A Lucid Interval

Collective Sigh of Relief!

2010-02-17T08:54:00.000-08:00

The 24-year-old Braves right-hander was relieved to learn that the exam didn't show any structural damage in his shoulder.

http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100217&content_id=8083718&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl

Here's some great news...

2010-02-16T05:49:00.001-08:00

Jair is going in for an MRI this week. Hopefully it's just the initial soreness with the start of a new season. But the article says "soreness while throwing," which is not exactly the soreness "after throwing" that you expect with the early season.

I got a bit of a sick feeling in my stomach when I heard the news this morning. Hopefully by the end of the week, we'll have good news from the MRI.

http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100215&content_id=8078924&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl

Calm down, the Braves aren't getting Damon

2010-02-11T06:45:00.000-08:00

The reported offer to Johnny Damon will almost certainly not result in a new lead-off hitter for the Braves. While it would be pretty nice to have Damon for the money the Braves have offered (somewhere in the $4M range, plus $2M deferred), the Braves are simply playing the role of pawn for Scott Boras.

Here's how the game works:

Boras: "Hey Frank, Johnny wants to be a Brave."
F.W.: "Oh yeah? What's it going to cost us?"
Boras: "$8 Trillion"
F.W.: "Go to hell, Scott."
Boras: "Then make us an offer."
F.W.: "I'm thinking something more reasonable like $4M"

Boras (to Media): "Hey guys, Johnny's got an offer, and he's leaning toward becoming a Brave. Of course, Johnny prefers a two-year deal."

Boras then uses the Braves offer as leverage to force the Tigers (who need him more) to make a better offer, or lose Johnny. Said offer comes, too rich for the Braves to counter. Johnny plays in the cold, dirty city of Detroit. Braves lose again. Sound familiar? (I was planning to link last year's Furcal discussion here, but apparently my archive only goes back 1 year).

But relax, it's not the end of the world. Getting Damon would come at the expense of playing time for Diaz, Cabrera (who you just paid $3M), and most importantly Heyward. Is that a price you're willing to pay in addition to the $4M?

Pretty funny site

2010-02-10T10:52:00.001-08:00

http://www.mattwietersfacts.com/

Wieters was last year's #1 prospect. He's out of Georgia Tech, and he's the annointed one in Baltimore.

The tie: This year's #1 prospect belongs to your Atlanta Braves. Here's to hoping Heyward lives up to the hype in the way Wieters and his predecessor 2008 #1, Evan Longoria, have.

Dark Horse to Ride a White Horse???

2009-12-23T09:03:00.000-08:00

Out of left-field (actually that infield spot just in front of left field otherwise known as 3rd base) comes Troy Glaus, signing a 1 year deal with the Braves to add real power potential to the middle of the line up. The 33 year old righty missed most of last season with right shoulder surgery.

Glaus has averaged 36 HRs per year when playing 149+ games (7 of his 11 seasons). If he's healthy this could be a great move, details of the deal have not been reported.

The soup is always better the second day...

2009-12-23T07:36:00.000-08:00

Like that Jambalaya you leave in the fridge overnight allowing the spices to really soak in, this deal with Vazquez for Melky is getting better after 24 hours of thought.

First, Vazquez is coming off the best season of his career. He's never been a Cy Young contender, but his performance this year won over many a Braves fan. Emotions were high, but so was the Vazquez price tag. Buy low, sell high. Last year, Wren picked up Vazquez for $11.5/yr coming off a shaky term with the White Sox. This year, Wren trades Vazquez after the best year of his career, with nowhere to go but down. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe last year was just a precursor of what's to come out of Vazquez, but he's 33 not 26, I'd say the odds are in the Braves' favor. Nice job Frank Wren, A- in Investing 101.

Next, Wren has indicated he's not expecting Melky be our offensive answer (that's a relief), but be more of a utility-type outfielder "giving Diaz (and others) a break" but not necessarily taking their job. The club needs at least 4 outfielder, plus an Infante utility man that can play anywhere, and before yesterday those 4 were McClouth, Diaz, Heyward, and Greg White (f/k/a Gregor Blanco). Melky does fit into this mix, and helps the club knowing that he isn't viewed as the answer.

Finally, the prospects are pretty impressive! Vizcaino is young (19) but has huge upside and Dunn is a ++ lefty, struggling to find his control. Both average more than 9 K's per 9! Dunn will be a rookie if he's able to make the club out of Spring Training (he made just 4 big league appearances last year), and he's got potential to be a solid back-end bullpen guy. But the real promise is with Vizcaino.

If the prospects develop, this deal has the potential to be as good as the deal 2 years ago sending Edgar Renteria (after hitting .336) to Detroit for little known Jair Jurrjens.

Also, it seems news is heating up about the potential of bringing 30 homerun promise Dan Uggla to Atlanta, though this seems to be coming more from bloggers and sports talk radio, of course nothing out of the Braves beat writers or PR department.

Bye Bye Vazquez... REALLY?

2009-12-22T07:38:00.000-08:00

Not sure I like this deal, but only time will tell.

MLB.com is reporting that the Braves are near reaching a deal with the Yankees to trade Vazquez and Boon Logan, for Melky Cabrera, Mike Dunn and a prospect.

After last year, I think we all hate to see Vazquez go, but he hasn't had a great history of back-to-back solid years. As he returns to the AL (where he's not had much success), we'll likely see a year that makes the Braves look good in the end.

Melky is serviceable, with "potential," but he hits about .275 without much power (13 HR). He played center for the Yanks last year, but will likely move to left for the Braves and prolong the delay of Jason Heyward's debut. Melky is a switch hitter that will likely fill the 2 or 8 hole in the lineup.

Boon Logan for Mike Dunn is likely a wash (LHP for LHP) and bullpen pitchers are always hit or miss.

It does free up some salary room, so maybe the Braves are able to sign a $10 million bat. But, it fills up the outfield, so it looks like we'll have to look for a right handed first baseman, those are NOT easy to find. I think Mark Bowman is probably right. Expect to hear a Xavier Nady signing in the coming weeks, and that will complete the team that the Braves take to Spring Training, lagging far behind the Phils.

Short End of the Stick... AGAIN

2009-12-17T12:04:00.000-08:00

When offering arbitration to former closers Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano, the Braves expected to receive 2 first round draft picks and 2 sandwich picks when they each signed as free agents. First Soriano stuck to 'em by unexpected accepting his arbitration offer, forcing the Braves into a trade situation. While I like that the Braves were able to pick up Jesse Chavez in the deal, he comes at a high price; essentially costing them both Soriano and the two picks they would've gotten had Soriano gone the free agent route.

Today Gonzalez has reached a deal to sign with the Orioles, as their closer. While this offer does bring the sting of Soriano accepting arbitration, the Braves still aren't getting what they expected. Because the O's are terrible and therefore have one of the first 15 picks of next years draft, they don't have to give that up for signing the Type A free agent, Gonzo. In stead, the Braves will receive a sandwich pick and the O's second round draft pick.

Sure would be nice for Wren to go make a deal that would ease the salt-on-the-wound pain of these most recent transactions.

Knee-Jerk Reaction? Too Late to Fix It.

2009-12-17T05:13:00.000-08:00

Derek Lowe is as good as gone. Though there is no news that the Braves have found a suitor, it appears the damage is done and now the Braves have to trade Lowe, and Lowe alone. That's great news for those of us that love Vazquez, but could be bad news for how the Braves come out in this deal.

Frank Wren has made it no secret that he wanted to move a pitcher to make room for a bat (preferrably a BIG bat, though there appear to only be MEDIUM-sized bats available). But in expressing the need to move a pitcher, Lowe in particular, the media, Mark Bowman in particular, have made Derek's 15 win season sound more like a 5 win disaster. This article, and the accompanying video, illustrate my point.

You'll also notice Derek is none-too-happy with the Braves' lack of communication through this process. From his language (perhaps a bit whinny) it appears that the damage is done. Lowe's not happy with the Braves, the Braves aren't happy with Lowe and in the end... Lowe goes back to LA, only in the American League this time. We get no value out of TLAAOA (The Los Angeles Angels of Anahiem). And we're stuck with a sizeable chunk of the salary that we we're trying to shed.

If that is the total of the damage, I won't be that upset. The problem is, isn't this reaction a little rash? Lowe had a 15-win season, with 2 months of poor mechanics that caused his ERA to balloon. Less than a year ago we thought he was an ace, worthy of $16M/yr for 4 years. He's eating his innings, despite his struggles, and by the way... HE PRODUCED 15 WINS! If 5 of his 13 "tragic" starts go the other way, thanks to fixing whatever mechanic issue was causing the trouble, we're talking about a 20-5 season and the best investment in recent Braves history.

Admittedly, I'm playing a bit of a "devil's advocate" role here. I think the Braves probably do need to move Lowe, even more so now that the damage is done. But the way it appears to be going down, I just can't see the Braves being the winner in this deal.

Trading proves difficult

2009-12-14T06:13:00.000-08:00

Wren faced a deadline over the weekend, and unable to trade Kelly Johnson before it came and went. The end result: Kelly Johnson is essentially "released."

GM's had to decide this weekend whether to offer contracts (arbitration) to the players they controlled, or let them become free agents. Frank Wren and the Braves determined not to offer contracts to Kelly Johnson or Ryan Church (who they'd designated for assignment last week). Essentially this means the Braves were not willing to pay Johnson the close to $3 million he'd likely earn in arbitration to be a backup, and they don't forsee him being an everyday player on their roster this year. Ryan Church didn't have much chance, he proved to another team that he couldn't stay healthly enough help make a push.

What this means:

Great news for Prado. Looks like the Braves are committed to letting him play everyday (and all braves fans collectively... FINALLY).

Jeff Francouer has a chance to make the Braves look foolish. With the release of Church, Wren and the Braves have nothing to show for letting this potential superstar go. Whether he'll return to more consistent days remains to be seen.

A FEW HOT STOVE OPINIONS

2009-12-11T09:25:00.000-08:00

Before this week's winter meetings, the Braves signed closer Billy Wagner and late reliever Takashi Saito. They also offered arbitration to last year's closers Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano. Undoubtedly the Frank Wren was not expecting either to accept the arbitration offer, which would have put the Braves in permission to receive 2 compensation draft picks for each of them when they signed with another club as free agents. To their surprise, Soriano accepted arbitration, and immediately requested a trade understanding that the Braves did not intend to use him as a closer. So Wren waived his magic wand, shed some payroll and former closer Jesse Chavez appeared in our bullpen.

