Braves 7, Padres 0
April 27, 2011 at 6:09 pm by Capitol Avenue Club under Atlanta Braves
I could recap this game, but to be honest I didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to it, so I might as well just link to the box score.
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Miscellaneous
Tommy Hanson for Cy Young. (Well maybe 5th place.)
dude, the Padres make every pitcher look like a CY Young candidate
Tommy sure put up great numbers today. Was his velocity back, or is he just getting better at using his off-speed pitches? Either way, results are good, but it would be a big relief to see his velocity return as well. Overall great game and road-trip, especially bouncing back after that dodger’s loss. Great to be at .500 and starting to roll.
I managed to catch the last groundball double play on mlb.tv…….another scoreless inning for the new guy Gearin.
At least you’re honest. Hanson did look great today. More good defense, as well.
ill recap then:
tommy looked awesome.
some timely hitting and a big inning.
equals a braves win.
How was Hanson’s velocity?
Not sure if this has already been posted, but apparently Roger McDowell made inappropriate comments to a Giants fan in San Francisco. It doesn’t make a lick of sense, but judge for yourself:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=6438616
Mainly 92. but he hit 93, 94 a few times.
But Peter, if you were going to have such a short recap, you should have done it in Morse code.
@Jeb
His fastball averaged around the low 90′s, but I think he hit 95 a couple times. If you go to mlb.com’s Gameday and click on Tommy’s name in the boxscore, you can check out the per inning average velocity of all of his pitches, as well as his movement and release points.
Dallas
Sounds like bs to me. If you’re going to extort a major league coach, make it plausible.
Chipper passed Mickey Mantle for second place all time Switch-Hitters, i think that is worth some space.
Is Cory Gearrin, Peter Moylan 2.0?
A couple of things for my first comment:
1) Did anyone else have flashbacks to Hanson’s botched squeeze a couple of weeks ago against the Marlins (?) when he came up with runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out? I was so glad Hanson struck out. Maybe Freddi Gonzalez will see that he doesn’t have to over-manage to make stuff happen.
2) I love to see the Braves doing things the right way. Getting ahead early, having good at-bats, and pitchers getting ahead of hitters and being (somewhat) efficient.
3) Congrats to Chipper. Been an idol of mine since I was a kid. Can anyone really argue against his Hall of Fame worthiness?
4) Go Braves!
Per DOB regarding Roger McDowell:
#Braves pitching coach Roger McDowell’s written statement on his alleged homophobic slurs directed at S.F. fans: “I am deeply sorry that I responded to the heckling fans in San Francisco on Saturday. I apologize to everyone for my actions. “ He wasn’t available to talk with us after game, wasn’t in clubhouse when we entered. Players were told not to comment.
I know they have just as much right to be there as me, but in Roger’s defense… I absolutely hate when there are kids sitting within 30 ft of me at a baseball game. I would describe myself as “Maddux-vulgar”.
Did a quick google news search, sounds like roger went on a little bit of a tirade. Slurs are one thing, but if he threatened someone with a bat it goes to a whole other level of bad. I wonder where the line is where he loses his job.
mmmbop was popping 95 on the gun
looks like once a Met always a Met…Roger Mc may need to lose his job. Stupid behavior. Then again there are 3 sides to every story.
I couldn’t get too interested in this game either– the early, large lead and San Diego’s non-existant offense made this one a forgone conclusion after the second inning.
I’m disapointed in Roger McDowell if any of that is true.
the famed ‘second spitter’ is at it again.. maybe it was really Keith Hernandez doing all the yelling, and throwing his voice.
Bummer. I guess you can take the boy out of the Mets, etc.
if its true, Roger needs to go.. but then the question becomes who does Fredi bring in? *shudder*
Jack,
Yes, both in that he has a similar repertoire and should be a ground-ball machine and that he’ll carry a huge platoon split and should be used almost exclusively against right-handed hitters.
