A FUCKING EMBARASSMENT 0-2 in the series to one of the worst teams in baseball

6/15/2006 9:30:21 AM

we are one of the worst teams in baseball

6/15/2006 10:36:52 AM

KC Royals < Florida Marlins < Atlanta Braves < Everyone else


but after the 3-game sweep that is imminent, us and the marlins will swap places leaving us sole proprietor over one team... the Kansas Fucking City Royals.

6/15/2006 10:40:41 AM

Quote :

"we are one of the worst teams in baseball"

6/15/2006 10:54:16 AM

didn't the astros come back from 15 down last season to go to the series?

6/15/2006 11:14:11 AM

they acquired roger clemens

we aren't

6/15/2006 11:16:15 AM

^ But we got Reitsma coming back off the DL in two weeks

Honestly we all knew the run would end, but I never envisioned it happening with a complete collapse. I figured we'd miss on the division title and stay in the wild card race until mid-Sept or so. This season gives me diarrhea.

6/15/2006 11:28:52 AM

so who's on the trading block? We have to get pitching. I say for starters you send Rietsma and Sosa down to AAA to get their mechanics back... Deal Satalamacchiaaklaksdfoasjoij for an unproven kid and hope he turns out like the dontrelle willis of last year.

What about the possibility of acquiring willis?

6/15/2006 11:44:38 AM

i'd almost rather it end this way

i'd hate to miss out by just a game or two

anyways, fuck the mets

--

we can get something worthwhile out of saltonmyballs, he better be the first to go

[Edited on June 15, 2006 at 12:39 PM. Reason : ]

6/15/2006 12:38:34 PM

yeah, we can definitely fenagle something for him. It had better fucking be a pitcher. I want Glavine back... that back-stabbing son of a bitch.

[Edited on June 15, 2006 at 1:07 PM. Reason : .]

6/15/2006 1:07:23 PM

i'm fairly certain glavine hasn't yet signed an extension with the mets, he probably will, but i don't think its happened yet

it would be awesome for him to win #300 in atlanta, he's said the only two teams he'll play for are the mets and the braves

i wonder what zito's contract looks like, no chance in hell we'd resign him and i don't even know if we have enough to get him this year

but if we start to turn things around, he'd be a huge pick up

6/15/2006 1:10:56 PM

we need someone like a farnsworth that can anchor down the relief spot. That's priority #1. Then we have to shore up the holes in the starting rotation. Priority #2. Then we need a reliable closer. Priority #3.

I'd say we need a whole new pitching staff but leaving Smoltz, Hudson, and Ray.

6/15/2006 1:29:47 PM

^had him last year

6/15/2006 1:38:10 PM

I know, I was saying we need to do something similar (see: the 'a' before 'farnsowrth' in my post)

[Edited on June 15, 2006 at 1:40 PM. Reason : .]

6/15/2006 1:40:14 PM

This is a lost season. The Braves need to hold onto their young players like Saltamacchia, Frenchy, etc and hope for a better future. I'm more in favor of trading guys like Giles, Renteria, Hudson, etc in return for young talent. I still wish we never traded Marte. LaRoche should be traded too because he is garbage even though he's young. The only vertern guys I wouldn't want to see traded are Chipper, Andruw, and Smoltz for obvious reasons. I really like Giles too, but we need to give Betemit a full time spot just to see what he can do regularly.

6/15/2006 7:26:30 PM

^agreed minus renteria. he's too good.

Giles can go. LaRoche can go.

I want to keep:

smoltz
jones
jones
mccann
frenchy
langerhans

at the very leat. Most are home grown braves.

6/15/2006 7:36:04 PM

marcus giles is the most likely non-minor leaguer to be gone before the deadline

i'll miss his hustle, but he's been an abomination this year

--

for the most part, i agree with abonorio's list, i'd add renteria though

pretty much anyone other than andruw, chipper, smoltz, hudson, mccann, and francouer should be on the block though

[Edited on June 15, 2006 at 7:40 PM. Reason : ]

6/15/2006 7:38:45 PM

Lead off spot with barely a .300 OBP...

needs to go.