All-in-all I'd grade Wren an A, with the understanding that there is still work to be done. We replaced two solid closers (thought not exactly automatics) that were going to demand a LOT of coin this off-season, with 3 former closers, one of which has hall-of-fame potential and was throwing great after coming off Tommy John surgery last year. The Braves pen sets up nice with Chavez and Moylan (who should be 100% now) in the 7th, Saito in the 8th, and Wagner closing it out. If we run into trouble, all of them have some experience closing games, so it shouldn't be a problem to find a fix. Medlen will still be available in long relief (unless he's traded). With these changes, the Braves, who had a pretty solid pitching staff last year, may have the best staff in the National League this year (Assuming Philly doesn't get Halladay in a trade!)

The work still to be done:

It's no secret the Braves are looking for a BIG right handed bat. They were doing so last year when they pursued Ken Griffey, Jr, and finally signed Garrett Anderson (ATTENTION MR. WREN: THOSE GUYS ARE BOTH LEFT HANDED AND NEITHER QUALIFIES AS A BIG BAT ANY MORE!). Right handed power is hard to find. There are really no 30+ HR Righties on the Free Agent market. But there are a few options:

1. Jermaine Dye- Former Brave, free agent pretty solid outfielder and righty bat, but he'd be a fill-in, he's probably a bit costly, and he's getting old. (still my second favorite option).

2. Miquel Cabera- Big bat, when he's on, but a big contract to go with it. It'd take a trade with the Tiger, and they probably want a lot in return. (Not a likely option).

3. Dan Uggla- my personal favorite option- 30+ HR for 4 consecutive years, right handed bat, familiar with NL east pitching, and an easy trade. Florida is looking to move him. Offer: Kelly Johnson and a second tier prospect. Make Prado your everyday 1st baseman. Uggla will play 2nd, and hit 4th against lefties, 5th against righties (behind McCann). Still need to pick up Mike Cameron or Marlon Byrd (as they've been discussing) to aid the outfield.

Picking up Uggla and Byrd, with this stacked pitching staff would make the Braves the favorite in the NL east (again assuming Philly doesn't make a deal for Halladay). If Philly does trade for Halladay, perhaps we tuck our tale, take our ball, and go home?

Keeping the streak alive

2009-11-30T12:44:00.000-08:00

I've only got a few hours to get a post up and save the streak of consecutive months with at least one post. Thanks BMac for pointing that out.

Wow, my posting has been worthless.

Oh, they're going to blow it

2009-10-01T06:20:00.000-07:00

Seriously people? It will take only 1 more Rockies win, or 1 Braves loss for the post-season dream to officially die, but for many it was dead before it started. And to those people I ask, "Doesn't life suck drinking from a half-empty glass?"

Is it so important that you're right in guessing that "your team" will fall short that you predict disappointment rather than victory? If that's you... YOU'RE REALLY MISSING THE BUS, YOU HALF-HEARTED SPORTS FAN!

Sports are not all about wins and losses, championships or disappointments. (Cliche for a habitual loser) But seriously, the best aspect of all sports is the excitement of the chase, the possibility of pulling it off. And if you were the guy that as your team was getting closer and closer, winning every game, you still said, "Oh, they're going to blow it," you're the one that's really blowing it. You're the one missing out of be best part of being a sports fan.

You're the guy that didn't think the Braves were going to win last night. And now you're celebrating a baserunning blunder that allowed you to correctly predict defeat. You, my friend, are no fan.

Sadly, the Braves' season much like my posting has been a real disappointment

2009-09-29T05:19:00.001-07:00

These were my words just a few short weeks ago. Before the Braves went on their current streak and made a liar out of me. And a liar I'll happily be, if it means I get to watch my team in the heat of a playoff battle.

All seemed lost when the Braves got embarrassed by the Reds, and fell to something like 8 games back. That was before we found the hot hand, and started getting some clutch hits to support our awesome pitching. Now they're just 2 games back with 6 to play. We're facing the Marlins for 2 more then the Nationals for 4, all at home. The Rockies have the Brewers at home for 3, then go to the division-leading Dodgers for 3 more.

I only wish I could make it to a few games this week. Every fan has an excuse, and those combined excuses manifest themselves in a sea of empty blue seats every night at the Ted. The team notices, as you've heard from Chipper's remarks the past few days. My excuse is I'm working day and night to rebuild by flooded first floor, but I'm going to do everything I can to make it out there. You do the same.

Go Bravos!

Man, what a failure

2009-09-14T11:50:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry (to any reader still hanging on) that my last post was at some point in July, related to the Frenchy trade. Strangely enough, that's right about the time I started this new job. You do the math, and you'll know my excuse #1.

I'm embarrassed at my failure, but maybe in this "failure" I did exactly what I set out to do. My goal was to chronicle the Braves' season, and give you my insight on what going on. Sadly, the Braves' season much like my posting has been a real disappointment. We both had our high spots: the Braves sneaking up to 2.5 games out at some point in August, my freeze-frame photo of Beltran being clearly tagged out yet called safe on a stolen base attempt at 3rd. And of course we had our low points too: obviously the Braves getting swept by Cincy last week, and me failing to comment for 2 months!

It's sad that it's coming a close. Sad not only because I love the Braves, and I love baseball, but also because I enjoyed commenting on the game, even when sometimes it was a stretch to find anything noteworthy. But what's most sad is that I've let the "real world" get in the way of the things I really enjoy. Here's to hoping I can find some time for the fun. Keep your eyes peeled... you never know when I peck out another meaningless rant.

Francouer for Church

2009-07-14T05:39:00.000-07:00

My reaction to the trade is... there must be more that we aren't hearing. This trade makes no sense for the Braves. We trade a guy that hits .245 with 7 HR for a guy that hits .280 with 2 homeruns, when what we need is a run producer. To me it's basically a wash (I don't think either team will be better or worse off), except:

RYAN CHURCH IS A LEFTY! So now our healthly line-up is McClouth (L), Escobar (R), Chipper (S), McCann (L), Anderson (L), Church (L), Kotchman (L), Johnson (L).

I assume that means nearly every position will be filled with platoons. Johnson/Conrad (Infante), Kotchman/Prado, Church/Diaz.

It was really odd to see Frenchy is a Mets uni last week, but it was cool that he came up big for them in his first game (2-4 with 2 RBI), even if the hits were pretty weak.

And I've got to talk about Brooks Conrad. He's been awesome. I saw him during Spring Training, and could see he was a talent. He will remind you of Marcus Giles. He's about 5'7" but thick! And he plays with the balls out mentality of a DeRosa, Diaz, or Giles. I hope they find a way to keep him up when Infante returns, at least until he cools off. He's been on fire.

I'm alive

2009-07-09T08:37:00.000-07:00

My last post was a few weeks ago. I was on vacation, then started a new job.

Unfortunately my time isn't as free as it was during the first half of the season. My 2 followers are greatly upset I'm sure.

The Braves have been pitching outstanding lately, but can't seem to hit the ball. 4 games back, though we made it to within 2.5 last week. Got to get more offensive performance, but we've been singing that song all year.

BTW, in a completely unrelated story, Andruw Jones hit 3 home runs last night. I've said this before, I really hope he has or does regain form.

What are these guys doing?

2009-06-16T07:32:00.000-07:00

Here's a look a few guys from elsewhere in the bigs:

Andruw Jones- on a 2 week skid, but still not too bad. He's hitting .257 (his career average is 259), he's got 7 home runs in 109 at bats. He was hitting over .300 the last day of May. That's more production than the Braves have gotten out of centerfield, and he's only played in 32 of the Rangers' 62 games.

Yo'han "don't call me Carlos" Santana is 4-2 in his last six starts even though he's given up 9 home runs, and opponents are hitting over .300 against him in that stretch. Jiar pitches his ass off every 5th night and has a 5-4 record to show for it.

Remember Mark DeRosa? Who, BTW still lives in Atlanta. He's hitting .279 with 12 HR for a terrible team in Cleveland. Since finally getting a chance to play everyday-ish in 2005 (more than 500 at bats a year- compared with 200 in Atl), DeRo is average about .290. He hit 21 HR last year and should shatter his career high this year. He's an awesome player and a good one to follow.

Albert Pujols has 22 home runs, and is slugging .689!!! I get sick of hearing about Pujols, but that's ridiculous.

There are 3 guys with 22 homeruns 62 games into a "post-steroid era" season. Those guys are on pace to hit 58 jacks. Seems a bit odd if 61 was untouchable prior to the steroid era. All 3 guys are in the National League (Adrian Gonzalez, Raul Ibanez, and Pujols). I thought the American League was where the hitters played?

Get 'em while they're still HOT

2009-06-15T09:01:00.000-07:00

Hot Donuts NOW!

It can't be. The economy may soon be claiming it's sweetest victim yet.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Restaurants-on-the-usnews-15511482.html?.v=1

Week'n' Review

2009-06-15T08:38:00.000-07:00

Not much good to report from the weekend series in Baltimore. But it could've been worse. We could've had Santana on the mound instead of Lowe. Santana got rocked for 9 earned runs in 3 innings against the Yanks yesterday... ouch. Lowe had a tough outing, and once again the Braves can't hit (especially against rookie pitchers!). It's time to right this ship!

In other news:

Visited Gwinnett for a AAA game for the first time Friday night. It was a great game, with several homeruns and 5-4 Braves win! If you haven't been, go check it out. The smaller park (I think it seats about 7,500) provides an awesome atmosphere for a ballgame. Pretty affordable ($12 seats).

Luke Hochevar pitched an awesome game for Kansas City, and deserves mentioning. Friday night he threw a complete game on just 80 pitches!!! He allowed 1 run on 3 hits.

When we have to find a replacement for #6... I vote on taking a good look at Trey Hillman, manager for the Royals now. He's done a pretty decent job with the talentless Royals. He does a weekly interview on XM HomePlate's Baseball This Morning and is really an impressive guy.

Kudo's to #6 for benching Escobar yesterday after an abysmal 2 innings of defense.

Finally, if you have not seen The Hangover, which opened last weekend, don't bother. Unless you actually enjoy sitting in a crowded theater for 2 hours laughing so hard it makes your abs hurt. It's comparable to Superbad, but I think much funnier (and I thought Superbad was hilarious).

Real Men of Guinness

2009-06-15T06:42:00.000-07:00

In a play on a popular mini-series over at Olive the News (not to be confused with that of some beer company), ALI salutes Real Men of Guinness.

We salute you Mr. chewer of beverages; you aren't afraid to forego a hearty steak dinner for the chance to fill up on just 16oz of your favorite beverage. Nor do you bat an eye at that creamy ring of frothy goodness left on your lips from that last time you went down on that mug o' beer.

You don't simply play around with the occasional heavy glass at St. Patty's. No, you want it all and you want it now.

