*Official 2009 Atlanta Braves Thread*

Yeah I still think the guy is going to be something else.

 

Pittsburgh will be playing with a chip on their shoulder. they are still stinging about the McClouth tade.

 

I'm going to go ahead and crown Yunel Escobar the king of stupid baserunning mistakes. He just hit an RBI single and right after McClouth scores they switch the camera to him being picked off at first. How do you even do that? This after getting tagged out the other day trying to sneak around between 2nd and 3rd I believe.

 

The offense scores some runs, oh look now, the bullpen can't hold a three run lead. And the saga of the 2009 Braves continues. Kawakami deserved a win too. First time in forever he had some decent run support. Now there's no way he'll get it.

 

i think whatever Yunel is dieing his hair with is affecting his decision making.

well an ugly, and long game, but a win, is a win, is a win...

 

You got that right. Yunel's decisions on the basepads have not been sound to put it kindly.

 

Is there anyone hotter than Chipper right now? Absolutely on fire right now. Hopefully we can comeback against the Buccos.

 

Nice comeback win. Escobar is a damn clutch hitter, and our bullpen had another fine outing. With the exception of Moylan yesterday, they've been on a pretty nice run. Now that Carlyle is gone, I like the setup down there with Medlen, Moylan, O'Flahrety, Soriano and Gonzo. Jeff Bennett is hit or miss.

 

braves drafted mike minor lhp from vanderbilt. dont know much about him.

 

I love watching him swing a bat, especially when he is locked in like he is now. That one homer on Sunday where he just reached out and flipped it in the gap was crazy. He made Turner look like the new Yankee stadium with that one.

 

I'm not thrilled, but I'm not as disappointed as I could have been. Personally, I would have gone with one of the high school pitchers. Zack Wheeler was the top guy on my list, but he went with the 6th pick to the Giants.

My fear was that Atlanta was going to take Alex White, who has great stuff but lousy command. I was hoping for Tyler Matzek, Shelby Miller, Jacob Turner, or Matthew Purke with that pick. Of the college pitchers that were available though, Mike Minor of Vanderbilt and Mike Leake of Arizona State were my favorites.

Mike Minor won't wow anyone with his stuff. He's a lefty that throws 88-91 mph, but he has above average command of three pitches. He throws a fastball, a slider, and a change up. All three are plus pitches at this point. His walk rate at the college level has consistently been low, and he has averaged right at a strikeout per inning during his career. He's the fourth Vanderbit pitcher to be drafted in the first round since 2005. They have a great pitching coach at Vandy named Derek Johnson. He's going to be a head coach at the college level before long.

 

here's the article about him on the Braves web page, said he pitched extremely well against international competition for team USA last year.

http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/...t_id=5221000&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl

 

87. Atlanta Braves -- David Hale, RHP, Princeton

our other draftee.......

 

It's amazing, it's like he can get a hit whenever he feels like it. Sometimes he makes me believe he really can. Not sure how he's only third in the all-star voting. What third baseman is better than he is? There isn't one.

 

Our offense continues to baffle me. One run against Jeff Karstens?! Pathetic. Kotchman and Infante out really hurts us. And I think it's about time we do something about Francoeur. The guy is absolutely dead weight right now.

 

A lot of dead weight. It's tough when you have Francoeur, Kelly Johnson, and Greg Norton when he's in contributing absolutely nothing. You really should hope for better than a split against Pittsburgh at home. When their best player is now on your team. The top four guys can't produce every run. That's basically what's happening right now.

 

Barbaro Canizares is getting called up. He's got a stick, but the problem he has is that he's a DH. He can't play 1B regularly. He cannot play in the outfield at all. Defensively, he has no position.

 

All they have to do is hang around and hope it comes together by August or September. The pitching is good enough, getting McClouth was a step in the right direction for the lineup. They need to continue to make whatever moves they can to get a more productive lineup.

 

Its frustrating to see great pitching performances pissed away on a daily basis. Vasquez was awesome yesterday. When your best reliever in Soriano can't get us to the 9th, you know things are bad.

 

Hanson tonight....if emotions are in check....it could be special.

 

It is frustrating. If they can get maybe two more hitters in the lineup that can give them even average production I think we'll start to see much better results. You're not going to win many games when all your runs are scored only by batters 1-4. Getting Kotchman and Infante back should be a huge lift.

 

It will not surprise me to see the Braves make a play for Jermaine Dye to give them some pop in right field. Dye came up in their system, and I think Atlanta sent him to Kansas City in the deal that got Michael Tucker and Keith Lockhart. That deal worked out well, huh?

 

good W last night... Tommy Hanson gets the win and the Braves hit. and does Jeff Francouer have RBI's in two straight games, now? whoa...

anybody else here them talk about possible trade scenarios and throw Javy Vaszquez's name in the mix??? as a salary cutting move, and to add offense for the stretch run/next season. that surprised me.

i realize Hudson is coming back, but we have no idea how effective he will be, and isn't he a free agent after next season either way?