I can see a fine and a suspension, but I’m not sure he deserves to be fired. If he actually hurt someone, that would be a different story. He’ll probably have to take the obligatory “Sensitivity Training.”
For those comments? Roger doesn’t need to go anywhere.
If anything, the Braves’ will slap him on the wrist, take a little money, and if the MLB steps in, they won’t have much more than a he said/she said to look at. Kobe Bryant’s slurs were captured on camera. If something even comes out of this, and there are more people who actually get involved there will have to be some kind of statements taken against those “witnesses” who were heckling McDowell as well.
After taking a verbal beating from a few fans, McDowell probably just thought that that guy was also trying to be a heckler as well. Yes, he probably lost his cool, but hell, if people are saying that he needs to go (at this point, no less) then they need to go to the same “Sensitivity Training” sessions that McDowell would have to go to if this ever floats. Need to step off the high horse a little, people.
Keith C,
Nice reference!
What will do McDowell in is if it gets confirmed that he threatened that fan with a baseball bat and used said bat to simulate sexual acts in front of children.
As for the verbal stuff, it would get one fired in most jobs. But Jon, you’re probably right: just a slap on the wrist. If he were to be fired for that, it would only be fair if MLB decided to crack down on fan abusive behavior.
@ Jon
Roger McDowell is a lot more replacable than Kobe Bryant. Making lewd and threatening gestures to a father with his kids is embarassing to the Braves and to MLB, and I certainly wouldn’t blame either organization for making an example out of him.
Two things about the McDowell situation:
1) We have no idea why he was being crude (assuming he was) to the other fans. Do fans have carte blanche to ride players or coaches without retaliation? Isn’t that just as likely to ruin the experience for children? That seems to be the major concern, which leads me to…
2) I really hate the appeal to innocence. Look, kids are going to see things and hear things. McDowell behaved badly with that fan, probably. His children should not be a factor at all.
My point is that kids are not inherently special or important. Please stop appealing to their sensibilities being offended by things, parents.
Thoughts on the Roger McDowell situation (and the situation of fans who aren’t die hard or who are bandwagoners):
Scenario: I live in Fresno, Ca (have some money), I notice that the nearby San Francisco Giants won some sort of World Series Bowl Championship last year, I decide to go see these Giants play a game on a Saturday as a fun family activity, I pack my young daughters (who probably have no interest in baseball whatsoever), wife and my self dressed in black polo with penny loafers and drive my SUV to the Bay, I purchase expensive/close seats to the field to understand what the buzz is all about, I then fail to realize that unfortunately baseball is a game where people drink beer, heckle other teams, foul language can be rampant, and is more of an adult atmosphere than the minor league park in Fresno. I regret my decision, try to lecture a man about his job atmosphere, and am put on the defensive by his reaction to my putting on a moral face for my family. (The above story is in no way, shape, or form related to any real life people or events. Any similarities are pure coincidence.)
Jon
I wasn’t saying that he should go to Sensitivity Training, I meant that it would likely happen. That seems to be the routine in corporate America when someone steps out of line. I’m not saying that I agree with it.
Of course fans do not get to heckle players and coaches without recourse, but the appropriate recourse is certainly not for the players and coaches to heckle back. Rather, he could tell dugout security who would then alert stadium personnel, and the incident would be taken care of.
McDowell didn’t do that.
If all the allegations are true I sincerely hope the Braves fire him immediately. I’m sure McDowell’s alleged attitude toward the gay community is pervasive throughout baseball, but there is no place for it in any of the players’, coaches’, or managements’ public capacity. What he said and did was offensive, bigoted, insensitive, and immature. I hope it’s being exaggerated, but I doubt it.