And because you aren't afraid to moisten your bowl of Cocoa Puffs with this Irish delicacy, we salute you: Real Men of Guinness.

Interesting Approach

2009-06-11T07:40:00.000-07:00

With their first 3 selections of the 2008 draft, the Braves selected 3 high school pitchers, including Robert Stovall who dominated the state of Alabama and my brother-in-law's high school team. If it means anything, Bro-in-law, then 18 said he was flat out nasty. His online video shows an incredible curveball for a highschooler, but only an 88-89 fastball.

But his year, the Braves did not select a high school until the 298th pick (their 9th overall). This probably would not have been the case, if the Giants had not selected Zach Wheeler 6th, right before the Braves' first pick (7th) in the first round. Wheeler is a 6'3" RHP out of East Paulding High School (Dallas, GA).

Instead, the Braves selected Michael Minor, out of VANDY and team USA. Pretty good looking lefty, but what the hell do I know?

Check him out here: http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?topic_id=4961152&content_id=4737439

Yesterday's game

2009-06-08T07:02:00.001-07:00

For the most part, the Braves had a tough weekend. But the weekend wrap-up was awesome.

I won't waste time with the Hanson stuff, read it at Braves.com. I will say for the most part, he looked pretty good, but the long-ball got him when he got it up.

The big story, did you see Chipper's HRs? Both of them were on swings that should not have produced homeruns. The first was a fastball up an in. I wouldn't even call it a mistake pitch, it wasn't in his "wheelhouse" (to use a baseball term). If you watch the video, his arms are pulled in, not extended, as he tries to put the barrel on the ball. Somehow he muscled it out.

The second homerun, should have been a single to right-center. The pitch was low and away, again a pitcher's pitch, not hitter's. Over the last 15 years, we've seen Chipper one-hand that ball into right over and over and over again. This time, he took a similar swing, basically one-handed, with his front foot way up in the box, but he was a little early and the ball jumped off his bat and over the left-center wall.

I'm not trying to take anything away from Chipper, these weren't accidents. This was awesome hitting by one of the best hitters in the game, AT 36!!! I'd probably have a bit of a man-crush on him if it wasn't for the whole talking out of the side of his mouth thing.

Other news from the game. McClouth got his first RBI with a game-tying double. Escobar pushed him across for the winning run. And I just heard (from a friend in attendance) that Gonzo hit 100mph!!!

New to the 3 hole

2009-06-05T07:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's game was rained out but the line-up was announced, and Chipper wasn't too chipper (ooooh, that was terrible).

"I prefer to hit third," Jones said. "But [manager] Bobby [Cox] wants to do what's best for the club, and if he thinks Nate might get a couple of hits hitting in the third hole because I'm hitting behind him, then so be it."

Looks like McClouth will be hitting in the 3 hole at least for a while. And since he is the team's leading HR and RBI guy, why not?

My thought is Yunel who's hitting at the top of line-up has gotten more RISP chances than Chipper who's been hitting 3rd (in the same # of games). Also, you're moving your best hitter out of his most familiar spot.

I'm not sure how Yunel's #'s in the lead-off spot compare to when he's in the 2 hole, but I would have given some thought to this line-up:

Escobar
McClouth
Chipper
G. Anderson
McCann
Johnson (while he's still hot)
Francouer
Prado/Kotchman
Pitcher

Only problem is that stacks 3 lefties in the middle (with the switch-hitting Chipper separating the lefty McClouth), but against RHPs, you've got 5 straight lefties! You could switch Johnson and Francouer to avoid 7th or 8th inning lefty reliever against your 4,5,6 guys.

I think I like him in the 2 hole, and decide between Escobar and Johnson for a lead-off man. The other can hit in the 6 or 7 hole. I sure do like having a Francouer, Prado or Kotchman in the 8 hole over Schafer. I think our lineup just got a LOT better!

I like this move

2009-06-04T08:12:00.001-07:00

Braves acquired CF Nate McClouth from the Pirates yesterday for RP Charlie Morton, LP Jeff Locke, and OF Gorkys Hernandez.

Last year when the Braves lost a 3 games series to the Pirates and were already looking for outfield help, I was hoping to land either McClouth or Nady (both from the Bucs and both had just eaten our lunch). Finally we've got some help.

When McClouth takes the field tonight, he'll be leading the Braves in HR, RBI, and Stolen Bases! (and noone is really close in any of those categories). Not to mention we've got a gold glove centerfielder again (although fielding was certainly a part of the game that Schafer did well).

The sad part... Schafer was our 5 tool player that was going to be the future. In 50 games has he ruined his chances with the big club? I'd hate to see that all is lost on him. He was supposed to be optioned to Triple A to regain is swing (which was great during Spring Training), but this is no temporary move.

While I'm thrilled to have a great centerfielder locked up for this year and the next 3, I hope Schafer gets a chance. I think we'll see him again before exploring trade options, but probably at LF or... dare I say it... right.

It's what you wanted.

2009-06-04T07:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the Braves released Tom Glavine. I was shocked, and I'm sure most of Atlanta was. But should we have been?

We all knew that there was going to be a log jam in the rotation; we all are dying to see Tommy Hanson pitch; and we all knew that Lowe, Vazquez, JJ, and Kawakami (perhaps only because he has a $23 pricetag) weren't going anywhere. Let's not forget that Tim Hudson should be back towards the last 1/3 of the season.

So it was Tommy versus Tommy fighting for one spot. One Tommy, who happens to be half the age of the other, has posted a 1.49 ERA in his 11 games at Triple A, with 90 strikeouts in 66 innings! Not to mention he's 6'6" and red headed! The other Tommy, has struggled to rehab, and though he went 6 scoreless at SINGLE A (Rome) in his last rehab start, Braves management has dismissed rumors that he got the gun as high as 86! We all know Glavine doesn't throw hard, but not getting it to 86 will get you rocked in the big leagues.

All indications were that Glavine was going to come to the bigs and get rocked. I hope I'm wrong, and he finds success (with anyone except the Mets) to finish his career. But before you get pissed at Braves management, remember that you're probably the same fan that is sick of seeing washed up players produce losses. Set you emotions aside and realize this move makes sense.

Like I said, I was shocked at first and thought management had botched it again. But look at it this way. The Braves gave Tommy $1 Million to rehab and try to make the club, with the promise of more $ if he was successful. Bottom line, Glavine couldn't make the club. I'm not sure that anyone can logically reach the conclusion that the Braves are better with Glavine.

I hate the result, but only because I hate to see Tommy go. Emotion aside, this is a good move.

Super excited about McClouth... more on that to come!

Megan Brittain

2009-06-04T07:35:00.000-07:00

For the few readers that do not also spend their mornings @ bloggingpantsless, I'll share this story. I did not personally know Megan, but got attached to her fight by following the story @ BP. My prayers are with her family and God bless that little girl.

Squandering Opportunities

2009-06-03T07:09:00.000-07:00

If you watched last night's game, you're likely wondering what the hell this title means. The Braves won.

That they did. And I certainly wouldn't say they squandered opportunities in reaching that result.

But, yesterday afternoon a buddy called with tickets to the game. Of course, I couldn't go. I had the opportunity, and I missed one hell of a game thanks to some stupid banquet with a bunch of high school umpires that I barely know (albeit @ Texas Roadhouse).

I would have much rather seen Francouer snap out of 0 for 2 years slump in the clutch with a game tying blast in the bottom of the ninth, and Chipper follow it up with one of his patented punch-it-out-there singles to score Escobar (after a steal) in the 12th. PAUSE... I've got to say more about that:

Escobar stole a base in the bottom of the 12th to put himself in position to score the winning run! First off, the Braves don't steal as I've addressed before. More importantly, as I've also ranted, Escobar is a terrible base-runner! This is the type of action I want to see more of: stolen bases, sac bunts (Francouer got his first ever), moving the runner, and clutch singles.

So last night it wasn't the men in uniform squandering opportunities (for a change), it was me crammed in tiny booth with 3 other large men (surround by 100 others) choking on stale peanuts when I could have been watching an awesome game!

2009-06-02T08:32:00.001-07:00

WOWzers

2009-06-02T08:19:00.000-07:00

There is a ton of good stuff to write about this week, unfortunately none of it has to do with Braves, or Dawgs baseball. The Braves had a terrible west coast swing last week and the Dawgs looked like they didn't even belong in the tourney. Now to the good:

The Dawgs women's softball team posted a kick ass performance in the softball world series, forcing an if game against Washington before finally falling. Those girls were awesome to watch, and they can flat rake.

I spent the better part of last week riding motorcycles in the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina. Aside from all the sherbert orange T-shirt, flags and hats, it was an awesome trip! It rained nearly every day at some point, but that didn't slow us down. What did slow us down was riding atop the Cherahola Skyway (over a mile above sea level) and literally driving into the clouds (see image above). But, Saturday's weather was amazing, so instead of heading home that morning, I rode until 6pm then packed up for the ride back. It really was a great trip!

Finally, Friday I learned that I passed the Georgia Bar Exam! I'm finally done.

Finally a solid home stand

2009-05-26T08:21:00.000-07:00

Sweeping the Jays turned a .500 home stand against bad teams (3-3 against the D'backs and Rockies) into a well above average one (and the Jays are supposed to be good!).

It's hard to wrap up 3 games in one post, but most importantly Kawakami must be mentioned.

He went 8, giving up nothing to beat the best pitcher in baseball (Roy Halladay). Let's hope this is a sign of things to come and maybe a glimpse that $23 million could be well-spent over the next 3 years.

In other news, I smoked a Boston Butt this weekend for myself and 10 selective invitees. The meat was great, I chose to eat my naked so as not to let sauce detract from the smokey goodness.

Speaking of smoke- I'm leaving in a couple hours for my annual pilgramage to the Great Smokey Mountains and the Tail of the Dragon. Today through Saturday I'll be winding my motorcycle through some of the best roads in the country. If you're the praying type, pray that I keep the rubber side down.

While you're praying, Friday I get the results of February's bar exam. Let's hope and pray that I passed!!!!

Theeeeeeeee Yankees Win

2009-05-22T07:06:00.000-07:00

Ok, the Yankees have won 9 straight, and it's getting annoying. I'm not so much annoyed that the Yankees are winning, I fully expect them to win. I'm annoyed because XM Homeplate (baseball talk radio), aka my morning crack, is inundated with the worst voice in baseball: John Sterling.

"A thrilla from Godzilla"

"An A-bomb from A-rod"

"They go back-to-back and belly-to-belly" or for 3 HRs in a row: "back-to-back-to-back and belly-to-belly-to-belly."

What the hell are you talking about John Sterling???? And how have you kept this job for 20 years?

Apparently I'm not the only one annoyed as one NY Post columnist writes.

