all i said is the last time he was in the physical conditioning he is in now he stole 24 bases, talk to me when u have something useful

2/22/2007 5:04:30 PM

you don't know anything about his physical condition

all you know is that he dropped weight

it could have been all muscle for all we know

you're better off saying he'll only hit 20 homers than steal 20 bases

2/22/2007 7:57:21 PM

FYI from the AJC today:

Quote :

" TBS televising bulk of early Braves games This season's Braves games have been divided among TBS, FSN South and SportSouth. • TBS, which will televise 70 games in its 31st and last season of showing the Braves nationally, gets the April 2 season-opener at Philadelphia, the April 6 home opener against the Mets, a heavy dose of Sunday games and a heavy early season schedule (31 telecasts in April and May). • FSN South, which will televise 25 games, gets 20 Wednesday night games, starting April 4 at Philadelphia. • And SportSouth, which will televise 59 games, gets a heavy dose of weeknight prime-time games and a heavy late-season schedule (26 games in August and September, but only 12 in April and May, the first not until April 16 at Washington). The eight regular-season games not currently scheduled for TBS, FSN South or SportSouth likely will air on national carriers Fox or ESPN. SportSouth has four more games on its schedule than originally anticipated because ESPN targeted fewer than expected. Newcomer Jon "Boog" Sciambi and 16-year Braves broadcaster Joe Simpson will do play-by-play and analysis, respectively, on the FSN South and SportSouth telecasts. Both Fox-owned channels plan expanded pre- and postgame coverage. Also, they'll televise seven spring-training games, starting with the March 13 exhibition vs. Houston on SportSouth. Chip Caray will handle play-by-play on the 70 TBS games, joined by Simpson on at least 50, Skip Caray on 10 and a guest analyst on the rest. TBS will designate eight telecasts, most of them on Friday nights, as "Braves TBS Xtra" games, with enhanced graphics and features. Also, this season will be TBS' first of televising MLB postseason games — all four Division Series and the NL Championship Series. Pete Van Wieren is scheduled to work all 162 games on radio, joined by Skip Caray on 120 and one of the other TV announcers on the rest. "

2/26/2007 2:17:08 PM

ha

i was going to ask when the tv schedule would be up

why doesn't raleigh have sportsouth

three days until tickets go on sale

[Edited on February 26, 2007 at 3:08 PM. Reason : thank god for rathburn and torborg are off fsn]

2/26/2007 3:06:02 PM

Where's Don Sutton? Did he leave TBS?

And doesn't the FSN in Raleigh show Orioles games instead of Braves games?

2/26/2007 3:32:45 PM

sutton is calling games for the natspos now

2/26/2007 3:39:20 PM

four pages a month before the season starts for a team that would be fortunate to win 85 games?


wow...


3rd place in the NL East unless Florida plays well enough to pass them too...

2/26/2007 5:12:14 PM

Wait, you didn't hear? The Braves upgraded their pen and if they had Wickman last year they would have won the division by 8 games..

[Edited on February 26, 2007 at 5:14 PM. Reason : x]

2/26/2007 5:14:20 PM

I hate having to watch the oreo's games here instead of braves and I also hate how the TBS coverage always gets less at the end of the season...oh well

2/26/2007 6:27:01 PM

^^ With the number of blown saves, if the Braves had just been able to convert 75% of those, their record would have been right there with the Mess. It's a moot point though...

Anyway the pen is solid now, the starting pitching is as good/better than the Mets, and while the lineup is not great they do have the best CF and C in the NL. I don't think they'll win the division, but the team will be better than what you clowns are predicting.

[Edited on February 26, 2007 at 6:29 PM. Reason : ^]

2/26/2007 6:28:51 PM

Quote :

"and while the lineup is not great"

good enough to score the second most runs in the NL last year

combine that with what should be an improved rotation, a ridiculously better bullpen, and the mets' and phil's weak rotations, and we should have no problem competing for the division

2/26/2007 9:48:36 PM

ticket prices went up!