The Braves are trying to sell a product and part of that product is fan-friendliness, family-friendliness, and wholesomeness. Having a coach whose dropping f-bombs in front of kids, saying “Are you guys a homo couple or a threesome?”, and threatening to knock a fan’s teeth out with a baseball bat is not only totally unacceptable and extremely embarrassing, but also can be irreparably damaging to their image and the product they’re selling if they don’t fire him. Atlanta has one of the largest gay populations in the country and don’t think they won’t be royally pissed off by this incident. And don’t think families–gay or straight–aren’t offended by his crude behavior in front of children. Showing the city of Atlanta that they don’t condone Roger McDowell’s behavior or general attitude towards homosexuality by firing him is the only way to save face and rescue the bottom line, which will be affected by this incident. And don’t even start with that “don’t be so sensitive” crap, what McDowell did is extremely anti-social and downright appalling.
29/ Biggus,
Kids will see things, that is true. But as a parent, its my job to censor what they see and hear. I have a 6 and 5 yr old, and yes they are inherently important. Maybe not to you, but to the parents they are. It’s not easy to explain things to them they see and hear, especially things that were allegedly said and done in this situation. As i said, they will see and hear things as they grow up, but it doesn’t mean parents shouldn’t be pissed when they have to see and hear such things from a grown man, in what I’m sure was supposed to be a nice family outing. Anyway, helluva way to finish the road trip. Let’s keep rolling.
@33
CAC,
Is Tom Glavine/John Smoltz ready to move from special assistant/broadcaster to Pitching coach then?
@33/CAC: When you get into a position where you cater towards a larger amount of people, you are definitely looked at with a microscope that is far more sensitive than Joe Shmoe coming off the streets with a ticket in hand throwing f-bombs around. However, within the spectrum of the baseball world and on a baseball field, I think most people should come to expect aggressive athletic types to get into the heat of the action. And if a coach or player comes with a slip of the tongue towards a group of people within that setting, I think it is completely out of line for people outside of that spectrum to get on their high horse and cry for that person’s head.
Should he get fined? Sure, do that. He’ll watch his step a lot more carefully.
Should he be fined? No. Atlanta may have one of the largest gay communities, but McDowell’s alleged comments (we’ve still only heard one side of this story) about a group of people and then his aggressive actions towards others he seemed to have deemed hecklers, should not be held against more than those people at whom he made his comments.
Yeah…the second question is “Should he be fired?”
@ Biggus Rickus 29
CAC said it best, but I’ll just add one thing– it doesn’t matter if kids are inherently important and deserving of special consideration or not, what matters is that MLB in general and the Braves in particular have a STRONG financial interest in making ballparks places where parents feel comfortable bringing kids, and where those kids have good experiences and become long-term fans and customers. If McDowell is treated harshly for that crap, it wouldn’t just be for the sake of protecting kids, it would also be for the sake of protecting baseball’s business interests.
It is a privilege to wear the uniform..not a right. I expect to take my kids to a ballgame and not have to explain to them why a “coach” is writhing and spewing homophobic filth…really is this the topic of discussion..anyone should know this is bad behavior period. exclamation point! I hope this didn’t happen….I really do.
Maybe they could lure Greg Maddux into being the pitching coach.
The more i read, the more i think he has to go. It would be one thing if he dropped a slur or an F-bomb as he passed by the fan, but it seems like he engaged them for a period of time. Additionally, you can’t threaten someone with a bat, if that happens off a ball field you could get in trouble with the law (and he still could).
A crude joke every now and then in the right company is one thing, but from most accounts it sounds like McDowell corssed the line (and didn’t stop). You can replace a pitching coach, but it would be much harder to replace the damage to the organizations image if they retain him.
Did the Justin Quinn hear anything that the three men said? Why is he filing a complaint and not the three men who were being harassed? Curious, not insensitive. Or at least, I don’t mean to be.
