We’re talking about the GOLD GLOVE AWARD. What third-baseman should be held up as the example of fielding excellence. Brooks Robinson. Clete Boyer.
Did Gold Glove voters consider Ozzie Smith’s hitting or base stealing abilities? To not consider Mr. Felix for a Gold Glove because of his lack of hitting, or because nobody knows him, speaks of big-city / regional media bias. Perhaps the Gold Gloves should be divided between the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, and Red Sox!
Games played should be a factor, though it’s not as big a deal as when determining the MVP. Perhaps it’s like having enough at-bats to qualify for the batting title. Fielding percentage, range factor, great plays – yes, they all should be considered. Errors are a valid statistic, certainly not antiquated.
The MLB rulebook concerning Official Scorekeeping addresses errors in section 10.12. When it comes down to it, it says: “…in the scorer's judgment, the fielder could have handled the ball with ordinary effort, the official scorer shall charge such fielder with an error.”
While there may be minor differences in judgments of official scorers in different cities, those differences are minute. Review each error? I trust the scorers…they’ve attended tons of games just to qualify, many more than you or me. You could review the errors to see how greatly they contributed to the outcome of that game. The Mets had a losing record in games Wright committed an error.Great plays could be reviewed and tabulated as well.
Players make spectacular plays, but Zimmerman and Wright botched ordinary plays twice as often as Felix, Ramirez, and Jones. For that reason alone the GOLD GLOVE shouldn’t be given to Zim or Wright.
We’re pulling each other’s chains here. A bunch of words and pretty pictures aren’t convincing arguments, guys. I’ve only been watching / studying / loving baseball over all other sports for 45 years, but I don’t know everything. My oft-mentioned CPA friend is more of a student of the game than me. He agrees that Wright shouldn’t have won. Perhaps I can get him to render his opinion. The last post gave the opinion of a veteran MLB beat-writer (who’s always respected Wright’s hitting), who was similarly perplexed.
Upon further review, perhaps travesty is a strong word. Between Zim, Wright, Felix, Ramirez, and Jones, there are numerous arguments and perhaps no clear favorite. But using any quantifiable measure of fielding, what places Wright first?
I can't believe the Mets David Wright won the Gold Glove. He's known to be a hack in the field, and has often made errors that led to Mets losses. Chipper had another slick-fielding year, despite numerous injuries. Here are some comments from the AJC's David O'Brien, who thought the voters must've taken into account Wright's hitting:
"Wright had the fifth-most errors (21) among NL third baseman, and his .954 fielding percentage was fifth-lowest among NL third baseman, far behind the top three of SF’s Pedro Feliz (.973), Chicago’s Aramis Ramirez (.972) and Chipper (.971), who had nine errors in 126 games at third base.
The managers and coaches do the voting for Gold Gloves, and I told Chipper it wouldn’t be the first time their votes were swayed as much by a player’s hitting totals as his defense. Wright hit .325 with 30 homers and 107 RBIs in 160 games.
“When I find out [Wright won] I was speechless, for quite some time,” Chipper said. “Certainly the guys with the least amount of errors and best fielding percentage quite obviously didn’t win it.”
O'Brien continued: "This afternoon I was going over stats and started comparing. And it made me realize, again, just how potent Chipper’s bat has been whenever he’s been in the lineup the past two seasons.
Consider this: Wright had what was widely hailed as a terrific offensive season, batting .325 with 40 doubles, 1 triple, 30 homers, 113 runs, 107 RBIs, a .416 OBP and a .546 slugging percentage (.962 OPS).
Now consider this: Chipper played 24 fewer games than Wright, and Hoss hit .337 with 42 doubles, 4 triples, 29 homers, 108 runs, 102 RBIs, a .425 OBP and a .604 slugging percentage (1.029 OPS).
Wright killed him in steals (29 to 5), but otherwise Chipper’s numbers are all nearly equal or better than Wright’s, in 24 fewer games."
At least Jeff Francoeur won one. Andruw & Greg Maddux did too...perhaps the voters felt that was enough "Braves."