2/26/2007 9:49:52 PM

first, why is that a surprise?

second, single game tickets aren't even on sale yet so what are you talking about

2/26/2007 9:51:57 PM

Who said it was a surprise?

Tickets go on sale thursday, of course they are going to advertise how much they cost.

http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070226&content_id=1817470&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl

2/26/2007 10:15:26 PM

Quote :

"good enough to score the second most runs in the NL last year"

Last year's lineup and this year's lineup are not the same. Replacing LaRoche with Thorman/Wilson and Giles with Kelly Johnson means two more holes in the batting order (to along with LF). I hope we can score like we did last year, but we'll need Chipper to stay healthy, Renteria to hit above expectations again, Frenchy to be more patient, and Johnson to provide some kind of production.

Word is that Diaz/Thorman have been smoking the ball in spring training BP so hopefully we'll get decent numbers from them as well. I still am surprised at the dismissive attitude of some people on here and the media in general towards the Braves this year.

2/27/2007 12:36:46 PM

According to Jimmy Rollins and Brett Myers the Phillies have the division locked up already. I mean with a string of playoff years like the Phillies have put up the last 15 years I'm not sure how they can't be the favorites.

We're playing for 2nd place I guess...

V say what you want but the Mets have been in the playoffs 3 times in the last 8 seasons. That's 3 more times than the Phillies have in the past 14 seasons..

[Edited on February 27, 2007 at 12:44 PM. Reason : x]

2/27/2007 12:39:56 PM

i agree that losing laroche may hurt, although he's likely to regress this year

but losing giles' .262/.341/.387 shouldn't do a bit of damage -- i can't imagine johnson/prado doing much worse than that

--

^ haha a mets fan talking about over-confidence!

[Edited on February 27, 2007 at 12:41 PM. Reason : ]

i'm just saying, mets fans claimed THIS IS THE YEAR MAN for 15 years and it finally happened in 2006 -- now they think they run this shit

[Edited on February 27, 2007 at 12:46 PM. Reason : ]

2/27/2007 12:40:17 PM

The Phillies will choke again this year. If it weren't for Ryan Howard's ridiculous second half last year, they would have hovered around .500 like the Braves, Marlins, etc. Teams are not going to pitch to Howard this year, especially if Burrell is anywhere behind him in the lineup again. Utley should be awesome this year though. I hope Brett Myers dies in a fire.

2/27/2007 12:48:13 PM

You have to actually have some sort of success in order to choke.

2/27/2007 9:11:43 PM

7-2 over the dodgers today

davies looked good, wolf looked bad

smoltz vs. pirates tomorrow

3/1/2007 4:12:18 PM

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070308&content_id=1833382&vkey=spt2007news&fext=.jsp&partnered=rss_mlb

3/8/2007 12:05:31 PM

Fucking Hampton what a disgrace. Why the hell is he even taking batting practice especially with the way they have been concerned about his elbow. I know this new injury is not the same as the elbow, but why even risk anything. I can't believe the Braves have to pay him $18 million or whatever this season too.

Oh well, Lance Cormier FTW!!





[Edited on March 8, 2007 at 12:19 PM. Reason : h]

3/8/2007 12:19:26 PM

The Braves signed Mark Redman to a minor league deal hoping he can fill the gap if/when Hampton comes back. Redman was an "all star" last year albeit with the Royals and his ERA was almost 6.

I guess if he can give the Braves 5 innings every 5th day then it's better than throwing some young pitcher out there who is not ready yet.

3/9/2007 2:11:44 PM

so we're pretty much running train on the grapefruit league

even though that doesn't mean much, it's good to be on top of something again

3/13/2007 5:20:56 AM

Chipper sprained his ankle yesterday, but it's not thought to be serious.

On another note, Willie Harris is in camp and is apparently doing very well and is 4-4 on SBs, but has no chance to make the team. What I don't understand is why the Braves seem intent on keeping Chris Woodard over Harris especially since Woodard has been injured all spring and sucked big balls last year.