Andruw

2009-05-21T08:22:00.000-07:00

Kind of light at work today (obvious). I'll get a week's worth of posting in before lunch.

Remember Andruw Jones?

He's quietly putting up some pretty decent numbers in Texas. He's hitting .292 in 65 at bats, with 4 home runs. AND... He's only struck out 15 times!!!!

I really hope he's back. We all hated to watch him fall the way he did, but he's still young (31) and it would be awesome to see him return to Allstar status. His first 10 years were absolutely Hall of Fame type numbers (with the type of defense he played), it was a shame to watch him struggle.

Here's to famed hitting coach, Rudy Jaramillo for his work with Andruw. Let's hope the year shows similar results for Francouer (who also worked with Rudy this offseason).

Happy Birthday Skipp

2009-05-21T07:26:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday #6.

Doubtful I'll ever forget this one. Bobby and I share a birthday, along with one of the greatest men (and biggest Braves fan) I ever knew... Pepere (which is French for grandfather).

HodgePodge

2009-05-21T06:58:00.000-07:00

Does anyone know what "hodge podge" means? Or where it orginates? Guess I could try wiki.

Francouer is NOT leading the team in GIDPs (ground into double play). Escobar is. However, Escobar is hitting .308 and also tied for the team lead in homeruns (4), so we'll take it.

Vazquez had ANOTHER great outing last night, striking out 6 in 5 innings and not giving up an earned run, lowering his ERA to 3.39.

Chipper Jones has made 6 errors in 32 games! He had 13 all of last year (115 games) and 9 in 2007 (127 games). But he's hitting .315 and leading the team in homers.

Kelly Johnson is leading the team in stolen bases. He has two and that is SAD!!! Carl Crawford leads the majors with 25 stolen bases. The Braves as a team have 8! Bobby Abreu is 100 years old and he has 15! David Wright is a 3rd baseman with 10!

I learned this week that Otis Nixon is instructing KIDS (yes Kids) at a training facility in Marietta designed to help little leaguers become big leaguers. Not included in his typical lesson is instruction on how opiates can make you jump over outfield walls.

Finally, Dontrell Willis earned his first win in nearly 2 years Tuesday night. I hope he's back, I thought he was going to be great.

What's up with the line-up?

2009-05-20T06:29:00.001-07:00

If you watched last night's game, you probably wondered why Kotchman was hitting 2nd, Escobar was leading off, and Kelly Johnson was hitting in the 6 spot. Whatever, it worked. Kotchman and Johnson both had 3 hits and neither struck out.

What the shift failed to do, was spark Francouer, who's average has fallen to .242 (dangerously close to topping his impressive year last year). My solution is: MOVE FRENCHY TO THE 2 HOLE. He's got as much speed as anyone else we've been hitting there (Escobar is slow, and Kotchman runs hard, the wheels just don't turn fast). Most importantly he'd be hitting in front of our best hitter, so he'd definitely get better pitches to see than he currently does, being supported by the .216 hitting Schafer. Also, the new spot in the lineup would fit his new approach better as well, and maybe he wouldn't feel like he needed to hit long balls. If we can hit a first baseman second, we can hit anyone there... give it a shot!

On a different note, JJ was awesome again last night, pulling his ERA back under 2. 7 innings of 1 run baseball. Here's your ALLSTAR Atlanta.

'The Comeback Kids'

2009-05-19T06:25:00.001-07:00

This weekend, the Yankees, yes the Yankees, which I hate as much as any one man can hate any one team, won 3 consecutive games in walk-off fashion. No this didn't make me suddenly start gushing over the thought of Johnny Damon. What it did do was take me back...

Back to a time when I would lay on the living room carpet watching the Braves long after any 10 year old should be in bed (the Braves were in the Western Division then and that made for some really late road games). I'd lay on my stomach with my chin in my hands until my elbows got raw from rug burn, but I wouldn't care because I knew the Braves would win. Down by three going into the 9th, I knew they'd come back... it's what they did.

Don't you remember just knowing Francisco Cabrera was going to lace one into left and slow Sid would score from second? You knew Otis would make a ridiculous catch, Rafeal Belliard would come up with a late inning pinch hit, or the Crime Dog was going deep when we were down.

I'd stay up (and mom would let me) because we knew. We knew the Braves weren't done until the last out was made and more often than not, the Braves were on top.

But now... there's no confidence. I like to think it's going to happen, but noone in the dugout seems to. Mrs. Goat fight's the urge to turn the channel to the 84th season finale of American Idol because she knows I won't speak to her for a week if she does. Maybe it's a perception thing because I was a kid then and I'm grown up now. But really, we all know in Goat years, I'm still just a kid, and I'm dying for that "magic" to return.

Deal of the Day

2009-05-14T06:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I covered two games in one day, and today is an off day, so you (lonely reader) get a special non-Braves post.

A buddy just linked me to this site. Apparently a different item is for sale every day (generally). Then they have "woot offs" where they sell an item until it sells out (usually less than a day). Items vary from $2 widgets to a few hundred dollar gadgets. Today's item is the Roomba at an incredible deal (refurbished $130 +$5 shipping). Shipping is always $5.

Check it out!

Finally my rant

2009-05-13T19:39:00.000-07:00

Fortunately the Braves played a great game this afternoon and pulled in a 12 inning victory off the bat of Prado and the strength of 2 shutout innings by Jeff Bennett and a save by Gonzo. So I'm not as pissed as I was, but I still can't let last night's game go without commenting.

Here's the pic, Beltran was clearly out and the Braves were clearly screwed:

Watch the video here, 3rd base umpire Greg Gibson is in terrible position to make the call. I hate calling out umpires, but no matter how good they are, they cannot see a play looking through a runner while both the umpire and the runner are in motion!

BAGS BAGS BAGS!!!!

2009-05-13T06:06:00.001-07:00

I'll get to last night's annoying game later today if I have time, and I get over being pissed.

Meanwhile: What is up with women and bags???? Here's the story... I get on the elevator today (we're on the 22 floor, I have little choice, but to take the elevator). Taking the ride with me are 4 women and their 12 (YES 12 !!!) bags. I thought I'd have to get out and wait for another elevator so their bags would fit! Each woman had an obnoxiously large purse, another large monstrosity of a bag, an some other miscellaneous bag (a couple of them being plastic grocery bags). I ask you female reader(s) [sadly I know there may only be one of you]: WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GET THROUGH AN 8 HOUR DAY???

The only thing more obnoxious than the bags was the perfume... but that's another rant all together.

What a game!

2009-05-12T09:21:00.000-07:00

If you didn't watch last night's game, you should have! What a pitcher's dual. You wouldn't know it by the 8-3 final, but starting pitching was everything you'd expect from Santana v. Lowe. Lowe had the better outing, though Santana still did not give up an earned run. The base hits he gave up really put his defense in position to fail, and as day follows night, they did!

Clutch hitting by Kotchman (AGAIN) and Diaz capitalized on the Mets mistakes, and we took it to their ace in game 1 of this 3 game series. Matty is now 10 for 18 (.566) against Santana; does anyone is the league hit him that well? He also pulled in another clutch hit against whatever pathetic lefty (a journalist would look that up, a blogger will not) they put in to place Santana.

Great game, great showing by the offense, and even better by the pitching. Keep it up Bravos!

"Maybe we should play all our games on the road..."

2009-05-11T06:12:00.000-07:00

A 4-1 streak on the first five games of this road trip lead Mrs. Goat to say last night, "maybe we should play all our games on the road." The Braves record on the road is now 10-7 compared is a dismal 5-9 at home. This painful reality reminded me of another soapbox I was planning to jump on: Why the hell are we ever out-cheered by our opponents at the Ted????

Last Tuesday, I joined a few friends (and sadly Met fans) to sit just behind the wall in left-centerfield as Kawakami faced the Mets in the second of a two game series. The Braves struggled to score runs, as has often been the case, and Kawakami had a shaky outing (again not a surprise). Throughout the game I remember thinking, "damn Goat, there sure are a lot of Mets fans here." Braves fans made a few weak attempts to drown out the chant of "Let's Go Mets," but they generally were as unsuccessful as our men on the field.

As I sat and fumed a little, I was taken back to a game just a few years ago on Father's Day. The Bo-Sox were in town and so were all there bandwagon fans with no tie whatsoever to the city of Boston or the men with two socks adorning their jerseys. I had long fashioned myself a Red Sox fan after a Braves fan (and with good reason, I'm 50% New Englander), but this game ruined it for me. There is no way that there were 25,000 legitimate Red Sox fans in Atlanta for that game. And no way that Braves fans should have been out-numbered by fans for a team over 1,000 miles away!

Get off you arses Braves fan, get down to the stadium and make some freaking noise.

Don't look now...

2009-05-08T05:41:00.000-07:00

After a two game sweep of the fish, things aren't so bad in the Atl. As poorly as our offense has played, we've managed stay just 2 games out of the lead in the East.

Tonight is a lefty-lefty match-up as Jo Jo heads to the hill to face Cole Hamels. Hamels has been shaky to start the season and here's to hoping that trend continues. Jo Jo on the other hand has been pretty solid.

McCann back with spectacles. I really hope that make him look like Chris Sabo from the 80s-early 90s Reds:

Perhaps it was 'Roid Rage'

2009-05-07T09:37:00.000-07:00

that caused Manny to push the ancient traveling secretary before himself being pushed out of Boston.

This just in: Manny has been suspended 50 games for testing positive for a banded substance. Add him to the list. The AP is reporting right chere (reported 4 minutes ago).

GREAT... as if the A-Rod book wasn't enough, this will poke the fire a little more. Sports talk will never get rid of this stupid story.

Some much to say, but the man's keeping me silent

2009-05-07T06:01:00.000-07:00

Been a busy week. There is lots to talk about, including and 8 run performance last night. Even though the Braves did not get a hit after the 3rd. Unfortunately, I only have time throw up a few words before running.

Garret Anderson pulled in 3 RBIs yesterday, maybe that will get him back on track. Bear in mind that he didn't get any spring training at bats, and has been hurt most of this year. It's going to take some time to get his timing down.

In an unrelated story. Sidney Ponson (you may remember him from his colossal failure with the Yankees, or his decent performance for the Nedtherlands this Spring) was essentially on the chopping block in Kansas City (apparently they're good enough this year to consider cutting people), but yesterday he was on the winning end of an 8-1 ballgame. I didn't see the game, so I don't really know how well he pitched, but the game line was a point of interest.

D. Lowe thew 5 relatively weak innings, but got the win, which can make up for other games where he's thrown well and not gotten any run support.
running...