CPA: Great moment when Tex came into the dugout…from everything you see and hear, it seems like the trades have had a larger impact on the players than it has the fans…with everyone in there, few teams in the league should have a better offensive team 2-8…
They sent Pronto down last night – it looks like for tonights game, with Dotel and Mahay activated, they will probably send Ascaino back down, along with getting rid of Thorman – I can’t imagine they would get rid of Franco, since they gave him so many AB’s during the last few weeks when they knew this trade was inevitable…I would also expect them to send Corky Miller back down and recall Brayan Pena – I hope the Corky call-up is not permanent (he was batting .210 at Richmond)…
There are plenty of pros and cons…the Braves will control Salty for 6 seasons and 2 months – Tex for 1 full season and 2 months…. Though, for the next season and 2 months Tex will be able to help you more than Salty will…
Last Wednesday night I would of liked to have seen Tex (or Frenchy) in the 4th spot instead of Andruw… I tried to defend Andruw when he went through his slump, but even though he has come out of that now, I think he gives you too many wasted AB’s…
I was not opposed to the Garland for Renteria trade… Renteria has probably been the teams offensive MVP this year, but I think Escobar is ready to play SS everyday… that also would get Johnson back in the lineup everyday… I have not really studied Garland closely, though I was concerned when I heard a comparison to Russ Ortiz…
Escobar may be older - 26,27 - but even if he is, he will still be in his prime for the next 6 seasons that ATL has control of him... at times, they have made Elvis Andruss sound like the next Ozzie Smith, but it seems like he has a great glove but not stick... in this era of baseball, I don't think you can afford a SS who cannot hit...
Last week on ESPN classic, I caught a good documentary on Hank Aaron – Tom Brokaw hosted it in 1973 – titled “The Long Winter of Henry Aaron” – a lot of interviews with Aaron and good film footage from the early 70’s…
DM: Tex’s wife is from Atlanta, I hear, and budget-wise he’d fill the Andruw void. Just making the move would signal the team that management wants to win now, which helps team chemistry. JS thinks Salty is more valuable as a catcher-to-be-traded than as a catcher-turned-first-baseman…hence the Julio pickup and Tex talk. Hear the Dallas writer on 680, saying Tex was great in the second half, but a slow starter? Somebody with the Braves really likes switch-hitters.
Will be interesting to see Andruw get dropped in the order when Tex comes on board. Guess Cox wouldn’t drop him below Frenchy and/or McCann at the same time…Andruw’s feelings would be hurt enough just to go to the 5 spot. Like the CPA said…in Boston Andruw would bat way down in the order…same thing for either NY team, the Angels or White Sox. The big spenders in Houston don’t need a centerfielder…they love that kid the way Braves fans love Francoeur.
I actually found out about the trade while reading Rowland's Office 30 minutes after his 11:29 post. Didn't have to give up Reyes...seems like everyone's happy. JS is good about getting the better end of the deal more times than not, so if the trades don't go through, it very well could be because the other team was asking for too much.
DOB had it right about the lineup...to bad Cox won't drop Andruw behind McCann and/or JF. But maybe he's heating up more as well. These moves will hopefully lift spirits in the clubhouse, and darken moods at Shea and in Philly. That starts the Phils got wasn’t anything special, was he? Of course, Dotel has blown 3 of 14 saves…but he’ll be in a setup role this year.
Hear Kincaid not like the trade Monday? He thought the Braves needed pitching instead…but there were few pitchers being offered worthy of giving up Salty or Elvis for. Interesting to have Bill Shanks on there… Dave O’Brien has been on 680 at 8:30. Too late for me.
Great SB by Escobar Friday night...then later in the same inning a not bad try by Harris. Hope Lang's dad saw it...he's one of those who thinks Cox isn't aggressive enough. I did go to bed while the game was still tied...after Bond's last AB on ESPN.
You don't think Escobar is older than his stated age, do you? Kinda like Furcal. Last Wednesday's was the type game Cox would say James only made two bad pitches, though I didn’t pay that close attention.