3/13/2007 11:16:58 AM

Sounds like Hampton might be back sooner than initially projected. Also Comier looks like he'll get the 4th spot in the rotation, with Redman as the 5th. Davies will most likely start in Richmond.

Quote :

"Hampton takes another step Mike Hampton's rapid recovery continued when he threw a bullpen session Wednesday on a mound back at Braves camp at Disney's Wide World of Sports. It's been just two weeks since the left-hander injured the oblique muscle in his left side taking batting practice March 7, three days before what would have been his spring debut. The Braves initially said Hampton wouldn't throw for four weeks and would need another four weeks to rebuild arm strength. But he threw on flat ground last weekend and ramped things up without incident Wednesday. The Braves aren't saying how soon he might be back, but it's possible Hampton could be ready to pitch by late April or early May. He missed the 2006 season following elbow surgery, and it's been 19 months since he pitched in a game. "

3/22/2007 11:37:26 AM

Braves signed C Brian McCann to a 6 year deal.


I like this. Sucks for Salty.

3/22/2007 11:39:25 AM

Great news on the signing of McCann.

I've read that Saltamachhia or whatever won't cut it as a catcher anyway because his defense is average and he doesn't call a great game. Plus he pretty much sucked last year and will still be in AA this year. I think the Braves are hoping he'll find his stroke again so they can either trade him or groom him as a 1B.

3/22/2007 11:46:45 AM

maybe this will inspire francoeur to stop playing like ass

3/22/2007 2:23:19 PM

Chipper's coming back earlier than expected...Maybe this year he'll play more than 110 games, yet still manage to hit .324 - that'd be awesome.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring2007/news/story?id=2807600

3/22/2007 4:35:05 PM

So this just occurred to me the other day....but who the hell is leading off for the Braves this year? Kelly Johnson? Martin Prado?

Which one of those guys is supposed to be the starter?

[Edited on March 23, 2007 at 12:16 AM. Reason : um]

3/23/2007 12:11:37 AM

^ It sounds like Johnson will be the starter. Not sure on what lineups Bobby's been trotting out in spring training, but my guess on the lineup would be:

1. Johnson
2. Renteria
3. Chipper
4. Andruw
5. McCann
6. Franceour
7. Thorman
8. Diaz/Wilson
9. Pitcher

Considering the Braves have zero speed, I'd like to see McCann hit in the two hole and Renteria leadoff, but Edgar sucked hitting leadoff in Boston and McCann led the major in hitting with runners on in 06 so keeping him behind Andruw and Chipper is probably the right strategy.

I hope the Braves keep Willie Harris on the roster so he can be the backup IF (screw Pete Orr). That way if Johnson or even Prado struggle, Harris would be a natural replacement in the field and at the top of the lineup. Plus Harris plays the OF so he's as versatile as Orr.

3/23/2007 10:33:04 AM

Quote :

"When asked about John Smoltz being his Opening Day starter this year, Cox simply said, "It makes a lot of sense to me.""

classic cox

3/23/2007 10:38:23 AM

man, what I would give to have wilson betemit back.


Worst trade evar!

3/23/2007 12:13:38 PM

^ So fucking true. Plus Aybar, the only player the Braves have left from that debacle, is going to start the season on the DL.

The Braves game vs the Phil is on ESPN right now. Prado was leading off. The ESPN projected lineup was the same as I posted above, except they had Langerhans in LF instead of Diaz/Wilson. I love Langerhans's defense, but not much else.

3/23/2007 1:00:38 PM

I can't wait till next year, when the Braves, once again due to being owned by a fucking company, will refuse to pay the big bucks to re-sign a top free agent(Andruw)

3/23/2007 1:06:11 PM

yep... Jones will leave the Braves... they will not pay for him.

3/23/2007 1:10:34 PM

^I'll be surprised if they are even able to keep Smoltz seeing what a decent pitcher got this past offseason. Plus they'll still be buried under Hampton's deal next year and the Hudson extension is looking like a big mistake now.