Lacking

2009-05-05T07:15:00.001-07:00

My creative juices, much like the Braves' offense, needs a swift kick in the nads. I've got little to add today aside from, Vazquez had his first tough outing (giving up 3- 2 run jacks). It's not the end of the world. He still threw 6 2/3, and the Braves could have still won the game if we had any offense.

It was good to see Chipper get a jack (his 3rd) on a belt-high fastball (what was Putz thinking?). Garret should be back in the line-up today, and McCann by the weekend. Maybe we'll start scoring some runs soon.

On a more pleasant note, my second trip to the Ted for 2009 takes place tonight. Here's to the Braves getting off the skid!

All is good

2009-04-30T07:07:00.000-07:00

Yes, the Braves are a game under .500 and 3 games back in the division. But this team will be good.

Pitching has been really good. Vazquez took a hard-luck loss last night, after going 8 innings (longest Braves outing all year) and throwing only 99 pitches! Better yet, only 27 of those 99 pitches were outside the strike zone. Then Soriano came in with a lights out performance in the 9th.

Ted Williams said: "The hardest thing to do in baseball is to hit a round baseball with a round bat, squarely." And St. Louis can attest to that, it wasn't square hits but dinky little bloop singles strung together in the 5th that put the Braves down last night. Unfortunately, the Braves, while squaring up a few, were unable yet again to string together enough hits to push across more than 3 runs.

Our pitching is great, but we've got to do more on the offensive side. Where's that bat that Frank Wren promised? Garret??? Garret?? Bueller? The Braves have averaged just over 3 runs per game in our last 15, and it's only that high thanks to an 11 and a 10 run game thrown in there. We need more consistency scoring runs, but I think we look good to be a contender all year. Perhaps we'll even pick up that big bat before the trade deadline!

Last Night's Game

2009-04-29T09:02:00.000-07:00

What a ballgame. Awesome performance by Jo-Jo (who name's their kid Jo-Jo?). But what was even better was Gonzalez. The closer was consistently pumping 95 mph fastballs past everyone he faced last night, and pulling the string with that 86 mph slider. He was nasty yesterday and gave Braves fans confidence of what's to come from the back of the bullpen this year!

In a related note... Albert "don't call me the greatest player of all time" Pujols had an impressive at bat the 9th. Representing the tying run for St. Louie with 1 out in the 9th, Pujols came to plate with the bat on his shoulder, and left it there! Gonzo threw 3 out of the zone, so you can't blame Pujols for not swinging at the 3-0 95 mph heater right down the heart of the plate. But once the count moved to 3-1, Gonzo blazed the outside corner with another heater that Pujols just stared at. You are the man in the StL line-up Pujols... you're supposed to be hitting the ball, not looking for a walk in the 9th inning of a one-run ballgame! Gonzo finished him off with that nasty slider that came back over the plate, again Pujols was staring. You may recall, the last widely proclaimed "best hitter in baseball" to stare at 3 straight strikes in the 9th inning of a close ballgame was promtly removed from the roster in Bean Town.

Getting people to think

2009-04-28T06:47:00.000-07:00

Terence Moore (24 year sports "journalist" for the AJC) states that his objective in writing is getting people to think. The only thing he's ever caused me to think is, "Damn this dude is one racist ass."

His M.O. has been creating a "story" (read a bunch of words together in a column) when there was no story by inserting the proverbial race card. Fortunately for us all, he's putting down the pen.

If you've not had the torture of reading his columns, google "Terence Moore Race" or "Racist." Here's one of my favorite editorial responses to a T-Mo column: "Terrence is the biggest racist POS in Atlanta. After 5 years of living in Atlanta and reading the AJC I would rather cut off my own nuts then read his garbage. " This was written in 2006, so after another 3 years of enduring "his garbage" this poor commenter is likely among the nut-less today. Here is an interesting article responding to one of his columns as well, brought to you by the good folks at "Every day should be Saturday."

Also, thanks to Mackie at BloggingPantsless for bringing this shit-canning to my attention.

Rejoice Atlanta sports readers, today is a day to celebrate.

Weekend Wrap-up

2009-04-27T08:13:00.000-07:00

The Braves have gone 3-1 since my last post, perhaps that should tell me something. Two wins (Thurs and Fri) came by way of walking in the winning run (guess what goes around comes around). The offense woke up Saturday afternoon, and promptly returned to its slumber before Sunday's game.

Also a part of this weekend was the Goat family's first trip to Six Flags together. I haven't been to Six Flags since since I was 15 and apparently my age was showing. Aside from fighting a tinge of nausea all night, getting the crap beat out of me by jerky roller coasters, and constantly referring to how it "used to be," it was an awesome experience. Apparently some roller coasters have experience an entire lifespan since my last trip. What happened to that "new" roller coaster Deja Vu? Anyone remember the Z-Force?

I was never tall enough to ride Z-Force before they took it out and moved it to California (Six Flags Magic Mountain (according to Wiki). What I did ride this time was Goliath (3X actually).

By far the coolest roller coaster I've ever ridden. Very comfortable, no jerky ass beating, and FAST. Because the park was only open to Georgia State students (and family and friends) we didn't wait for anything. We even rode the Mindbender when our crew of 4 were the only people on the ride! We finished the night with one last hurrah on Goliath, and this time we waited a few minutes to get a ride in the front car... it was worth every minute.

We rode all the roller coasters (didn't catch some of the other rides: Wheelie, Acrophobia), here's how I'd rank them:

Goliath
Georgia Scorcher
Batman
Mindbender
Superman
Georgia Cyclone
Dalonaga Mine Train
Ninga
Scream Machine (it beats you up worse than ever before)

Bullpen-a-buzz

2009-04-23T06:51:00.000-07:00

You play manager: Soriano has given up nada all year (0.00 ERA), and watching him last night he looked lights out. Gonzo has struggled a bit in the early going (5.68 ERA), but has recently come up with a few clutch appearances. Who's your closer?

Gonzo has been wild and his fast ball a bit lame, we're seeing a lot more 91 than 93+. While Soriano's fastball has come to life, we saw 94 last night, and it moves. I would make the switch to Soriano now, if not for this fear: Is Gonzo going to give you anything in a non-save situation?

He was great last night when he came in in the 8th to face a lefty, but that was a tied ballgame, and he was likely to pitch the ninth, had his place in the lineup not come due the next inning. As it was, Prado pinch hit, had a great at bat to draw a walk, which eventually lead to the go-ahead run. But what happens when you need him in the 8th with a 3 run lead? Or in the 7th when you're down 2 and need to keep the game within reach? Does he have that mentality? Will his feelings be hurt if he views this as "losing his job?"

I think these guys have the potential to be great stoppers in any order, but today Soriano definitely has the hot hand. Hopefully Bobby can get them to work together put "titles" aside and get outs.

In a related story, the bullpen as a whole has been great since ditching Boyer. No earned runs in the Nats series. Hopefully we're building on something here!

New Look on the Bases

2009-04-22T07:23:00.000-07:00

Beginning with tonight's attempt to prevent getting swept by the worse team in baseball, the Braves have announced that Martin Prado, Kasey Kotchman, Jordan Schafer and Chipper Jones will be replaced on the base path with these guys:

Apparently the professionals have forgotten how to run the bases. I won't recount all the blunders for fear that I'll be pissed off for the rest of the day, and if you saw them I'm sure you don't want to hear about it again. You are major leaguers boys... these are the easy parts of the game.

At least 4 base running mistakes, arguably more, in the past 2 one-run games could easily be the difference in trying to avoid the sweep and going for the sweep ourselves.

Let Teddy Win!

Good Bye Blaine Boyer/ Game Recap

2009-04-21T06:28:00.000-07:00

Two days ago the Braves designated Blaine Boyer for assignment, allowing him to join the likes of Dan Kolb, John Rocker, and Chief Nokahoma, as promising Braves that just never lived up to their potential.

The Braves dropped another one early this morning, and we can't blame the bullpen. We can't blame any of the pitching really. Lowe wasn't outstanding, in fact he didn't have good stuff at all. But to not have the stuff he didn't have last night, 6 innings and 3 runs was a great outing and the Braves had a great chance to win that game. And the Bullpen did their job through the rain and rain delay to not allow any runs.

Sometimes you drop 1 run games to inferior teams; in 162 games schedule it's going to happen. If you're going to blame the loss on someone, let's blame it on the ridiculous non-call @ 2nd base when David Ross was plunked in the head by a throw from 1st trying to double him up after Lowe's second terrible bunt attempt. After getting hit with the throw, Ross should have been able to cruise into second and sit in scoring position with one out for the top of the order. Instead, Nat's shortstop Guzman collided with Ross knocking him down, then tagged him out once the throw came in from the outfield. For those of you who don't know baseball, that's textbook obstruction. When a fielder prevents a runner from advancing to a base by making contact or altering his route, the runner is entitled to the base he would have obtained had the fielder not been a moron. Yet on this night, the moron was third base umpire Brian O'Nora (who was covering the play at second thanks to the crew being a man down--MLB games usually have 4 umpires, last night we had a 3 man crew). And don't let the "man down" be an excuse, this is a play that any little league umpire working in a 2 man crew could have made. There is no excuse for a professional umpire (how awesome would it be to make a damn good living umpiring professional baseball) to miss that call.

2009 Ted Review

2009-04-17T06:32:00.000-07:00

Well, if you haven't been out to the ol' ball park this year... here's my opinion from my first visit of the year:

"Everything is the same only more expensive."

It starts with parking, last year, parking was $10, except for premium games, then it was $12. It was $12 yesterday, and will likely be $15 on premium days.

Tickets, on their face appear to be the same price. Outfield Pavillion (my seat of choice for nearly every game) $22. Problem is, last year you could buy the tickets at the game for face value ($22), or pay ticket master an inconvenient "convenience charge" to get them online in advance. This year, there is a $2 price increase for tickets purchased the day of the game. They've got us by the nuts!

And speaking of nuts... I was a bit annoyed by one particular junk-in-the-trunk 30 year old vender lady with a prison style neck tat attempting to sale assorted nuts. As she walked the stairs of the right field pavillion, which was adorned with an Elementary School kids enjoying a field trip, she used sales lines like: "I've got the best nuts in the stadium." "Come get my nuts." "My nuts are the sweetest" and "You can't get these nuts on the internet (what does that even mean?)" That's right, it's as unfunny now as it was then, but she thought she was cool and sadly her sales strategy appeared to be working.

Back to prices... Beer (the most important price) is up $.50 to $6.75. You may remember a few years ago, beer was $7, but you got a 24oz beer. Then they "dropped the price" to $6.25 and it stayed that way for a few years, but you only got a 16oz, plastic doesn't keep your beer cold, bottle. Now you get the same crappy bottle with the new increased price.