Bonds was wrong about one thing...Costas knows more about baseball than most people...that has always been his love and specialty. Earlier in Costas' career the network he signed with was determined by what network had the baseball package. He keeps a Mickey Mantle baseball card in his wallet, and named his son Kirby after the Twins outfielder...and he had lots of analysis in Ken Burns' PBS Baseball series. I think Costas was on the mic when Marquis Grissom caught the last out in the 95 World Series.
I've always liked Costas, particularly for his love of baseball, as well as references like that Morrison one...he slips them in without being overbearing and obvious like Chris Berman. That late night show of his was just too late for me.
Since the Giants play two series on the road (LA & SD)...six straight before three more home night games...perhaps Barry will sit in two of those six road games. That would mean he'd only play nine games before my game. Sounds like they have the Pac Bell Park all rigged to go off whenever he hits 755 and 756. It would be too much to ask for Bonds to not break the record until we see him? Wednesday is a night game and Thursday is a day game, so he should play the Friday game we have tickets to. Maybe the pressure will keep him from hitting his second HR until then. That would be one HR per series.
Interesting chatter out there on Glavine. The HOF now decides what cap the Honoree wears…it’s not like if the fans boo that he’d go in as a Met. Boggs tried that in Tampa and it didn’t fly. Interesting point by Rowland, that the fans love Julio…who did the same thing Glavine did.
CPA: The Bonds/Costas thing is so ridiculous because Costas was not even the one saying anything about Bonds... Costas used to have a late night (1:30) talk show on NBC I used to watch as I was getting home from work (late 80's)...whenever he talked to a guest and mentioned singer Jim Morrison, he always said "the singer Jim Morrison, not the Atlanta Braves infielder"...
CPA: How many top starters did we see get traded anywhere today? Starters are so scarce that they are overvalued, if that is possible… I think they got the most value for the pieces they gave up… Arroyo would have been nice, but not worth Salty/Tex…
After Ledezma gave up the HR to end the game on Friday, they showed Cox as he was throwing the lineup card against the dugout wall… I knew then Ledezma would not last the weekend… I believe Dotel has an option – either player or club – for next year – maybe at $8MM… it sounds like Dotel is best in a set-up role… last night on BBTN, Gammons offered up the opinion that Wickman can still have a high save % if he comes in at the beginning of an inning; but since he is not a strikeout guy, and his stuff has diminished, he has trouble if he has to come in with runners on…they can send Dotel in with runners on and since he is a strikeout pitcher, he may have some success – that is a good theory, I thought…
DM: These moves will hopefully lift spirits in the clubhouse, and darken moods at Shea and in Philly. That starts the Phils got wasn’t anything special, was he? Of course, Dotel has blown 3 of 14 saves…but he’ll be in a setup role this year.
Hear Kincaid not like the trade yesterday? He thought the Braves needed pitching instead…but there were few pitchers being offered worthy of giving up Salty or Elvis for. Interesting to have Bill Shanks on there…do you ever hear Dave O’Brien on 680…he’s been on at , like this morning. Too late for me.8:30
Good interesting stat on the quality starts…yesterday the CPA was saying how only 3 starters were needed in the postseason.
Interesting chatter out there on Glavine. The HOF now decides what cap the Honoree wears…it’s not like if the fans boo that he’d go in as a Met. Boggs tried that in Tampa and it didn’t fly. Interesting point by Rowland, that the fans love Julio…who did the same thing Glavine did.
I actually found out about the Tex trade while reading Rowland's Office...30 minutes after his 11:29 post. Didn't have to give up Reyes...seems like everyone's happy. I was wondering what would become of Thorman.
Great SB by Escobar Friday night...then later in the same inning a not bad try by Harris. Hope Lang's dad saw it...he's one of those who thinks Cox isn't aggressive enough. I did go to bed while the game was still tied...after Bond's last AB on ESPN.
DOB had it right about the lineup...to bad Cox won't drop Andruw behind McCann and/or JF. But maybe he's heating up more as well.