3/23/2007 1:23:26 PM

yeah, I hate to say it, but perhaps Scheurholz has lost his touch.


Keeping smoltz or not keeping smoltz, I don't care one way or the other. I mean, I love the guy and hope the best for him... but he is getting old.

The Hampton deal/Hudson extension/Betemit really fucked us over for a while.


And I still think we should've kept Rafy and LaRoche.

3/23/2007 1:25:23 PM

Well considering the payroll he has to work with goes down every year, its not Scheurholz's fault. Its the fact that the Braves are owned by a corporation that refuses to pump more money into the Braves than it had to. I really really really wish Arthur Blank's group could have bought them. MLB needs to be like the NFL and not allow corporate ownership.

3/23/2007 1:27:37 PM

^^ Furcal wanted too much for AOL's blood. LaRoche for Gonzalez is not bad if Thorman can play a decent 1B and put up 75% of LaRoche's run production. I think Cox just didn't like LaRoche's lazy ass and that is one reason they got rid of him.

I am more pissed that the Braves just let Giles go instead of atleast trying to get a minor leaguer for him. It's not like he was completely worthless or something. I also question the signing of Chris Woodard and Tanyon Sturtz. Sturtz may not make the opening roster and Woodard hasn't done shit in spring training because he's been hurt (plus he sucked last year too).

[Edited on March 23, 2007 at 1:31 PM. Reason : ^]

3/23/2007 1:31:27 PM

I hate LaRoche ever since that fucking play at first place where he just fucking trotted.... and the time he was thrown out at home for trotting. I don't blame them for letting him go... be he was really starting to produce.

Giles... fuck him... what did he have like a .0000001 OBP? In a leadoff role? Yeah, fuck him.

3/23/2007 1:36:01 PM

weighted averages of ERA+ for braves, phillies, and mets projected starters over last three seasons:

 04  05  06
-----------
157 144 126 Smoltz
133 125  91 Hudson
        116 James
     89  53 Davies
55   86  90 Cormier
-----------
115 111  95 | WEIGHTED AVERAGE = 103


 79 122 118 Myers
121 115 103 Garcia
 83 101 102 Moyer
         92 Hamels
 87  90  92 Eaton
-----------
 92 107 105 | WEIGHTED AVERAGE = 103


119 118 113 Glavine
136  87  95 Hernandez
     66 120 Maine (only 26 total GP)
139  73  68 Perez
         79 Pelfrey (only 4 GP)
-----------
131  86  95 | WEIGHTED AVERAGE = 98

3/28/2007 4:18:04 PM

The Phillies rotation is pretty good this year. They have a lot fewer question marks than the Braves or Mess.

I do hope Myers gets arrested, Hamels struggles in his sophomore year, Garcia gets fatter and dies of a heart attack, Moyer dies of old age, and Adam Eaton continues to be Adam Eaton.

3/28/2007 4:22:38 PM

yeah those numbers are hardly a crystal ball

there are a lot of second year players that could go either way, although i think hamels is a pretty solid pitcher -- i was suprised at the phillies numbers

and hampton isn't included for some reason

3/28/2007 4:24:00 PM

^ because Hampton has not pitched in three years so he'd just have a bunch of zeros

3/28/2007 5:44:56 PM

Braves spring training stats Top 5 BA

> 10 at bats

Clark .419 .424 .484
Escobar .375 .392 .458
Orr .375 .422 .425
Langerhans .370 .453 .565
McCarthy .364 .417 .455

3/29/2007 7:52:24 AM

Frenchy hit a grand slam yesterday as the Braves beat the Mess 8-3. Davies looked okay, but struggled in the first before putting together four solid innings.

3/29/2007 8:19:38 AM

spring training stats

now that's some useful information!

3/29/2007 12:16:46 PM

Quote :

"^ because Hampton has not pitched in three years so he'd just have a bunch of zeros"

he may not have pitched well in three years

but he definitely pitched in 2004 and 2005

3/29/2007 10:07:19 PM