Not that $.50 or $2 is that big of a deal, but it annoyed me in light of all the off-season comments regarding the economy. I heard several interviews with Frank Wren regarding what they were going to do to try and keep people coming to the ballgame during the recession. None of the ideas he mentioned included increased ticket, parking, or beer prices. I didn't make it to concession and I rarely do, so I can't comment on whether Skip & Pete's HOF BBQ has joined in the price parade.

It may or may not keep me from attending games, but consider this:

If I drink 1 beer in stead of 2, the Braves forego $6.25 for the chance to earn an additional $.50 if I had drank another.

Moreover, if I go to one less ballgame this year, that's $10 in parking, $44 in tickets, and $12.50 in beer ($66.50) they didn't get, because they increased prices by $2, $4 (2 tix), and $1 (2 beers) ($7).

Maiden Voyage 2009

2009-04-16T07:04:00.001-07:00

Finally getting to the Ted for my first time this year. 2 hours from now I'll be watching Kawakami throw some nasty curve balls and hoping our rag-tag line-up (Chipper is out AGAIN, and McCann is off for "day game after night game" rest) can post some crooked numbers.

Hey Bobby

2009-04-16T06:31:00.000-07:00

ALI- "Where's that optomism today Bobbo? The pen really sucks, eh?"

#6- "You're right Goat, what else can I say?"

There you have it folks, the wise one left speachless.

Jackie

2009-04-15T08:49:00.000-07:00

I tried in vain, and eventually shock to get a word of commentary on "Jackie Robinson Day" from my favorite commenter on all things race related (and even those things that have absolutely no relation to race, yet are somehow stretched to include the proverbial ace-in-the-hole the "race card"). But surprisingly, Terrence Moore has yet to comment. Instead, I give you this less controversial, but hopefully more appropriate note:

Thank you Jackie, you made the game great.

Hey Bobby

2009-04-15T08:02:00.000-07:00

ALI- "Hey Skip, took one on the chin today, eh?"
#6- "Plenty of bright spots in today's game, 'cept the score."

ALI- "You're the eternal optomist Bobbo, what was so great?"
#6- "Did you watch the game? Javy struck out 12 in his 6 innings of work. I know goats are terrible at math, so I'll help you out. That's 2/3 of the total outs he recorded by way of stike out. He gave up 3 runs in 6 innings, that's a 'quality start' for all you stat geeks."

ALI- "Damn, that's pretty impressive. So what's up with Garrett Anderson? Did he forget that you can get outs by catching fly balls even in foul territory?"
#6- "You know Goat, your attitude is a bit condescending. Garrett's old and a bit fragile, I think his eyesight is deteriorating, but we'll have him fitted for bi-focals soon. Didn't I say there was positive things to take from this game?"

ALI- "You're right Bobbo, what else you got?"
#6- "How about Johnson? Kelly popped his 3rd long ball. He's really got some pop in this bat."

ALI- "So why's he hitting lead-off?"
#6- "Who's the soon to be Hall-of-Fame manager here Goat? There's another pretty decent manager in Chicago that has a lead-off man with pop."

ALI- "You make a good point, sir, as you always do. Speaking of other good managers, LaRussa likes to bat the pitcher 8th, and place a high on-base-percentage guy in the 9 hole which is designed to provide more RBI opportunities for the top of the line up. With Schafer's speed and OBP, what do you think of hitting him 9th, and potentially having ducks on the pond when Johnson takes to the dish?"
#6- "LaRussa is a moron. I'm tired of being compared to him. This interview is over."

This ain't the minors anymore

2009-04-13T08:08:00.001-07:00

Today I salute the Seals, and despite the prevailing baseball theme here at ALI, I'm not referring to the 1931 San Fran minor league club. Today I salute the US Navy Seals for plunking 3 of 4 pirates from their homely little vessel and causing the fourth to crap his pants in submission. I also tip my cap to our President and Commander in Chief for authorizing the use of deadly force to bring these ass-hats to their knees (and/or turn them into shark chum as the case may be). Finally, to Captain Phillips who negotiated with the aforementioned ass-hats and volunteered to be taken hostage in exchange for the release of his crew and ship.

I know many others are joining me in celebration today. Great job men.

Busy Day

2009-04-13T07:22:00.000-07:00

It's always busy returning to the office after a long weekend. I even to work with me and worked over said "long weekend" and I'm still busy.

Braves cleaned house this weekend, although if it weren't for XM radio and Verizon Wireless ESPN MVP, I would have never known. We had a beautiful weekend at the beach, but Masters weekend and baseball's opening weekend are not a good time to be stuck with only broadcast television!

Several guys played well this weekend, but I think Soriano's performance deserves to be noted. He took the ball in all three games and was lights out come Sunday night pushing his fastball into the mid 90s!

Out of town again

2009-04-10T07:45:00.001-07:00

Back to the beach for Easter weekend. We really live a tough life.

If any of you are making the trip to the Ted, down a $6.50 budweiser for me and double up on the Tomohawk Chops.

What a day

2009-04-09T06:54:00.001-07:00

I'm not going to waste anyone's time throwing up on my computer about yesterday's historic meltdown. You all know what happened, I'm no reporter. Just suffice it say, it's over, let's move on, the 0-3 Nats are in town for the home-opener this weekend. This is the first home-opener I've missed in a few years, but the beach comes calling and Mrs. The Goat would not be happy if I scrapped a beach trip for 1 of 81 games (as she sees it) to be played at the Ted this year.

What I will tell you about is an otherwise awesome day. 4:30pm Tuesday evening I get a call from a great friend (you'll know why she's so great in a moment... keep reading). "Goat," she says, "I know this is short notice, but can you get out of work tomorrow?" "Probably not, I'm already out Friday." "Bummer, my husband just got 4 tickets to the Masters Practice Round and Par 3 tournament tomorrow." "HELL YEA I CAN GET OUT OF WORK."

3 phone calls, 2 voicemails, and 1 conversation with my boss later, and I'm free for a trip to Augusta. I am one of fortunate few to have been, now twice, to the Mecca of Golf (in the US) that is Augusta National. If you ever get the chance, it's one of those "can't turn down" opportunities, even for a practice round. Sell your youngest child or promise your first-born, it's an incredible sight.

The highlight of the day was Greg "The Shark" Norman drilling a turtle in the shell with an errant shot that he attempted to skip across the pond on the par three 16 (they do cool stuff like that during practice rounds). The ball never touched the water, just a raced 1 foot foot in the air from the blade of his 4 iron to the shell of that unsuspecting turtle. Priceless entertainment.

Deja Vu

2009-04-07T18:53:00.000-07:00

And not in that weird "wake up every morning and relive someone trying to kill your girlfriend" sort of way. In the good way, the way that sees solid starting pitching and a few long balls put the Braves ahead 4-0.

Chipper showed his swing is spot on with a long double and longer homer. Kelly Johnson smacked the first pitch of the ballgame over the right field bleachers (not exactly lead-off man stuff, but we're on the board before the first out!). Schafer had a few great at bats, 0-3 with a walk to show for it, but this kid's going to be solid.

Garrett Anderson misplayed 2 fly balls, fortunately only one of which actually fell to the ground for a 2-bagger, and neither ended up hurting.

JJ was solid, but a bit wild. If that's an off night, I think we'll all take it. 5 2/3 scoreless on 4 hits. He threw a lot of pitches though fighting to find the zone. Of course plate umpire, Mark Wegner's zone was tighter than the division champion T that Phils Manager Charlie Manual stretched over his 70 year old gut last fall.

Not acceptable for any reason!

Jake Taylor, Catcher

2009-04-07T07:05:00.001-07:00

Gregg Zaun, 38

Jake Taylor, 38ish

I noted yesterday watching the O's kick the snot out of the Yanks that O's catcher Gregg "Don't call me washed up" Zaun bears a striking resemblance to famed catcher Jake Taylor. As Zaun (age 38) was trying to calm hurler Jeremy Guthrie as he attempted to squander a 6-1 lead, I had flashbacks to 1989, when as a 7 year old, I was first subjected the F-bombs and public urination that comprise the ROTFLMAO flick "Major League."

If you haven't seen the movie, I hereby declare you are NOT a baseball fan. Essentially Jake Taylor is a washed up major league catcher struggling with his old-ness and broken down body while he's got a team of misfits to lead. The more I think about this analogy the more it sounds just like Zaun and the O's. Don't worry Zaun, you get the girl in the end.

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

2009-04-06T06:35:00.001-07:00

The Good:

If you watched the game last night, you'll know most everything was good. Primarily Lowe was flat out nasty. Next time you see him on the mound, check out how every pitch moves at the tail end, no wonder noone hits him. And I don't mean your average sinker-ball movement, this ball goes in, tails back, drops straight down... he can do anything with a baseball. It was purely Maddux-esce.

More good. Francouer's swing was spot on when he drove a first-pitch inside fastball over the left field wall. An inning earlier, Buffalo Wild Wings errupted when McCann parked one in the second deck of the right field porch that rivaled the shots Josh Hamilton was taking in making a mockery of the 2008 home run derby.

Finally, Schafer was as good as advertised. His first major league at-bat resulted in taking Brett Meyers over the 409 mark in centerfield on a pitch that was a bit low and away, not the power zone pitch that McCann and Francouer got. He followed with single up the middle in his second at bat and an intentional pass in his third.

Not related to on the field action, it was great to hear Don Sutton back on the radio! Welcome back curly.

All in a all, a great night for Braves fans.

The BAD:

ESPN commentary. I despise Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN for the same reason I hate Sunday Night Football, the commentary is down-right terrible. From September to January I'm constantly pleading for someone to shove a turducken in Madden's fat throat just to keep him from talking. Likewise if they'd put Joe Morgan in a comfy chair in the corner of Cooperstown to celebrate this fantastic career as a player it would keep him from tarnishing this reputation by opening his mouth. And finally Jon Miller has lost it. I'm not sure if he just doesn't do the requisite homework or just doesn't care, but his meaningless comments and confusing player names causes me to mute the TV in favor of an un-synchronized radio broadcast!

The UGLY:

Somehow Gonzo got out of it with only a small tarnish on Lowe's stellar night. The right handers in the line up ate him up, but he ended striking out Ryan Howard and the new lefty bat of Raul Ibanez. In the end we got the W, but I'm not sure I can take a season of that type 9th inning.

I need to learn how to capture and insert video clips. Meanwhile check out www.braves.com.

Finally here!

2009-04-05T07:18:00.000-07:00

It seems that this offseason, more than most, I was itching to see what Spring would bring. Aside from the rediculous yellow dust that's choking us all (Olive Mackalicious not excluded), which we have come to expect, and all the rain which we've come to NOT expect, this Spring brings a totally revamped club at the Ted and new outlook for the next 162 games.

