Braves talk with the CPA…his comments are in bold:
Ramirez can’t stay healthy… I made the mistake of reading some of the fan blog after the Bradley column this morning… How long will people use the Betemit trade as the reason things are not going well? We are still scoring runs, but our starting pitching is giving up more… thankfully, they sent Schiell back down – I don’t think I could take watching him start another game…
All we need is for Horacio to get hurt…McBride pitched great on Sunday, but not good last night…Our whole family watched just about the entire game last night, all sitting together on the couch…even the dog. Very rare. Ceil’s been interested lately, and Anna hung out as well…That fan they kept showing in the late innings last night was funny…
Sunday it was great to see JF drive a pitch to RF. Last night he reached out and drove a low outside pitch to the LCF gap…Gant was happy he didn’t try to pull it down the line, but it seems like had he went with the pitch, he could drive many outside pitches over the RF fence, like Dale Murphy used to do…LaRoche has done that a few times lately as well.
With Murphy (Dale, not you), I think he was a pull hitter when he came up and during his first few years in the league. In ’82 when Torre came in to manage the team, he worked with Murphy to use all fields and that is what helped drive his MVP surge. In ’82 TBS did a documentary titled “It’s A Long Way To October” where they followed the team and miked them all year and filmed a lot of behind the scenes shots – it seems like I remember on that, Torre working with Murphy (Dale, not you) on going the opposite way…
Picked up a Score tabloid…I.J. Rosenberg thought the Betemit trade was a good one. Rathburn had a column on pronouncing Betemit…said ESPN made a big deal about it and still got it wrong. Wilson says the final T is silent.
All the conspiracy theories continue about the Andruw/waivers thing…some say JS leaked it. With AJ becoming a free agent after next year, you can’t blame JS for exploring options. Andruw gave JS a discount last time, but you never know what’s going to happen with Boras. JS might’ve just wanted to feel around to see what Andruw’s reaction would be, or to goad AJ into signing early. And who knows how bad AJ’s back/body is? He’s taken a beating over the years and could become another Chipper or Griffey. Whenever it seems he isn’t running out a grounder, I have to remember how bad he’s hurting. Seems like he’s about 95% of the centerfielder he once was, which is still just about the best ever.
I just read Schultz’ column on Andrew – he makes some good points, but I also agree with you that Andrew is an “old 29” due to how much wear and tear he has placed on his body… I would like to see BC give him more days off during the season, especially with Langerhans as your back-up…He should be expensive on his next contract, and he does have Boras as his agent, but we don’t know what the budget that Liberty will give the team is – will they pocket cash like AOL/TW is doing now (I don’t want to hear how they are losing money – with the reduced payroll and extra revenue in MLB now, I am not buying that line any longer) or will they put some money back in the team (which would make sense if they only want to keep them short term)…
Amazing stat that this weekend was only the third time since the club has been in Atlanta that they failed to score with the bases loaded and no out. Friday and Saturday’s game wore me out…it was nice to finally come back and win yesterday.
Nice that Aybar’s baserunning gaffe wasn’t costly, though it did rob Giles of his hit streak. Seems like more and more this year the Braves are doing one or two things like that a game, and often it’s the difference between winning and losing. Nice that Wickman didn’t let his drop at first effect him, just like the other night when the ball hit third. I thought about what you had said. Baez was also impressive…as was McBride.
I only watched parts of all games over the weekend – What happened to James on Friday night??? That was a big game, because with Schiell pitching, you knew Saturday was a L… thankfully, the off day on Thursday falls on his scheduled day to pitch… we are still 5.5 out, but it is different being 5.5 out chasing a team barely over .500, so it is really just a matter of them getting on a roll and getting to .500, but that is going to take some consistent pitching from Hudson-Ramirez-James…the bullpens seems to be shaping up… with Wickman and Baez in the back-end, that seems to have really relaxed everyone else….
Good article about Bobby Dews Sunday…Ceil even read it. JS has book signings before games (did you get yours signed?)…they ought to let Dews have a signing. I need to show Matthew the article.
Last night ESPN began(?) a series on the three best WebJems for each MLB team. They started with the Phillies. It was nice to see Gary Matthews honored with the third spot, for a playoff play in left. How Mickey Morandini’s unassisted triple play wasn’t first baffles me, but this year’s centerfield catch/broken nose beat it. The announcer said you’d never see a better catch by a centerfielder running full speed into the fence…but I have…a Phillies centerfielder, at that. In the 80’s they had an excellent centerfielder - was his name Elliott Maddox? He wasn’t running at an angle, he was running straight back to dead centerfield. He made the outstretched catch at full speed, and immediately crashed into the wall. He fell down and didn’t get up…until LF Greg Luzinski approached to check on him. Then Maddox leaned up and threw the ball…hitting Luzinski in the face.