1) Since the race is almost even, you are essentially getting Tex for 2 seasons
2) Everyone (fans) seem gun shy about trading prospects for vets nearing the walk year after the Drew/Wainright trade, but even though Boros is his agent, Tex is not the flake that Drew is. With more money from Liberty and Andruw’s salary coming off the books after this year, I think they would have a chance to be competitive for him in ’09. If he likes it here, he might take a few MM less to play here than in NY.
3) I just drew up a lineup with him in it, and I am willing to take the chance that you are trading the next Piazza for a 14-month (and 2 postseason) rental.
4) I don’t want them to leave the cupboards bare for the next era (starting in 2009), but JS, BC and Smoltz have only a few more shots at a WS… I think for everything they have done for the organization, it is worth the risk…even with no Salty, you will still have plenty of good young talent in 2009…
Willie Harris is turning into an anchor in that lineup… he had the big game Saturday, but I would love to see KJ back in the leadoff spot and Diaz playing everyday…it does not look like Julio has much left in the tank, but I think he will make an excellent coach next year…maybe even Cox’s successor…I stayed up late last night to watch the 9th inning meltdown… after Villareal K’d Bonds in the 10th, I gave up and went to bed…
DM: I could be wrong, but I think all those Teixeira rumors are way off base…even if Andruw leaves and Liberty expands payroll. JS knew when he traded LaRoche that Andruw would be leaving, but he also knew what he had in the minor leagues. Teixeira has Scott Boras for an agent (as does Andruw)…JS has always been patient enough to turn better, less expensive, less obvious deals than most obvious high-priced rumors. Reports from Texas say Teixeira is backing off his trade demands. He is a free agent after 2008…so JS wouldn’t trade what Texas would want for offense for one year, when the pitching is in such dire straits. Boras won’t want to sign without testing the market.
I guess Wickman won’t be back next year…his was a one year contract, right? Hopefully JS will keep his sanity and not overpay for a mediocre starter…his track record has been pretty good so far on that. Seems like you can get just as much production from a Buddy Carlyle or Jaret Wright than signing a mediocre 4th or 5th starter for 15 million. For every flop…we had a few last year, at least you’re saving millions. Seems like for what you get, it’s not worth it to overpay for pitching. This may change a little if payroll is increased.
Andruw’s lack of plate discipline is all the more reason to let him walk (he did line out to RF last night…the at bat after he looked at six straight pitches to strike out with runners in scoring position). Better to have Tori Hunter or Mike Cameron than Andruw or Teixeira.
Seems like this would be potent enough lineup next year…allowing money to buy more pitching...
Escobar 2B
Renteria SS
Chipper 3B
McCann C
Francoeur CF/RF
Salty 1B
K. Johnson RF/LF
Diaz/Harris LF/CF
Last night I watched episode 3 of The Bronx is Burning…I missed episode 2. They do a good job of recreating actual events…last night was when Martin pulled Reggie from the middle of the game. At the end of the show they air comments from players, and I haven’t believed any of Reggie’s retorts yet.
At 11 pm I switched to the Braves and watched until Hudson was pulled for Wickman…glad I went to bed at that point. Leno was supposed to have on Lindsey Lohan, fresh from her DUI the night before. Since she didn’t make it, Leno had Rob Schneider come out dressed as Lohan. Schneider’s first comment was ‘I sure am tired…I was out late last night.’ Letterman had on Colts coach Tony Dungy. I’d been sick Monday and yesterday…feeling so bad on the drive in yesterday I considered turning around, so last night I took it easy…though I stayed up too late.
Fell asleep during the game Monday night a couple of times, though I knew we had the lead. Saw Smoltz walk Bonds to load the bases, then bounce the wild pitch to the inside, though McCann was set up outside. Interesting rumor regarding Renteria to the ChiSox, though I didn’t think it as outrageous as Rowland’s Office did. I’d hate to see Edgar go, though I know he’s not a long term solution…particularly the way he’s been playing. Even if he is traded, it’ll be interesting to see where he signs his next free agent contract with…the NL, I’d guess.
