I was at saturday's game... despite the rain, there were 33,000 there. GREAT game... I could've swore kotsay caught that ball, but when they wouldn't show the replay on the jumbo tron, I knew he probably didn't make the catch.

GG Smotlz and bullpen (minus soriano almost giving it away) in taking down the Johan and the Mets. Great series!

4/6/2008 4:56:57 PM

just got in, great game, and found some seats that I actually liked better than our seats we get at work. We usually sit 20 rows up on the 3rd baseline but these were 407, upper deck, near home, little bit down 1B, perfect view

4/6/2008 6:39:08 PM

I sat field level, 134, 1st base side on Saturdays game. Great seats, IMO. Had we been a few more seats up, though, we would've been out of the rain.

[Edited on April 6, 2008 at 7:39 PM. Reason : .]

4/6/2008 7:38:26 PM

I know we're just a week into the season, but Escobar is on fire

SPLITS	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BA	OBP	SLG
Season	6	23	4	7	1	1	1	7	0	.304	.429	.565

4/7/2008 12:15:18 AM

I like Escobar, and I really like Kelly Johnson's offense. They both have good eyes and thus high OBPs. I'm still quite worried about centerfield. It remains to be seen how the Mark Kotsay experiment will pan out.

4/7/2008 12:29:18 AM

Kotsay's looked great in the two games I've seen in person, threw that one Pirate out and held Santana on third tonight, great play

4/7/2008 12:45:08 AM

this is cool as shit... anyone interested? PM me


http://braves.splitseasontickets.com/sstickets-web/home/inviteStart.do

4/7/2008 1:41:47 AM

kotsay also had that jonesish diving play in center that was reversed (because the ball did bounce)... except Jones would've made the catch... all 320lbs of him

4/7/2008 8:25:58 AM

^^I wish I lived in Atlanta for something like that.

Kotsay has always been a good defensive CF, we just need him to have a decent year offensively.

4/7/2008 9:50:29 AM

for you out of towners... I didnt make the effort to see what the hell he was talking about but it might be worth it to all of you

http://www.forums.mlb.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?tsn=1&nav=messages&webtag=ml-braves&tid=107906

4/8/2008 12:41:13 AM

fuck you blaine boyer, you 0-2 with not even a week gone in the season piece of shit

4/8/2008 7:19:10 AM

I still don't know why he gets a relief job with a one run lead

4/8/2008 10:06:25 AM

 Year Ag Tm  Lg  G   AB    R    H   2B 3B  HR  RBI  SB CS  BB  SO   BA   OBP   SLG *OPS+  TB   SH  SF IBB HBP GDP 
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+
 2008 31 LAD NL   7   26    0    3   1  0   0    1   0  0   2   8  .115  .179  .154  -12    4   0   0   0   0   2

4/8/2008 10:12:27 AM

man, so many comparisons between he and costner.

4/8/2008 10:26:50 AM

So much for centerfielder of the future.

By DAVID O'BRIEN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/08/08
Minor-league outfielder Jordan Shafer, the Braves' top prospect and future center fielder, has tested positive for steroids and, per Major League Baseball policy, will be suspended for 50 games.

http://www.ajc.com/braves/cont...hafer_0409.html

DOB update:
By David O'Brien

April 8, 2008 7:11 PM | Link to this

THIS JUST IN: In case you missed it on our website, Jordan Schafer suspended 50 games for violating using human growth hormon (HGH). Neither baseball nor the Braves will say if he was found with a substance or if someone saw him take it, etc. There is believed to be no reliable test for HGH, so he might not have tested positive, but he was caught somehow.


Braves are saying very little, perhaps for legal reasons. I’ve got to write something about it now.



AtlantaBraves.com Article:

http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080408&content_id=2504908&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl





[Edited on April 8, 2008 at 8:32 PM. Reason : .]

4/8/2008 8:23:27 PM

nooooo, god damn that's horrible news. i guess he could still clean it up and be a good player? god i hope so. has there been a similar highly rated young prospect that got busted?

4/8/2008 8:27:17 PM

I don't think you're going to know of anybody. the minors have always tested more than the majors, but up til the past year or two it didn't really matter until your 2nd or 3rd offense. Also, I'm sure since the penalty was only 10 games, they might have just covered it up with an injury.

Josh Hamilton did have problems with cocaine tho, and it cost him probably 2-3 years in the Majors. Hamilton was always regarded as a top prospect though, I don't know if Shafer was that high coming out of HS and will still be as good, or if he just recently got better and might be a notch lower.

On a semi-related note, I searched for minor leaguers with steroid problems and found somebody I used to play against, James Houser.. I envied him a lot, so I guess if he wasn't good enough without the roids, I'm not either...so that's good to know at least.