I'll miss him, but damn

6/15/2006 7:39:38 PM

p.s. marlins up 2-0 already

how the fuck do you get swept my the marlins without facing dontrelle

there are more dogs than people in the stands

6/15/2006 7:41:04 PM

Why doesn't Cox let Renteria lead off?

6/15/2006 7:58:03 PM

ha

skip and chip are already eulogizing the streak

6/15/2006 8:11:39 PM

^ive asked the same question.. doesnt make sense to me but i guess thats why im not a manager

6/15/2006 10:01:37 PM

i'm a royals fan now

6/16/2006 12:25:23 AM

unbelievable. We were playing .500 ball before the 4-game set with Arizona...wtf?

6/16/2006 7:32:51 AM

I found some hope...

Quote :

"Two years later, the Braves put together one of the most memorable seasons in baseball history. After a dismal 4-18 start, the fanbase was turned off, as it looked like the Braves were headed for another bottom-feeder season. Everything that could have gone wrong, did go wrong. After losing both games of a Fourth of July doubleheader to the visiting Brooklyn Dodgers, the Braves were in last place at 26-40, 15 games behind the league-leading New York Giants. The only man left believing was the team's manager, "Miracle Man" George Stallings. Slowly, the team began to turn itself around. It had solidified around the phenomenal double-play tandem of Rabbit Maranville and Johnny Evers (of "Tinker to Evers to Chance" fame), and a strong starting rotation led by Lefty Tyler, Dick Rudolph, and Bill James. When the team rallied to sweep the Cincinnati Reds in a doubleheader on July 19, Stallings declared that the team was playing ball better than any other in the league, and was ready to catch New York. From there came a romp unmatched in baseball history. When the Giants came to Boston for a three-game series on September 7-8, the Braves had won 41 of 53 games since July 4. Boston won two of the three contests to take sole possession of first place. From that point, the Braves won 25 of their final 31 games, while the Giants went 16-16. The Braves went 68-19 after July 4 to win their first pennant since 1898. Incredibly, they finished 10.5 games ahead of the second place Giants. They are still the only team to win a pennant after being in last place on the Fourth of July. The Braves entered the World Series as a heavy underdog to Connie Mack's Philadelphia A's. Nevertheless, the Braves dominated the series in every phase, and swept away the favored Athletics--the second sweep in the history of the modern World Series--to win the world championship. The turnaround was complete. The team was at the top of the league in both pitching, and hitting, and its leader, Evers, won the Chalmers Award, which is equivalent to today's MVP. A miraculous season of these proportions has never been seen since in professional sports. The success of this team inspired the American League's Cleveland Naps to rename themselves the "Indians" after Nap Lajoie left the team following the 1914 season."

great read... It sounds like this season minus that whole "strong starting rotation" part.

We're the oldest professional sports team in America. We have the history of going worst to first twice... we can go 3rd to first.

Lets shave the handlebar mustaches and get this division back where it belongs.

6/16/2006 8:30:47 AM

i haven't completely given up hope yet, the astros and A's do this sort of thing almost every single year

i'll stick with them until the bitter end

but goddamn i hate the mets

6/16/2006 11:52:07 AM

We don't need to lose hope. And even if we are the cellar dweller, I will be as avid a fan as I was back in 1990 when we were MLB's cellar dweller.. Thick and thin, the Braves have always been my team.

6/16/2006 11:56:20 AM

Yeah I'm sticking with the team regardless. I used to sit there back in 87-90 and watch Murphy, Horner, Garber, Andres Thomas, and the rest of the scrubs play only to not lose a 100 games. I guess I'll be doing that again - assuming the Braves ever get their games televised where I live

6/16/2006 1:04:06 PM

I like the stir about us going for Carl Crawford. It's a perfect solution for leadoff hitter, left fielder, speed, etc. We have plenty of players to trade in the majors as well as minors. Giles is tradeable if people even still want him. What does it take for Betemit to play everyday?