It doesn’t matter, at all, whether or not he deserves to get fired. For the millionth time, deserves got nothing to do with it. It’s about the bottom line. Roger McDowell said hateful things towards a group of people that make up a not-insignificant portion of the Braves’ ticket purchasing base. He said: “kids don’t fucking belong at the baseball park”. Alienating gay people and families is going to fuck up the Braves’ ticket sales in a huge way, and they have to fire him to send a message to the parties that Roger has offended, the message being “this behavior is not condoned by our organization and we won’t stand for it”.
Argue about whether or not he deserves to be fired if you want, but that really doesn’t matter. I personally think it’s incredibly embarrassing for the organization and worthy of firing. This is at least twice as bad as the Tony Bernazard situation. At least Bernazard was acting like an ass towards members of his own organization, as opposed to opposing FANS. If Bernazard couldn’t survive in the Omar Minaya-led Mets organization after that incident, I can’t imagine Roger McDowell will be able to survive in the Frank Wren/John Schuerholz-led Braves organization.
“How much are your teeth worth?” sounds contrived, like a bad movie line. I don’t doubt the homophobic stuff, but he threatened a guy with his family? Either McDowell is a crazy ass or the fan is exaggerating. I think his kids got scared and in turn scared him.
Before you judge the truth of the alleged statements, google Gloria Allred. She is notorious for publicity seeking litigation with allegations that don’t always turn out to be what they were initially made out to be. It’s really too early to make any judgments until we know more about what happened. It’s entirely possible that McDowell made inappropriate statements (and thus the apology) but not necessarily the ones alleged.
If the statements turn out to be true then he will almost definitely resign/be fired.
Good point wcb. We obviously aren’t 100% on the facts yet. Hardball Talk had a post this morning about her when she announced she was going to call out a baseball coach today, we didn’t know who at the time.
McDowell is unfortunately about to learn that one should never get crosswise with the screechy gay lobby in America. Kobe Bryant and Paul Clement learned the hard way, as will Roger when MLB and the Braves knuckle under the pressure to “get” him. An off-color remark and years of good citizenship and service down the tubes. And it doesn’t matter whether the account is accurate or not or what Roger’s side of the story is. That old publicity-harpy Gloria Allred is going in for the kill.
29,
Your attititude is exactly why I don’t feel comfortable taking my kids to any professional sporting events. The respect we should have for the people around us is totally lost to the entitled individual that will inevitably be within earshot of my children, thinking he or she has the right to do whatever he or she pleases no matter what.
As a parent, I have a responsibility to protect my children more than I have a responsibility to pass on my enjoyment of Braves baseball. Unfortunantly, a live game is currently not an option. Fortunantly, I am able to still enjoy the game with my kids the good ole fashioned way – radio. Me and my 3-year-old son enjoyed listening to the game today, in fact. It’s nice having a game that doesn’t start after his bedtime!
If you care about your team, you should care about the “sensitivities” of the people sitting around you, because if they stop showing up and supporting the team, eventually you will have no team in your town to support. (or you’ll have the reputation of the Philthies).
As a loosely related aside. My favorite minor league promotional faux pais was when the Church youth group promotional event overlapped with the regularly scheduled half price beer night. That was interesting.
Am I missing something? Did he threaten to assault a father in the presence of his young children with a baseball bat? If he had done that in plain clothes in the parking lot after the game, he’d have ended up in a squad car. What’s the mystery here? Fire his ass.
I’ve been too focused on playoff hockey today to pay too much attention to this story, but I did find this video and it raises a few questions:
http://www.tmz.com/videos?autoplay=true&mediaKey=c768a07d-3b51-4591-963e-3966a27b39b9
Who is she?
Who are the others?
If kids were offended, why does she have kids there?
Is the ending with the demonstration really necessary?
Why is this on TMZ?
I’m not trying to make light of the situation, these are actual questions that I have regarding this ridiculous video.
I think we’ll be hearing about this until some type of big action is taken, but in the mean time, let’s focus on the baseball aspect of the team. We’re recording a podcast tomorrow night so feel free to send us some questions that you want answered.