Gary Maddux was the Philly OF about whom someone had the quote, “2/3 of the Earth is covered by water – the rest by Gary Maddux”… Elliott Maddux was an OF for the Yankees and Rangers if I recall correctly…
Makes you wonder if Willie May’s catch off Vic Wertz will make the list. The Braves top three were Monday night…they appear to be a diving catch in left by someone, Walt Weiss’s play in Houston to save the playoff game, and Otis climbing the wall. The Mets could include last year’s Betran collision, the collision between Mookie and Dykstra, and Ron Swoboda’s World Series diving catch, which I loved…though Agee’s catch at the wall looked tougher.
Just read the SI article on the great Joe Mauer, so I guess I need to take back using his name in jest. I’d heard in the past about how good he is, and it’s refreshing to see a guy like that come into the league. OK in my book that he doesn’t have much power (yet) but hits for a high average. Ever since the first WS, I haven’t been a big Twins fan. That might’ve showed with my AL votes, taking a shot at Hrbek. I do like how Mauer went the extra mile to wear a throwback helmet while catching.
For McCann to qualify for the batting title, he’ll need 502 plate appearances. Right now he has 313 at bats…I’ll have to refigure to add BBs and HBPs. The Braves have 52 more games, but McCann could sit once a week, missing eight. It’ll be real close. Funny if McCann wins the batting title and Mauer doesn’t.
Appears we’re going to the game tonight. Somehow we managed to go to wild west night last year as well. Still couldn’t talk Ceil or Anna into going…the little dog we’ve been sitting for the last week is being picked up tonight. Don’t know if I can get Matthew to wear his jersey in this heat.
I got inning 8 (the 60’s) of the Ken Burns baseball DVD from NetFlix over the weekend…. I noticed a huge error… they were on Maris 61 in ’61 and they showed a Reds pitcher pitching, then a shot of Maris hitting a home run, then a shot of Frank Robinson (in a Reds uniform) watching the ball go over the fence – what were they thinking here?
Will was worn out from his camping trip when I picked him up Saturday. Usually he says he had a good time, but he didn’t say so. Then he told me about stepping on a yellow jacket’s nest and getting stung ten times. Later when he was talking about the fishing, he said the stings “kept him out of the action” for about 30 minutes. Coach Tim took him to the Ranger station to be looked at. Will also talked for a long time about the football game and trying to start a fire. Tim said the boys stayed up late, and got up early as well…so I’m sure he was tired. After church yesterday he didn’t want to do anything…until there was a big whiffleball game last night! He even slept until after 9 am yesterday…late for him.
Got my car washed Saturday, then while running more errands ran over something that exploded some white paper like substance on the entire side of my car.
Orioles: I’m a sucker for Ripken’s years of consistency and excellence. I’ll call number two a tie…Frank Robinson was fourth all time on the home run list until this steroid era, and has served the game what, into his seventies? Murray’s 500HR/3000 Hit career puts him in an elite class as well. Neither played their entire career in Baltimore. At four is Brooks, whose great Series against the Reds, his competitive fire, his sawed-off batting helmet bill, and his huge smile as a retired ambassador of the sport rank him high in my book. My son plays Little League with a boy named Brooks. Palmer may still look great in Jockeys (or so my wife tells me), but his was an injury plagued career.
Bosox: Some may argue for some present day stars, but these five are all time greats. Arguably one of the greatest pitchers ever, and one of the greatest hitters. (1) Cy Young’s 511 wins is an unbreakable record. (2) Teddy Ballgame’s .400 batting average and 521 home runs in a career cut short by military service. (3) Yaz had a long career, putting up numbers ranking him high on many all-time lists...including 3514 hits. (4) The Rocket’s late career sustained excellence has overshadowed his powerful early years in Boston. (5) Rice was overshadowed by other stars, but had many monster years.
ChiSox: Last years world champions and this year’s addition of Thome do not a career make, so I’m ok with the exclusions. (1) Thomas had a few season’s for the books back in the early nineties, enough to vault to the top of this unheralded list. (2) Baines’ long career is revered on the south side and could win him this vote. (3) Appling is a HOF SS with a career BA of .310, and (4) 2B Fox is another Hall Of Famer. (5) Beloved Minnie’s claim to fame is just his long career.