6/16/2006 4:24:37 PM

^I would love to have Crawford

ESPN Insider Article:
In John Schuerholz's new book, he must mention a dozen times that the Braves have been champions for "fourteen straight years." They haven't. But they have won 14 division titles in 15 years, and that's very nearly as impressive.

What's not been impressive in 2006 has been Atlanta's pitching; the staff ERA, 4.76, ranks just 15th in the National League. It goes without saying, perhaps, that the Braves have not fared so poorly in this category in many, many years. Their starters rank ninth in the league, with a 4.58 ERA. Their relievers rank 16th in the league, with a 5.16 ERA.

Can the pitchers do better? Sure. Anything's possible. In addition to John Smoltz and Tim Hudson, Braves starters John Thomson, Horacio Ramirez and Jorge Sosa all are capable of pitching better than they have. Based on past performance, that is. On the other hand, Smoltz and Hudson are doing essentially what they did a year ago. So is Thomson. Sosa's 2.55 ERA last season was not indicative of his underlying skills (this year, one analyst wrote of Sosa, "Potentially facing the biggest drop-off of any player"). Ramirez, too, wasn't particularly good in 2005 (same book, different analyst: "Tough to imagine what 2006 will bring. DN: Selling used cars in Ohio or No. 1 starter on the Royals.").

So there is not, it turns out, much upside among the starting pitchers. Meanwhile, rookie Kyle Davies, perhaps the Braves' best hope for the future, is currently recovering from groin surgery. Lefty Chuck James still is stuck at Triple-A Richmond due to roster rules, but he's a fine prospect and should be in the rotation soon. Forecast: More of the same. This will not be a dominant rotation, but Smoltz and Hudson should keep the Braves in the middle of the pack among National League starting staffs.

The bullpen, meanwhile, should improve (if only because there's nowhere to go but up). Overall, the Braves' team ERA is more likely to drop than rise.

A radical turnaround, though? Sorry. I don't see it. This is not a supremely talented staff. Yes, the Braves' pitching always has been strong. But the past does not necessarily predict the future, particularly when one considers that the Braves' past included, for so many seasons, Leo Mazzone. Not that Mazzone is a miracle worker -- his new charges in Baltimore are faring just as poorly as his old charges in Atlanta -- but I've long wondered if there wasn't something a bit miraculous about the Mazzone/Cox combo.

And there is, of course, one other problem, towering above concerns regarding individual players … the Braves are too far behind.

The Braves are 13 games out of first place in the National League East. It's an article of faith among Braves fans that no matter what happens before the All-Star break, the club will storm to the fore in August and September. But the Braves have never been in this spot before. In nine of their 14 pennant-winning seasons, they were in first place on June 16. In the other five, the largest deficit they faced was six games, back in 1993. That, of course, was the season in which Fred McGriff propelled the Braves to a furious finish that left them one game ahead of the Giants at season's end. But McGriff's not available, and six games isn't 13 games.

Of course, there is the wild card. But again, there's the deficit: Right now the Braves trail the wild card-leading Reds by 7½ games, a larger June 16 deficit than they've ever made up. And it's not like they have to beat only the Reds (who are, it should be said, not as good as their record). The Reds are just one of eight teams ahead of the Braves in the wild-card standings. Eight. That should serve as a reality check for management.

Here's another reality check. In their 14 pennant-winning seasons, the Braves were, on average, 50 runs to the good upon exiting June 15; this season they're 18 runs to the bad. In fact, only once (in 2001) in those 14 seasons did the Braves have a negative run differential … and that was just one run.

I take no particular pleasure in the Braves' ill fortunes this season. I thought they would be better than this. I thought they would win 85 games, and battle the Phillies and a few other teams for the wild card. Both of those things still could happen. But even if you think the Braves are poised for one of their second-half surges, the fact is that they've never been in a position to need a second-half surge like they need now. It's been a fantastic run: 14 titles in 15 seasons. But the run is over.