 

I can't recall any Javy Vazques trade talk. If Hudson came back and even pitched partially as well it would kind of make sense if it improved the lineup. Their pitching is not in bad shape at all. They're in a situation now where all of the guys in the pitching rotation are consistantly giving them a chance to win. This season has not fallen into lost season status.

Tim Hudson is from Columbus, GA, [I believe it's Columbus, he's definitely a Georgia native anyway] he grew up a Braves fan. If they want him back they can resign him easily. As long as they're not too cheap. He's not exactly going to be itching to go somewhere else.

 

it was in the middle of the nightly discussion of the Francouer situation. and in the context of saving salary money long term, and getting another bat for this season... Joe Simpson said it i think. i just wonder when i hear them say that stiuff on the air, because you know they are in the know more than they let on.

yeah, i know Huddy is a local, i was just thinking that he might not be the same guy, post surgery.

 

The bullpen really wet the bed yesterday. It started with O'Flaherty who has usually been pretty reliable. If it's not one thing it's another. And Chipper has fallen into a slump. The one person we thought was immune. Hope it's not some secret injury or something.

 

well, apparently Yunel's brain farts have caught up to him. Bobby Cox pulled him in the third after two screw ups in the field.

Cox is essentially quoted in the article on the Braves web page saying he has talked to Yunel many times about this stuff, and he doesnt think it will do any good.

it really is becoming an almost daily occurance, and even though he has been producing at the plate, his BS in the field is unforgivable.

for those who missed it, the other night against Pittsburgh, with a runner on second, there was a ball hit up the middle that Kelly Johnson made a nice play to backhand, deep behind second base, and flip to Yunel. i immediately thought; "cool that'll save that run."

but Yunel didn't even bother to look at the runner from second, who never stopped running, and while Escobar looked at first, where it was obvious there was no play, the guy scored, just ahead of Yunel's very late throw.

and that run was the difference.

 

Yunel's future in Atlanta may be tied to how much longer Bobby wants to hang around. Bobby has only so much patience for immaturity, and Yunel is just one of those guys that has been a high maintenance player his entire career. There were questions about his make up while he was in the minors.

If Brandon Hicks were hitting better at Mississippi, I think Bobby would have more leverage in getting Yunel out of Atlanta. Hicks really impressed Bobby in spring training, but he has had a very bad season at the plate so far.

 

My thoughts on Atlanta's draft one week after the event started:

Overall, I'm not sure when Atlanta decided to change their philosophy on drafting. The Braves have always been a team that goes for upside with the high school kids, but this year, they played it safe with their first pick and made some head scratching picks.

I think the Mike Minor pick is a solid pick. No better, no worse. He profiles as a mid of the rotation starter with a fastball that is consistently 88-92, a devestating change up, a slider, and a curve ball. He has above average command of all four pitches and can get both righties and lefties out. David Hale was a head scratcher though. He's got a mid 90s fastball and a great arm, but he has very poor command and had trouble getting Ivy League hitters out. Mycal Jones put up great numbers at Miami Dade JC, but most scouts feel that he does't have the bat speed to catch up to professional fastballs. Jones appears to be more athlete than baseball player at this point. The same goes for Chris Rose.

The best picks the Braves made may have been 14th round pick Cory Harrilchalk and 23rd round pick Ryan Weber.

 

a 3 run homerun by the pitcher??? great googly moogly.

i ronically as the Brave are floundering, Francouer has shown some feint signs of life, driving in a few runs in the past week, and getting some base hits.

WTF is it about Cinci? i cannot wait to be done with them.

 

This is depressing. Now for a little good news - I'm attending the July 18th game vs. the Mets. Dating back to 1991 the Braves have never lost a game I've been in attendance for. I haven't been to a huge amount of games but enough to notice a trend. I've seen them beat the Cubs, Cardinals, Orioles, Marlins, Dodgers, and the Mets on multiple occassions. I should move to Atlanta and buy season tickets.

 

It's the night right after unfortunately. My sister is coming into town and she won't be here in time for that one. There is a free concert after my game, though I can't remember the band.

 

good win tonite... McLouth is turning on the bat (i love his swing by the way), and Kenshin shut down Boston. nice to see the bats come alive two straight days.

fun pitching matchup tomorrow. Lowe versus Beckett. gonna have to tivo the game though unfortunately.

 

very true, the Braves do have to keep it going. this is a brutal stretch of the schedule, and if they don't, they are almost assuredly done.

let's see how this team handles having their backs against the wall.

 

Philly has struggled and Atlanta has actually gained a little ground over the past two games. If they could somehow keep this going who knows where they could be by the All-star break.

Kawakami has really come around over the past month. I think he hasn't allowed more than 3 ERs in his past five starts.

 

I can still remember the days when the Braves waited until October to disappoint me.