4/9/2008 1:27:38 AM

^yeah, i can only recall crap minor leaguers, or former pros that happened to be in the minors when they got caught...

i wonder if we'll see any kind of activity (trade, experimenting w/ different players in center, etc) due to this. i know there were a couple of other players that had a shot at future center field before this, so i guess it's not the end of the world (brandon jones, josh anderson, brent lillibridge, gorkys hernandez)

[Edited on April 9, 2008 at 6:10 AM. Reason : ]

4/9/2008 6:08:48 AM

meanwhile, we still are losing games by a run.

4/9/2008 8:17:25 AM

Mark Redman on the hill tonight for the Rockies.

May whatever higher power he believes in strike him dead.

After he gives up 12 runs in 3 innings.

4/9/2008 10:53:33 AM

Man, it's been a long time since I actually considered myself a Braves fan (mostly because I never watch baseball anymore), but it's still shocking to look at a box score and have the only recognize three guys (Chipper Jones, Smoltz, and Glavine) from back in the day.

[Edited on April 9, 2008 at 11:01 AM. Reason : p.s. Ernie has above average taste in sports teams ]

4/9/2008 11:01:05 AM

What game did you watch where Smoltz and Glavine were both on the boxscore

4/9/2008 11:43:40 AM

I think you know what I meant.

If I'd said "I only recognize one player" someone would've just posted that Glavine and Smoltz were still on the team as well. It was pretty much a no win situation (or I could've said "roster", but where's the fun in that?), though I'm glad to hear that the team is projected to do well, regardless of how many recognizable Braves names there are on the roster.

4/9/2008 11:53:47 AM

Quote :

"What game did you watch where Smoltz and Glavine were both on the boxscore "

One from 2002?

4/9/2008 12:03:47 PM

Piss poor start to the season. 5 one run losses?? WTF!

At least the stats bode well for them to turn it around. Can't possibly lose every one run game right?

Pitching has been solid so far, but the hitting is still frustrating as hell and the clutch hits are still missing so far.

Glad the rest of NL East that matters (ie Mess and Phils) are off to slow starts too.

Last year we were 9-2, this year we'll be lucky to be 6-5 after 11 games.

4/9/2008 2:38:43 PM

I know we had some Game 7's in there from the 90s early 00s where we had starting pitchers come in as relief.

And yeah, I know what you meant. You should get back into the Braves though... some of our guys like Francoeur and McCann are homegrown. They're the NEW Atlanta.

4/9/2008 3:30:30 PM

Quote :

"I know we had some Game 7's in there from the 90s early 00s where we had starting pitchers come in as relief."

I was referring to the year or two when Glavine was still around and Smoltz was closing.

Quote :

"Ernie All American 23411 Posts user info edit post Mark Redman on the hill tonight for the Rockies. May whatever higher power he believes in strike him dead. After he gives up 12 runs in 3 innings. 4/9/2008 10:53:33 AM"

And James is making his first start tonight. James/Redman in Denver, the over/under on HR is 48.

[Edited on April 9, 2008 at 3:39 PM. Reason : ]

4/9/2008 3:37:36 PM

^ I'll take the over. Cause we're in Colorado. And cause they're shitty.

[Edited on April 9, 2008 at 3:40 PM. Reason : .]

4/9/2008 3:40:08 PM

^ Maybe pre-humidifier Colorado.

Although Coors field is no longer the homerun bastion it once was and ranks below a few parks now in terms of offense (Phillies, Reds, and White Sox come to mind). But with James and Redman pitching, I would not be surprised to see a 10-8 type game.

4/9/2008 6:02:56 PM

0-0... so far

4/9/2008 8:50:44 PM

francoeur almost had one

4/9/2008 8:57:34 PM

make that 1-0

4/9/2008 8:58:24 PM

Rotoworld says that Rafael Soriano was placed on the 15 day DL...

[Edited on April 9, 2008 at 9:38 PM. Reason : and 6-1 now]

4/9/2008 9:38:10 PM

it looked like something was wrong, he was wild as fuck at the Mets game I went to

Quote :

"Braves place closer Soriano on DL By DAVID O'BRIEN The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 04/09/08 Denver — It might be officially time for concern about the Braves bullpen: Closer Rafael Soriano was placed on the 15-day disabled list with elbow tendinitis. The move came without advance notice and was made just before the start of Wednesday night's game at Colorado. The Braves had to make a roster move to create an opening for Chuck James to come off the DL to start Wednesday's game, but this was not the kind of move they would have preferred. Soriano is the only Braves pitcher with closer experience, and he'll be out until at least April 22. The move was retroactive to Monday, the day after the hard-throwing Dominican last pitched. He was used in both weekend games against the New York Mets, including Saturday when he pitched the ninth inning in a game the Braves led 11-5. Manager Bobby Cox said Tuesday that Soriano's elbow was a "tiny bit" sore, but didn't give any indication that the DL might be necessary. The right-hander missed the first two weeks of spring training with a sore elbow."