We're finally just a few hours from seeing what the $16M man is going to bring to the table. Colby's got her Braves jersey on and the TV will be on ESPN all day (now that Mighty Ducks has ended on TBS). So grab a bag (too bad they don't come in boxes anymore) of Cracker Jacks and a 40oz of Schaefer... It's ballgame time!

How the other side lives, part duex

2009-04-03T08:20:00.000-07:00

I'm not a big magazine reader, and if I were, there would be many on my list before I got down to "GQ." However, this article was forwarded to me and it made a great read. Not to mention, it has a reasonable tie to A Lucid Interval for its focus on former baseball great turned great embarrassment, Lenny Dyksra.

Enjoy: http://men.style.com/gq/features/landing?id=content_8558

How the other side lives

2009-04-03T08:13:00.000-07:00

I had a conversation yesterday with a rather successful attorney. He told a story of sharing a dinner with his wife at some fancy sushi bar. "When we got the check," he said, " it was $650!" Someone asked was he upset? "Of course not," he said, "it's a lot easier to go out and have a night for fun and drop $650 than to have that same night of fun and end up pregnant."

Nice perspective I thought.

1-900-HillaHOT

2009-04-03T07:30:00.000-07:00

Perhaps this was Freudian?

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/04/02/white-house-corrects-toll-free-number-mishap/

Predictions

2009-04-03T06:27:00.000-07:00

Let's make a quick run through the divisions, I'll pick division winners and a wild card from each league.

AL East- Yanks- Why is noone picking them? They're loaded with pitching, and despite the fact that I hate them, they're going to be good.

AL Central- Indians- this is going to be probably the weakest division in baseball. However, look for it to be extremely competitive. In the battle of the suckies, Cleveland will suck the least.

AL West- another weak division, but like everyone else you've got to pick the Angels.

AL Wild Card- Boston, they're deep in pitching and can Tampa really repeat?

NL West- Giants. Dodgers get all the talk, but they have no pitching. The Giants are loaded with pitching and have an improved line-up.

NL Central- Cubs, duh.

NL East- Braves. Maybe a homer pick, but I really like the new look and pitching depth. If not the division they'll take the wild card, but I can't pick against them.

NL Wild Card- Phils, because I can't pick the Mets. I think the Phils left handed line-up is suspect and so is their pitching after Hamels. Hamels is a young ace, but the next starters have a combined age of 874,699.

The playoffs are a crap-shoot. I'll say the Red Sox eventually win it all. Still would love to see a Braves/Sox Series!

Sheff's Chefs

2009-04-02T06:40:00.000-07:00

I heard a rumor this morning on XM that the Braves and Phils were the front-runners for one Gary Sheffield. You may remember him as a guy that hit homeruns and had incredible bat speed. That was him in pre-AARP form.

Fortunately, I can find nothing on www.braves.com to verify this rumor. But there is plenty of news throughout www.mlb.com of other teams that are interested. Hopefully the other teams interest will drive him away from the Braves, even though Cox is basically the only manager that Sheff has ever worked well with.

My problem with Sheff (whom I loved in his prime) is that he's old, his bat doesn't move like it used to, he's always hurt and he has played a total of 48 games in the outfield in the last 3 years!!! For those of you new to this game... the National League, of the which the Braves (and Phils) are a member requires all everyone who hits also plays in the field. OK, that's more than 1 problem, but you get my point. Much less, who would you cut for a guy that has proven he can't swing or run anymore?

Prove me wrong Sheff.

Mom and Baby are doing well

2009-04-02T06:15:00.000-07:00

It's been a hectic two days, painful at times, but well worth it. The below pictured FX35 was a really nice vehicle, but I wasn't that excited about an AWD and definitely didn't want to pay a premium for a feature I didn't want. In the end, it was the "less luxurious" version: Nissan's Murano that proved to have more features, more room, and a better price tag.

It was nice to flirt with the idea that we could be among the ranks of the luxury car drivers for a while (but honestly, we're no Mrs. Mackilicious--- ooooohhhh smack!). But like I said this Murano SL has all of the features of the Infiniti... sorry no pics, it was late.

Centerfield settled

2009-03-31T06:32:00.000-07:00

Looks like the centerfield job is settled... or basically settled. Yesterday the Braves traded Josh Anderson, the speedy out-of-options centerfielder for 3 pairs of Mizuno cleats and a half chewed envelope of Redman. This transaction paves the way for the Braves' centerfield to me manned by this guy:

McCann's Cans should also have plenty of competition in the right field upper pavilion seats. Perhaps a taste test/beer fest is in order.

Budweiser could not be reached for comment regarding the imminent change in selection offered by the Chophouse.

But don't look to see this frosty goodness cleansing the pallet of our outfield grass on opening day, instead you're likely to see:

That's right, Greg White (aka Gregor Blanco), or Schaefer light will likely shag the opening day fly balls allowing the "Real McCoy" to delay arbitration another year and subjecting him to the indentured servitude of the Braves for 7 years, in clear violation of the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln would not be happy with you Mr. Wren.

We're having a baby!

2009-03-31T06:26:00.000-07:00

I've dreamed of having a baby just like this for several years now, and if all goes well, we'll bring it home tonight:

for those of you trying to add 2 and 2... buying an SUV does NOT mean we're pregnant!

swamped

2009-03-30T09:14:00.001-07:00

job, roof, 2nd job, looking for a new car... there's never any time

reminds me of this

Feeling good about pitching

2009-03-27T06:34:00.001-07:00

Lowe has had consecutive stellar outings this spring, posting big strike out numbers and as always keeping the ball on the ground. He'll prove to be a work horse and a solid #1 starter. I'm predicting 18 wins.

Kenshin Kawakami had another great outing this week. We have him for three years so I hope he continues to impress. I do worry a little that his early success is a product of not being seen, and eventually major league hitters will figure him out (see Nomo). But for now lets enjoy the fact that he has great command and a ridiculous curveball. We'll give Kenshin 15 wins after a hot start.

JJ, all indications are that he has the "make-up" (whatever the hell that means) not to be overwhelmed by his early success. He's expected to have a sophomore year as great or better than his rookie one. My thought is, that he was our best last year, and any kid that has had to carry a team has gotten all the seasoning necessary. It's just a matter of performance now. Jiar is good at least 13 again, but I expect 15.

Vazquez, solid spring as expected. Bobby Cox is in love with this guy. He'll eat the innings like a solid 3-4 starter should. But don't be surprised if he does more. All the talk is that he's a perennial underachiever. But he's got great stuff and appears to be in a much better environment now. 16 wins would be nice.

Tommy G, well he's Glavine. We know what we've got and if he's healthy, he'll be a real asset in the 5 spot. I don't predict as many starts as most starters. Expect 12 wins, anything more is gravy, anything less and we've got Hanson waiting.

Don't forget about Huddy. Tim Hudson is rehabbing well and look for him to return after the Allstar break. Too early to tell how we'll fit him in, but he'll definitely help the club. If he can grab us 5-7 wins down the stretch, look out playoffs.

The rest of the roster

2009-03-26T07:19:00.000-07:00

Ok, 12 pitchers set, 13 positions players to go:

Infield:

13. Chipper
14. Yunel
15. Kelly Johnson
16. Crotch-man
17. McCann
18. David Ross
19. Prado (you know Chipper will be hurt)
20. Infante (because he does it all and hits)

Outfield:

21. Francouer
22. Garrett Anderson (because he paid for him)
23. Diaz (he's that good, I wish he could play more)
24. Josh Anderson (he's out of options, and he's pretty good)
*25. Jordan Shafer/Brandon Jones/Gregor Blanco

This last one is the tough decision. Jordan Shafer has done everything he can to prove he's ready but they can send him down so they probably will. Brandon Jones is a real talent but still a bit young (damn we've got a deep roster this year). Finally Greg White (aka Gregor Blanco), was a little hot and cold last year, and was probably only up because we were in a jam. Truth is we only have room for 1 center fielder and with Infante on the roster, we've got an adequate emergency backup. None of theses guys make it. Don't forget the Bobby's love affair with switch hitting (less than) phenom Greg Norton.

*Norton will fill the 25th roster spot and the last seat on the bench until he gets that 8th inning call.

If there are any readers out there, tell me what you think (by clicking 'comments' below) about using a roster spot for a guy that does essentially nothing but pinch hit. They'll through him in a few ball games at 1st and a few in left to give a start a break, but he's definitely not any better than the next guy to fill that void. Is he good enough off the bench to justify it? Bobby certainly thinks so. I have my doubts. I'd rather get Shafer up here and playing.

Making The Cut- Trimming to 25

2009-03-25T07:14:00.000-07:00

We're getting late in Spring Training, and it's time to determine who's made it an who hasn't. Over the last several weeks I've been thinking that Bobby Cox has some really tough decisions to make in trimming the roster from 40 to 25. Decisions I made in about 15 minutes this morning by printing the depth charts, 40 man roster, and spring stats. Maybe it wasn't as hard as I thought. The Braves should hire me as second chair to the skipper.

Let's talk pitching, I'll hit the position players later.

Starters. No surprises here:

1. Lowe
2. Vazquez
3. JJ
4. Kawakami
5. Glavine

That means we have to option Hanson, Campillo, Morton, and Reyes. All of which have options. Hanson may be ready soon, but where do you put him? Reyes has had a good Spring, but you certainly can't justify replacing any aforementioned started with and unproven kid. Campillo is good, and I'd like him in long relief, but there doesn't seem to be room for him there either, also it will be best to have him starting regularly in Richmond... errrr... Gwinnett so he'll be ready for a spot start if we have an injury.

The bullpen is where the real action is. Let's start from the back.

6. Gonzalez
7. Moylan
8. Acosta

* I'm placing Soriano on the DL until he can get over whatever is ailing him and build some arm strength.

Long relief:
9. Buddy Carlyle
10. Blaine Boyer

* There's been rumors of trading Jeff Bennett, I say go for it. He's had a terrible Spring, but early there were a lot of teams interested. We've got to shed him, he's out of options and we can't use him.

Lefty Specialist:
11. Boone Logan
12. Eric O'Flaherty

Logan has had a pretty good Spring, even though he had a rough 2nd half in Chi-town. He's our best option since we couldn't land Ohman. O'Flaherty has had a tough outing or two, but he's got big K #s, and I think he'll come around. Our other option is Ridgeway... he's only had 1 outing and it was terrible, I think he has options. Once Soriano is healthy, I probably get rid of one of our lefties, especially if either has an option.

That covers pitching. Time to get some work done.