The CPA says: I think Smoltz’s shoulder is going to be day-to-day for the rest of his career. It will be huge for the franchise if Davies can get some consistency over the second half and if James can figure out how to get hitters out the third time in the order…
I paused the All Star game on the DVR when it started and then did some evening errands… when I got back, I was able to watch the game and fast forward through commercials and between pitches… we wonder why the NL has not won an All Star game in 11 years, when we have guys like Rowand, Freddy Sanchez and Dimitri Young hitting late in games as opposed to Chipper Jones, Renteria or Pujols…
I was a big fan of Paula Cole in the late 90’s – I enjoyed her 7th inning rendition of God Bless America…
I reply: Will and I watched the entire all-star game, though I dozed off some, and also was moving around cleaning up and stuff. Exciting end, which I did see. Will slept until 11 am, which is abnormal for him, but he’s been on the go lately.
Now we can get back to the second half…many worry that the rest of the season will be tough for Smoltz, that this 2 -3 weeks won’t be enough.
Anyone that knows JS knows he’d never trade Salty for Texeria…with Boras is involved, with the Braves hitting so well and in such need of pitching.
I forgot Terry Forster’s nickname was the Tub of Goo.
The Norman boys went to First Baptist Atlanta a few nights ago to hear Dwight Howard speak. Becky was impressed, but his dad did most of the speaking. Was it in the news that he’s signing a $80-100M extension?
Lots of $$ being thrown around, with Ichiro and ARod in the headlines. Callers to 680 this morning were saying if ARod’s worth $35M then Andruw is worth $18M…that ARod’s off year was worse than Andruw’s…which I don’t think was true by a long shot, even if Andruw has a nice 2nd half rebound.
ESPN had some hits and outs last night in the Celebrity All Star Game. The personalities had personality, but many of the former stars did not...
…Jimmy Kimmel made the celebrity game funnier. He charged out and argued a call, throwing his cap and hitting the umpire. He was immediately tossed, and wised up and said “Not really, right?” When ‘win one for the Gipper’ didn’t work, he erased it and drew a puppy. …Kenny Mayne did make a nice catch. …Editing the game to an hour cuts out the lulls, and perhaps this year the editing was smoother than the past. …the young SF mayor did ok. …Erin Andrews seemed more interested in the guy from Desperate Housewives. As cool as she is, sometimes she asks a question then smiles way too big before the question is answered. …Rob Schneider just looked funny, especially when he chased the pigeon.
…Rickey Henderson and Kevin Mitchell didn’t add much, but it’s harder when you’re in the outfield. This weekend Henderson was blasted again by ESPN for catching a foul ball at a MLB game and not giving it to a kid. …Two nice catches of foul pops by catchers, including the younger Giamatti. …Ernie Banks was apparently the third base coach for one team, but he was hardly mentioned. Wonder if the other team also had a Hall of Famer coach. They did show Schneider getting Banks to autograph a ball. …J.T. Snow seemed an odd choice for the game…he must’ve been wearing his Giants number, as opposed to the 84 he switched to last year when his father died. …Jerry Rice was able to mix in some dancing moves, and he also homered. No Montana or Young?
To me, athletes in general seem to come across with different personalities, making some easier to like than others. That’s where Sports Illustrated does such a great job profiling athletes, so you can get to know them better. Frenchy appears competitive and outgoing, a guy that plays hard but is fun to be around. Same with Pete Orr. McCann appears quieter than Francoeur, but a hard worker. Interesting comments today by him regarding teammate Renteria…another seemingly quiet, hardworking guy. I like it that Edgar has figured out how to make contact and line the ball just over the infield for a single. Andruw did this against Maddux, and perhaps should cut down his swing more often…at least with two strikes. Chipper seems like a guys guy…hunter, fisherman, hitter…and Connect Four champ.