Indians: Bob Feller was amazing, but Speaker’s 3514 hits and .345 average are hard to top. Doby places third, if only for becoming the first black in the AL. Nap was no slouch with 3242 hits / .338 BA, placing Averilli fifth. Hard to replace these five Hall of Famers with anyone more recent.
Tigers: (1) The Georgia Peach was one of the greatest ever. (2) Greenberg fought prejudice during his shorter, more productive career, though (3) Kaline put up more homers in his longer career. (4) Second-baseman Gehringer made the Hall with a .320 average, and perhaps (5) Trammell’s managerial stint helped earn him a spot on the list over his running mate Lou Whitaker.
Royals: (1) Hall of Famer Brett stands head and shoulders over these other favored sons. Long time Royals (2) Otis, (3) Sweeney, and (4) White were loved in KC, as was my write in for (5): Bo Jackson, the All-Star game MVP who made quite a splash for several years in left field.
Angels: Here’s a team many may cry for more current choices, but I’m writing in more from the past. (1) Carew’s high average challenged the all-time greats, collecting 3000 hits. (2) Nolan Ryan still hold most of the Halos pitching records, and had four of his no-hitters there. (3) The heroic Baylor spent many years on the other coast. (4) Third-baseman Jim Fregosi was a 6-time all-star and had his number retired…he even managed the Angles. (5) Salmon helped lead them to their only title, placing him ahead of popular pitcher Finely and Olympic hero Abbott.
Twins: The old-school Killebrew was also quite popular back in the day, and he retired at 5th on the HR list…putting him first in my book. The late Puckett wins many popularity contests in the twin cities despite his post career troubles. Had his career not been cut short due to eye trouble, he could’ve piled up several more MVP caliber seasons. Carew’s years with the Twins outshone Oliva. Hrbek doesn’t belong on this list…give me Joe Mauer, Paul Molitor, or centerfielder Tori Hunter.
Yankees: Don’t give me Mattingly or even Mariano, perhaps the greatest closer ever. I love Jeter, Arod, and Posada. Munson and Gossage were mean. Even Whitey Ford was great. But all are overshadowed by the five Hall of Famers listed. (1) The Babe changed baseball as a hitter, and also set records pitching. (2) Gehrig was not only the Iron Man, but his stats rival Ruth’s in many categories; .340 average and behind only Aaron and Ruth in RBI. (3) The popular DiMaggio tops (4) the injury-riddled Mantle, who finished with 536 HRs (was he second on the list at the time?). (5) Loveable Yogi stirred the drink in his day, thought he could be replaced by Whitey or Mariano.
Athletics: Tough call, since these guys all played elsewhere. (1) Reggie gets the nod, since he led the A’s championship teams in the 70’s and was 6th all-time in homers. (2) Eckersley was also an important puzzle piece in the 90’s as the closer. (3) Lefty Grove played in Philadelphia, so ‘hometown hero’ doesn’t fit…though his 300 wins and .680 winning percentage do. (4) The volatile Henderson, the base-stealing king and one of the greatest leadoff hitters. (5) Catfish was popular and a Series hero who took the big bucks from the Yankees.
Mariners: (1) Junior’s years in Seattle were compared to the greats, solidifying a HOF career even with the recent injuries. (2) Ichiro has burst upon the scene compiling all-time numbers himself, a singles hitter in the steroids era. (3) DH Edgar is loved in the Pacific Northwest. (4) Write-In…ARod was worth $250 million when he left Seattle. That trumps Buhner and Moyer to 5.
Devil Rays: How can an expansion team claim end of the line free agents as their greatest player ever? Boggs did provide one of the greatest moments in Rays history with he got his 3000th hit, and the Crime Dog tried to go for his 500th homer. Why not add Jose Canseco? I’d rather Rocko Baldelli get votes. (1) Crawford (2) Huff (3) Boggs (4) Hernandez (5) McGriff.
Rangers: (1) Ivan was a catcher for the ages. Write-Ins…(2) ARod carried Texas while pressured by talk of his salary (was Ryan here much longer than ARod?), and (3) Rafael Palmeiro, he of the 500HR/3000hit club. (4) Ryan was amazing, particularly in his 40’s, but his brilliant career was divided between four teams. (5) Kevin Brown did more damage for Texas than Sundberg and Greer combined. Teixeira, great as is he, is still a baby.
Blue Jays: (1) One last write-in…Fred McGriff. Toronto is where he got his start, he tore up AL pitching for many years, and he was a fan favorite. (2) Alomar was an elite second-baseman, (3) Carter hit the walkoff HR to win the Series, and (4) Stieb and (5) Fernandez were both All-Stars.
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