In his book, Schuerholz continually touches on the importance of "thinking outside the box" without offering many concrete examples. Well, now's his big chance. It's time to start thinking about the future, and the sooner Schuerholz comes to grips with this new reality, the better that future will be.

[Edited on June 16, 2006 at 6:07 PM. Reason : a]

6/16/2006 6:07:10 PM

no chance @ crawford, no chance at a decent bullpen, rotation sucks

no playoffs

you gotta take like it is

6/16/2006 6:22:25 PM

Quote :

"BoobsR_gr8 All American 23471 Posts user info edit post bullpen is still a problem 3/26/2006 9:30:36 PM Ernie All American 16228 Posts user info edit post i think the pen will be much stronger this year mcbride, davies, devine, and james are all a year older one of those guys will be our closer before long 3/26/2006 10:01:28 PM "

6/16/2006 6:24:24 PM

all four of those guys have been hurt all year

good try though

6/16/2006 6:25:52 PM

you cant tell me your bullpen would be ok with them

the shit is in shambles

just what you need 4 rookies

btw davies fucking sucks

6/16/2006 6:27:55 PM

i certainly think we'd be better if we had all the young guys producing at their best

which is what i was expecting going into the year

6/16/2006 6:29:26 PM

im telling you davies is garbage

he has horrible control when healthy

it doesnt matter how hard you throw if you cant throw strikes

6/16/2006 6:31:12 PM

ok thanks for the heads-up, director of scouting

6/16/2006 6:35:25 PM

you were the one expecting big things from him

he is garbage

6/16/2006 6:36:47 PM

i'm not the one making bold claims about the kid's ability

6/16/2006 6:38:36 PM

before he went on the DL he gave up HRs in 7 consecutive games pitched

his fastballs have little movement on them

ask hideki irabu what happens when your fastballs have 0 movement

6/16/2006 6:44:02 PM

well you don't think that could have had anything to do with him playing through an injury do you

and i'm not saying the kid is cy young but he was solid last year and i expected him to improve this year

you're using a quote i made before the season and acting like i just told you yesterday this guy was the next coming

he's still a good young talent who unfortunately has been injured this year and pitched like total dogshit

go troll somewhere else, we know we're fucked

[Edited on June 16, 2006 at 6:49 PM. Reason : ]

6/16/2006 6:48:52 PM

wtf he was bad last year

his era was like 5 and averaged 1.55 baserunners an inning

[Edited on June 16, 2006 at 6:53 PM. Reason : sry i like to talk baseball]

6/16/2006 6:53:10 PM

^ His ERA is skewed by two bad starts. If you had paid attention you could see the poise a 22 year old kid has by beating the Red Sox at Fenway in his first start in the majors last season as well as shutting down those "amazing" mets to one run in a complete game at Shea. Don't see a whole lot of 22 year olds with pinpoint accuracy.

6/17/2006 1:06:25 PM

actually you do, and he isnt one of them

6/17/2006 5:29:54 PM

would you like to give me some examples of 22 year olds with consistent accuracy? Don't say felix hernandez, cole hamels, zach duke because they have all been far from consistently accurate

6/17/2006 6:37:18 PM

justin verlander

and you wish he was on the level of hernandez, duke and hamels

6/17/2006 8:42:41 PM

davies doesn't look that bad

           IP   ERA  WHIP
davies:    42.2 6.12 1.55
duke:      89.2 4.52 1.46
hernandez: 84.1 5.02 1.39 
hamels:    25.2 4.91 1.40 

6/18/2006 12:47:02 PM

jon miller and joe morgan are calling betemit, "bait-a-meat"

6/18/2006 9:26:45 PM

p.s. smoltz just said "FUCKING TRADE ME"

6/18/2006 9:39:36 PM

here we go again

6/18/2006 10:59:42 PM