It’s interesting that Gary Carter, Fred Lynn, and Wade Boggs have now played in a few celebrity games. They were great players, but they always seemed to like the spotlight a little too much…and that made me like them less. I always like the hard-working/get a lot out of their ability type, but I was never crazy about these guys. Mike Schmidt was a little like them, just with ability. Smoltz is a Brave kind of like this group, but he has more personality, and can pull it off better. Matt Williams seems different…more quiet…he just likes to play. His interview with Andrews didn’t come off well. Rollie Fingers may be like this, but he’s always smiling and more quiet. Goose Gossage in retirement is more quiet, not as menacing as his demeanor when he played.
On the other hand Dave Winfield’s bubbly personality and big smile has already made him a good guy…a player with great ability who always played all out. Ozzie Smith is smooth and pleasant, a good mix. He made a great catch, but didn’t make a big deal about it. He traded gloves with Schneider only when Rob made the move. I could be wrong about all these guys. If I were out there I’d probably come across the same way…I know I need to smile more. I don’t have to like a player for him to be a good contributor, but since sports is also entertainment, I can pick my favorites for my own reasons. I always liked Langerhans for his glove, though he doesn’t smile much. You figure he was buddies with JF, BM, etc.
Derby winner VG is so talented, and for once the announcers had it right when they said he’s more clutch, that he came through when the contest was on the line, as opposed to just cranking out home runs. I was also impressed by Colorado’s Holliday…nice touch that he had his brother pitch to him. The Twin MVP had his manager pitch to him, and wasn’t that Rafael Belliard pitching to someone? The Blue Jay was also impressive…that second-place performance probably lifted his presence on the national scene greatly.
Good move by Bonds to be interviewed by Gammons, but I heard the phrase “3rd party opinions” too many times. The HR derby lasted until 11 pm, and Will wanted to watch the celebrity game, which ran from 12 to 1 am EDT. Flipped to Letterman and Conan during commercials…they had some funny bits Will enjoyed. Will didn’t realize that Dusty Baker was on deck for 715. I pulled out a coffee-table type book, of the history of the Braves in Atlanta, but amazingly he was not pictured.
The Bronx Is Burning was better than I expected, particularly the portrayals of Martin, Munson, even Jackson. It appears Reggie has a lot of backpedaling to do. I’ll have to watch the entire miniseries. Mantle, Whitey Ford, Pinella, Yogi, Mickey Rivers.
CPA: Leftover comments about last weeks Braves road trip:
Neither the Dodger or Padres were that impressive – part of the reason their pitchers have such low ERA’s is they are playing so many games against teams in their division with lousy offenses (Dodgers – Padres – Giants)…
Having the Giles brothers at the top of the Padres order is killing them… the West coast teams blame their ballparks for the poor hitting – I think it is more a factor of loading your lineup with guys who made their reputation in the pre-steroid testing era (M. Giles, B. Giles, Garciapara, Luis Gonzalez, Furcal, Klesko)…
Mike Cameron is batting in the middle of the Padres lineup – next year when he is here, he will probably be batting 8th…
I think Willie Harris is starting to come back down to earth – I saw a lot of weak AB’s from him last week… Do you believe in Buddy Carlyse now?
I ended up watching most every game from the road trip last week… I thought Reyes looked good through 3 innings on Saturday… I was concerned when the Wells ejection happened on Sat. that the long inning would throw him off and apparently it did…
Davies pitched a good game to get the series win…I don’t know what Wickman’s issue is – it seems he has his velocity, but he is leaving too many hittable balls up…
I did not catch the HR contest last night, or the Bronx is Burning movie (I did read the book last year and it was really good)… I like the concept of the HR concept – I think it is very fan-friendly and great PR for the game, but personally it does not interest me to watch BP HR’s…
From the CPA: Total Average has been around a while, but I never really thought about it much until recently… it is a ratio of Bases/Outs:
Total Avg = Bases/Outs = Total Bases + BB + SB – CS / (AB – H) + GIDP + CS
For a while I was on the OPS bandwagon, but have realized there needs to be some weighting between OBP and SLG for it to make sense… I am thinking now that Total Average makes more sense in determining your offensive contribution to a team…with that said, what do these numbers tell us:
Chipper, Harris, Renteria, Johnson, Diaz and Salty are having good offensive years – pretty much what everyone would know without looking at Tot Avg.