WBC

2009-03-24T09:14:00.001-07:00

It's over and we lost again. On paper, we (the US) made a decent showing, we made it to the next to the last game, and lost to the eventual champion. But don't forget we got smoked by Puerto Rico in the 1st game of round 2, and should have lost the second game to them.

I like the WBC and hope it continues, but only with the following modifications:

1. Show the freaking games- it's hard to get involved in a tournament when you can only watch a select few games on TV (especially early round games). I remember one 1st round US game that was played in prime time, but at the same time two 3rd world teams were showed on ESPN 2? Much less, I couldn't even follow the game on ESPN MVP (cell coverage through Verizon).

2. QUIT WHINING! The game is different... the US doesn't have it's star players... it means more to the other countries... and 874 other excuses that spewed from comentators' mouths like this guy. None of those excuses caused Jeter to attempt a throw to first without moving his feet because "the runner was fast as a Kawasaki" or cause David Wright to swing at a 58 foot pitch for strike three.

There's more I'm sure, but I'm out for now.

And we're back...

2009-03-24T09:01:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the week-long hiatus. The wife, the pup, and myself headed to a little-known (and I hope it stays that way) oasis off the gulf coast of Alabama. Perfect weather, great food, can't be beat.

I intended to write a few blog posts during the trip and post them during my intermittent web access, but I got caught up in actually vacationing.

Value of a good weekend

2009-03-16T08:45:00.000-07:00

Never under estimate the value of a good weekend. This weekend was spent enjoying friends, fellowship, and food the 3 most important pillars of a good life. To give our life support a fourth pillar and in keeping with the "f" theme, I chose "fire" as the final pillar- refer to Noteworthy posts 1 and 2 below.

Friday evening the wife and I grabbed some Mehican from a local joint, and teamed up with our friends from bloggingpantsless (Mr. and Mrs. Mackalicious) to do so. We wanted to check out Mackie's new ride, but we always look for an excuse to spend a few hours with the Mackies, and it's always time well spent. We spent 30 minutes outside in the freezing rain only to be seated at a tiny 4-top table directly under the air conditioner (which was on) and a full speed ahead ceiling fan. Adding to our comfort was the unmistakeable aroma of burnt fajitas and so much smoke I had to resist the temptation on hit the deck and military crawl to the nearest exit. But as is always this case at this restaurante, dinner was excellent.

Saturday evening, included a large dose of birth control and more friendly fellowship. The Mrs. and I invited some law school buddies over for a cook-out, turned cook-in thanks to the weather. Again, great people that we love spending time with. We were worried about how we would keep everyone entertained, particularly 4 boys (7 months, 2, 4, and 6 ish), because our childless home is mostly devoid of toys. Never fret, 4 boys together are plenty of entertainment for all. Through a 15 month old puppy in the mix and we were set! Great times, good food and don't let the "birth control" comment fool you, the boys were good too.

Sunday, car show. My college roommate and I made our 7th annual trip to AJC International Car Show. If you haven't been, GO! We're kind of in the market for a new car, so this year was an awesome opportunity to check out every model without sales people. Top it off with a stop at the Varsity and a F.O. What a weekend.

We're beach bound for the rest of the week, but I'll try to get some posts together on the The Big March Madness Bracketology Dance between moments of sun and sand.

Attention Baseball Fans

2009-03-13T15:09:00.001-07:00

Itching for the season to start? Can't make a spring training game? You can catch a pretty good baseball game just a few miles from home almost any night of the week right now. Check out your local high school (or if you live in East Cobb, your local 15,372 high schools). The level of baseball will surprise you. Even though we'll have some crappy weather the next few days, when days like we've had the past week return, it really can't be beat. 5 bucks, great weather, fresh cut fields and baseball.

Noteworthy Response

2009-03-13T15:04:00.000-07:00

Dear Mr. [Lawyer]:

I am in receipt of your letter dated March 11, 2009 illustrating your client’s displeasure with my legal debris burning and threatening legal action. While I am sympathetic to Mr. White’s asthmatic condition, I find his course of action highly offensive.

It is Mr. White who burns multiple security lights from the back of his home 24/7 which shine into my bedroom window; and it is Mr. White who runs sprinklers throughout the night producing noise which prevents my family from enjoying the pleasure of open windows; and finally, it is Mr. White’s property from which I consistently hear obscenities yelled which would offend anyone of respectable social conscience. I have tolerated these annoyances throughout my ownership of the neighboring property, and I regard such toleration as reasonable neighboring.

Surely you are aware that Cobb County has very explicit regulations regarding the burning of yard debris. While the fact that my fire burned beyond sunset was inadvertently in violation of these regulations, I can assure you that all future burning will be strictly compliant.

While your threat of legal action is likely an often effective manner of dealing with these issues, I am certain that you understand the folly of your argument in this case. The state of public nuisance law in Georgia is well-settled. As I am sure you are aware, a property owner only owes a duty to his neighbors not to interfere with such peaceful enjoyment of his property that a reasonable person would expect. He is not however held to a higher standard because his neighbor has super-sensitivities. Certainly the fact that Cobb County has such an explicit code regarding burning of yard debris is indicative that a reasonable person would not be deprived of his peaceful enjoyment by such burning. Therefore, your client has no right to prevent me from “outside burning of any kind at any time.”

Please note that had your client pursued a more reasonable means of communicating his displeasure with my actions, I would have likely been more amiable to his concerns. Instead of walking over to my house and having an adult conversation or mailing me a personal letter, Mr. White chose to hire an attorney to write a threatening and rather insulting letter. Therefore, I expect to continue burning my yard debris through April 30, when the burning ban is annually enforced.

Should you wish to contact me further, I can be reached anytime at [phone number].

Very truly yours,

Goat

Otherwise Noteworthy

2009-03-12T19:41:00.001-07:00

In the "otherwise noteworthy" category, I give you this rant.

Monday afternoon, after a short day at the office, I came home and start a small (a very much legal) fire in my backyard to burn yard debris. With an hour, a fire truck pulls up in front of the house (I live in the back of a rather large neighborhood- we don't get fire trucks often, unless my fat asthmatic neighbor is croaking again). The truck doesn't stop or warn me or bother me at all.

Several hours later, my fire is still burning, and I'm still tending to it. Here comes the fire truck again. My this time, the sun had gone down. Little did I know burning after sunset is not ok. They give me a warning and put the fire out for me. Apparently they were just as annoyed with whichever nosey ass neighbor called me in as I was. I laugh it off, and vow to stay within the rules next time.

Today I receive a letter in the mail, along with a notice that I have a certified mail letter as well. The letter is from a local attorney. "Dear Goatboy: Your neighbor (not the aforementioned fat asthmatic) is bothered by your fire... yada yada yada... he and his kids have asthma... yada yada yada... stop burning or we'll go to court." Are you effing kidding me??? My neighbor to the rear of my property, who has multiple security lights which shine into my bedroom window and runs sprinklers all through the night, is bothered by my smoke?? More annoyingly, he paid an attorney to write a letter to threat legal action rather than knocking on my door or mailing me his own damn letter. I'll be working on a rebuttal tomorrow, it begins with starting another fire at 10am!

Frenchy

2009-03-11T07:42:00.000-07:00

Jeff Francoeur is hitting a whopping .150 this spring with his updated approach, and I couldn't be more encouraged. If you've heard anything about Braves in the last year, you've heard how Francoeur had a "terrible year and really needs a bounce-back season." As if he doesn't put enough pressure on himself, he can't go a single at-bat without the commentator mentioning how terrible last season was.

But it's been equally well-documented that he busted his ass all offseason trying to fix the issue. The result thus far, the aforementioned .150 average. But what's impressive? He's scored 4 runs on only 3 hits in 20 at bats. How? He's walking! Who's walking? Francoeur's walking. Jeff Francoeur? YES. Jeff Francoeur has drawn 4 walks in his 24 plate appearance: 17% of the time. If you followed the first 2.5 years of Francoeur's free swinging (don't call me Richards) career, you know he never walks.

What's better? He has 0 strikeouts. Does Jeff Francoeur's new approach not only involves a new stance but also new-found plate discipline? He says the new stance really allows him to see the ball better. In his first 24 appearances, it looks as though he's dead on. Don't worry nay-sayers... the hits will come.

Hanson is NASTY

2009-03-10T09:50:00.000-07:00

Just returned from my first ever pilgrimage to the Mecca that is Grapefruit League Spring Training. My impressions: Hanson is nasty!

He had major league hitters look foolish. His fastball is around 96, and two off-speed pitches, one around 83 (slider) the other around 78 (curveball). He used the off-speed as a strikeout pitch for 7 strikeouts in 4 innings. It was impressive, even after a little control struggle. And he's HUGE. 6'6" and thick, he's an intimidating presence on the mound. I can't wait to see this kid in the bigs. But honestly, I hope we don't see him until late in the year. Barring injuries the rotation should be pretty solid without him.

Also Matty Diaz needs to play. I realize before getting hurt last year he struggled in the everyday role. But that was less than 1/3 of the season. He needs a chance to play because he can flat-out hit. I would hate to see him go, but maybe we should look to trade him somewhere that he can get to play. Consider Mark Derosa. Great off the bench in Atlanta, but became a top player in Chicago when he got to play everyday.

Oh there's more, this is going to be a great season. Out of time for now.

Poor Dog

2004-12-16T11:27:00.000-08:00

It is a well known fact that I am not only a follower but a crazed fan of the Georgia Bulldogs. With that being said, I would like to thank my fellow supporters for sticking with the Dogs through a football season that was a little dissappointing, but a great season none the less. It looks like another year, another pointless bowl game against a less than formitable Big 10 opponent. When are they going to learn that the 3rd ranked team in the Big 10 doesn't hold a candle to the 3rd ranked team from the strongest conference in football. Maybe to make things a litte more competitive, they should rank the the 5 BCS conferences that are inferior to the SEC. Then have the champion of each of those conferences play the 1-5 teams from the SEC. This year for example may have looked like this:

1. Auburn v. USC
2. Georgia v. Oklahoma
3. LSU v. Michigan
4. Tennessee v. VT
5. Florida v. Pitt

My money would go for the SEC to pull at least 4 of 5 victories in this championship series. This year the SEC conference is down?

The SEC has 4 teams with 2 or fewer losses; the other conferences have 3, 2, 2, 1, and 0. Better still the SEC's top 4 teams have only 6 losses between them; the others: 9,9,11,12, and 14. Take that to the top 5 and it is even better. The SEC: 10; the others: 13,14,16,16,18. The SEC is down? I'd hate to see a strong year's comparison!

Again I hate it this year for Dawg football fans, but if you like basketball... This year is going to SUCK!