Super Dome.
The only team in MLB with an unrelenting fanbase is the Cards. Citi Field had plenty of empty seats this season. The D Backs didn’t sell out their last playoff games. No one went to the Yankee and Cub games in the 80s. The national media decided that because the Braves were not selling out playoff games a decade after their first go at it that we were the worst and most disinterested fans out there. The same guys who killed the Braves for this gave a complete pass to the D Back fans – see Msrs. Wilbon and Kornheiser. There are no bullet proof fans. If Duke basketball went in the tank for a decade at some point their fans would quit on them too.
I dont think Atlanta fans are great by any stretch of the imagination, but I pin a lot of hope and faith on Braves fans coming back when the team makes the playoffs again. I have been to recent playoff games for the Falcons and Hawks and those crowds were loud and into it. I can only believe that this layoff will reenergize Braves fans and get them back to the park when we get back into the post season.
February 2nd, 2010 at 12:10 am
I read an article recently that talked about the need to renovate the blocks around Turner Field. Take some of the old rundown neighborhoods and turn them into eateries etc. Seems costly and complicated and will never happen but may have some merit. We love going to Durham Bulls games but partly for the pre-game pizza at Mellow Mushroom or the post game coffee right outside the stadium. Then there’s the whole “I don’t so much fear for my life” feeling driving from the stadium.
February 2nd, 2010 at 2:37 am
anyone notice that Hammy dissapears everytime there is a big interview..
just sayin.
February 2nd, 2010 at 7:47 am
My god. HE IS SPIDERMAN!
February 2nd, 2010 at 8:23 am
Curt, that was flipping brilliant.
February 2nd, 2010 at 9:12 am
and Bub, keep your eye on that Michael J. Fox kid.
And thanks to everyone for spreading the word last night. And, at the risk of sounding pushy, please feel free to keep on it. If you post at any other fan sites, FB sites, etc. it would be great if you posted about it there too.
February 2nd, 2010 at 9:22 am
12 hours after I posted the Javy thread at the MLB.scuz, there is one response; a guy telling me that “One Day at a Time” sucks. (I use Schneider for my avatar. Yeah, an avatar.)
What a retarded culture.
February 2nd, 2010 at 9:35 am
Bub, I think I’m the retard. I can’t find your thread. What am I missing? Forgive the stay at home mom her ignorance.
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:14 am
http://www.forums.mlb.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?tsn=1&nav=messages&webtag=ml-braves&tid=133611
I think that’ll take you straight there. Unless it’s a bit over my linkage postage knowledge.
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:21 am
By the way, Leah, it would be a serious waste of time, in my opinion, to sign up in order to post there. I’ve never found a single piece of information or enlightenment there that wasn’t better presented at ABT, DOB, Choptalk, or even MLBTR, and in those places you don’t have to wade through thirty paragraphs of “oh yeah you live with your mom” “nuh-uh you do” “heh, you just admitted I live with your mom” “shut up, poop-face”
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:25 am
Bub – I LOVED One Day at a Time. Absolutely loved it. I was a huge TV ho as a kid and that was high on my list.