[Edited on April 9, 2008 at 9:41 PM. Reason : d]

4/9/2008 9:41:05 PM

gg Chuck... you fucking suck ass

4/9/2008 9:49:59 PM

so who's the closer? Moylan?

Actually it probably won't matter, the Braves can't seem to win games anyways

4/9/2008 10:08:23 PM

Probably. We won't find out tonight, though (thanks Chuck! Have fun in Richmond!). Our closer role remains cursed.

4/9/2008 10:15:19 PM

Wow, I'm being nostalgic for Kolb


Go get that rocker guy. He probably needs a job.

4/10/2008 9:20:05 AM

4/10/2008 9:24:00 AM

*swoon*

those were the good ole days

4/10/2008 9:25:41 AM

How long until the "move Smoltz to the bullpen" retard chorus starts up again?

4/10/2008 9:51:33 AM

when is gonzalez good to go?

4/10/2008 10:30:18 AM

^^ Soon enough... it's happened every year since we got Kolb'd

4/10/2008 10:40:21 AM

^^ Pretty sure Gonzalez is out until at least June.

I'd imagine that Moylan will close if we could actually win a game. The Braves are now a combined 1-6 against the powerful Nats, Pirates, and Rockies (who were 1-5 before they got good again against the Braves).

Honestly the team doesn't even look like they care this season. Hopefully it is just rust or something, but they act like these games don't matter.

Chuck James should never see the bigs again unless it is as a long inning guy in blow out games. I have more velocity throwing my remote at the TV than he does on his fastball.

4/10/2008 12:17:13 PM

Yeah, Gonzalez is out until midseason. I have little to no hope in guys coming off major arm surgery, though.

More on Schafer:

Quote :

"This just gets weirder and weirder. Jordan Schafer (the guy who used to be our future) was busted by Major League Baseball’s new Department of Investigations, as their very first casualty. As there is currently no test that MLB recognizes to prove HGH use, Jordan’s bust came on the basis of testimony from another person, whom ESPN identifies as “a player who had previously violated MLB’s anti-doping policy.” A lot of people find this story credible because of Schafer’s incredible 2007, where he seemed to come out of nowhere to put himself on the map by tearing up class-A Rome. This is a spurious connection. There is no scientific evidence whatsoever that HGH makes you a better ballplayer. As far as his great year is concerned, plenty of players have catapulted themselves from anonymity to fame on the basis of a terrific year in the minors. Moreover, as Bill James recently said, there’s “absolutely” no way to infer who has used PEDs and who hasn’t simply by looking at the stats: “It is almost always impossible to infer specific causes from general effects.” Now, we haven’t heard his side of the story because he’s been gagged by MLB. David O’Brien reports that Jordan’s father says there’s more to the story (http://www.ajc.com/braves/content/sports/braves/stories/2008/04/09/schafer_0410.html); one of our commenters says it was punishment for refusing to rat out a friend (http://mvn.com/mlb-braves/wp-admin/comment.php?action=editcomment&c=14212). It’s very tempting to believe this explanation — MLB is the bad guy! Schafer’s the good guy! — because he’s incredibly talented and it’s hard to let go of a franchise player once he’s been anointed, and we’re Braves fans, so it’s natural we’d want to believe the best about our team and about our guys. In the absence of any hard evidence, obviously, we have to be skeptical, though we have to be skeptical about the MLB report because they don’t seem to have any evidence either. The most important thing to remember is that he’s just one 21-year old kid. We’ll draft another next year. He’s a very talented single-A player, yes, but talented guys in single-A often don’t pan out. Even if it’s a massive set-up and a conspiracy against him, he’s still going to have to make it to the big leagues, and the odds aren’t in his favor. So we’ll have to see how this plays out. In the meantime, don’t let yourself get too heartbroken."

4/10/2008 12:34:35 PM

I'm already heart broken. I give our team as much of a chance to make the playoffs than I give the detroit tigers (no 0 - 7 team has ever made the playoffs).

4/10/2008 2:57:32 PM

Rained Snowed out tonight. Hopefully we can beat up on the Nats to get things going.

[Edited on April 10, 2008 at 3:30 PM. Reason : ]

4/10/2008 3:25:08 PM

remember that 5 of our losses are by 1 run......its not as bad as it seems

4/10/2008 5:12:28 PM

so could one say it's a season of inches?

4/10/2008 8:24:32 PM

Is betemit starting anymore. I really liked that kid. I hope he does well... but I think he's a bench guy for LA?

4/11/2008 9:11:02 AM