Frenchy and McCann are having seasons a bit below the league average… they have high RBI numbers, but that is due to Johnson, Harris, Renteria and Chipper being on base when they hit…
Andruw’s season is probably not as bad as his batting avg and K total indicates… once again, his RBI total benefits from the top 3 spots in the order performing well…
Kyle Davies has been a more productive hitter that Scott Thorman… Woodward and Orr are giving you numbers you would expect…
Many are not sold on Escobar…and Harrison. Seems like JS wouldn’t trade for Buerle unless he could resign him. DOB showed how statistically Buerle wasn’t as good as Hudson…but any pitching is expensive these days, unless they’re coming up from the minors. Usually JS wouldn’t gamble on the short term, even this late in his and Cox’ careers. JS has been right more times than not on trading away prospects that later don’t develop.
CPA: Sunday, mainly hung around the house and cleaned up while watching the game and All Star selection show… I still can’t believe McCann made it over LoDuca – how did ESPN let such a thing happen?
Looking forward to late games from the coast all week… Rowland’s Office claims they are close to a deal to send Escobar and Harrison to Chi for Buerle… Rowland’s Office admitted it was a hoax this am…I figured as much when I looked around the internet and could find no other mention of it…
Like everyone else, I like Escobar the more I see him…initially my concern was he was another Betemit – an oversize SS, but not enough pop to play 3B… I don’t know about this range, but offensively he could give you a lot at SS… He seems like a good guy, but is Juan Pierre the worse everyday player in the MLB (and has been since his days as a Rockie) – he plays such a deep CF, balls drop in front of him all the time, he has no throwing arm…no power of any kind and a very low OBP…my only issue with Harrison is when they compare him (or Chuck James) to Glavine…if you are looking for another Glavine, it might be a while…
I will trust JS on what to do with Salty and Escobar…I agree with you - his track record speaks for itself – some hits and misses both here and in KC, but many more successes than failures…
CPA: I think there is a good chance in taking 2/3 against the Tigers – Friday night, we have Smoltz going against The Gambler. That is certainly a winnable game. Saturday, we will be send Davies against Verlander to even up the series. Sunday, it looks like we will have Chuck going against Nate Robertson. Bonderman pitched last night, so we will miss him this series.
The Mutts have the A’s, so if we cannot lose any ground this weekend, we can essentially start the 2nd half of the season relatively tied. Even with Pedro coming back, I am happy to take our chances and see what happens.
Last night’s game was pretty grim, but the bright side is we are still only 1.5 games behind the Mutts and inter-league play will be over after this weekend. I still have faith in Carlyse as a # 4 or # 5 starter. James seems to be getting in a better groove, though Monday was not a QS, since he did not make it out of the 6th.
I picked up 2 books to read on our trip to . The first I read was “Game of My Life: Atlanta Braves” by Jack Wilkinson. A lot of profiles and stories of Braves, both from the ’91-95 run and also guys like Murphy, Niekro, Garber etc from the earlier days. I read most of it on the plane there and finished it that Saturday night.Seattle.
The 2nd book was a piece of fiction titled “All The Stars Came out That Night”, which is about a fictionalized All Star game in 1934 between MLB and #### league All Stars. I kept reading it, hoping it would get better. Thankfully, I am almost finished with it. Too much fake dialogue between Satchel Paige and Dizzy Dean.
Me: Read the SI piece on the Bluffton U baseball team? Heart-wrenching. Nice tidbit in there about Hank Aaron spending time in the hospital room talking to a boy in a coma. Too bad it was buried in that article…it’ll never be read by most people following the Bonds chase. Also a good article on Yao Ming.
No relation to Dale! Lifetime Georgia boy...enjoys visiting the rest of the USA. The CPA is my buddy with a finger on the pulse of MLB. I'm a GT grad who also appreciates UGA. Love the Braves & MLB, tolerate the Falcons, Hawks, & Thrashers. A worker bee enjoying Little League & ballet - my excuse for not having hours to write & research. More ramblings can be found at www.sacrifice fly.blogspot. com
