Braves Lose Fourth Game In A Row
April 9, 2012 at 11:18 pm by Franklin Rabon under Atlanta Braves
Just like they did at least once in every single year from 1991-2002.
Yes, this sucks. Yes, the managing has been infuriating.
But these 4 games shouldn’t change your opinion of the 2012 Atlanta Braves. If you’re panicking now, you should have been panicking before the season started. If you thought the team was fine before the season started, you should think they’ll be fine now.
If you’re legitimately angry and your life is worse because some dudes you don’t know scored fewer runs than some other dudes you don’t know, well, reevaluate some things in your life. That’s not being a sports fan, that’s being bad at life.
The Braves are playing again tomorrow. Objectively they’ll probably win.
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Can I be frustrated with the Braves (not angry, per se) and not suck at life?
I understand being frustrated, especially during watching the game. I’m talking about people who are legitimately going to miserable until the Braves are at .500.
This. I laughed manically several times tonight. When Livan didn’t/couldn’t cover first I legitimately thought that was hilarious. You have to enjoy life.
Diaz swinging at the ball that looked like it was going to hit him in the face in the 9th drew a hearty “lol” from me.
How about when Diaz nearly faceplanted into the right field fence? That was another one for me.
I hear ya. It’s just a game, and when I am frustrated by the team’s performance, I’ll simply not hand over my dollars to that team.
yeah, I totally understand that. Though I guess growing up a USC fan, when we lost 21 consecutive college football games, changed my perspective on all that. I also remember being a braves fan pre-91.
For me, baseball is good when your team plays, but better when your team wins.
I seriously questioning whether or not you even love baseball Franklin.
#shanksed
ha, awesome.
Franklin, when South Carolina lost 21 games in a row, were you legitimately angry?
Joking aside, it would be pretty nice if the Braves could beat the Mets or Astros. Not every game or even most of them. Just, sometimes. Even one time.
Nope, wasn’t legitimately angry at any time during 0-21. I still enjoyed spending time with my friends, seeing a sold out stadium (yeah, we sold out all 21 games we lost), and everything bout the sport.
Sure, there were occasional frustrations, but they were fleeting.
Beachy said zilch about the defense in his post game, props to him for it. His biggest fault was walking Schafer, but he could have easily said at least a few words about the defense and still been diplomatic.
Yet Frediot made sure to mention that Beachy needs to overcome. “The good ones do, get over that hump.” He is right, Beachy needs to get that last batter, but Fredi ‘s choice of words end up throwing Beachy under the bus.
ok, I am going to stop trying to bold now
I have never been more frustrated by the Braves than I was during the 9-game losing streak in Bobby’s final season, and that one turned out somewhat okay in the end (crippling injuries at end of season aside). I am not panicking, but even if we started 4-0 I’d still think Fredi was a shit manager.
I just dont see any passion or intensity out of the players. Of course I have said that for several years now, so Im not sure if thats all Fredi. Just wish guys would get a little more pumped up to be playing the best game in the world, especially given they are getting paid so much to do it. Hell id play for free lol
One thing about this slide is we have gotten some good laughs. I laughed at half my twitter feed tonight. Lighten up people!
Of Francisco and his 3 errors…
“@fauxfrankwren: @CapitolAvenue he made 3 putting his hat on, and it’s still crooked.”
I vote for “tomorrow, objectively they’ll probably win” to be the new motto of the blog. That is one of the single greatest things I’ve read in a long time. If Fredi Gonzalez would say something like this in his post game news conferences (brain cell massacres), I would name my first born after him. I wouldn’t admit it to friends, I’d say I’d named him after Freeman. But inside I’d know. I would know.
the real question is, would you ever tell your child the truth?
It’s the curse of Beth Keener.
Good lord that twitter stuff is terrible.
I’m curious how many Tweets they’re having to sift through to get to the positive ones. “I think this team is neat and I think Brian McCann will hit a lot of home runs. #braves”
I defended Fredi G. last year with it being his first season as Braves manager. But the lineup he put out there tonight I can not and will no defend. Yes, Heyward struggled last year with LH pitchers, but taking him out and putting someone else in (Fransico) thats even worse with lefties makes absolutely no sense. If Prado is at third, does that inning go the same way, we will never know. But Fransico looks like an old Pablo Sandoval. But my question is who do you send down with Chipper coming back tomorrow, I know who Fredi G. wants to keep. So tomorrow with Chipper at third, objectively the will probably win.
Playing Francisco at third was not a mistake you can hang on Fredi, his options were limited, and we would have complained if he used other option of Diaz Left and Prado ar third. Diaz in right can be held to him, along with leaving Francisco in for the night after the third was a mistake because it left an infield the pitchers could not trust to handle the routine plays. What should have happened at that point is Heyward comes in to either right or leftt with Diaz opposite and Prado to third, still not ideal but a clear improvement offensively amd deffensivly.
What?
I’m not frustrated. Last year, they can’t hit. Now, they can’t even pitch. These are just the facts. Spring training said it all. They need to bring back Ted Turner. They need the second coming of Fred McGriff. There is so much hype about the young players, but they are not Glavine, Smoltz, Avery, Justice, Gant, and Olsen. Those Braves were my heroes. These new guys have not proven a thing.
Amen.
Please…spare me the hoo-rah, and we’ll get them tomorrow crap. These are the Mets and the Astros…teams that we should be beating if we realistically think that we have some sort of shot at doing anything this season. Yeah, yeah, I know, it’s only 4 games, but how many games did we miss the playoffs by last year??? Exactly…I see no sense of urgency on this team, when they get behind, they show no emotion or enthusiasm or fight to rally. My particularly troubled about seeing Durbin and Hernandez being run out there so much…if those two are our “horses” in the BP, it’s gonna be a LONG season. I know…a 4 game winning streak will shut me up, but all I see are the exact same problems that this team has had for the past few years…Starters going 5 or 6, overworked BP, and no clutch hitting…oh well…back to my sorry life I guess.
I can spare you all that crap really easily, just dont read.
Objectively the games from last year dont count towards this year’s record, and 4 games isn’t a big deal.
If you want somewhere to be pissed off and vent frustrations, the facebook group “Thanks Bobby!” is free to join.There’s also David O’Brien’s Braves Blog at the AJC.
“4 games isn’t a big deal”
If we learned anything from the last two years, it was that every game is a big deal. Sure, the sky is not falling and the season is not yet doomed, but 4-0 and 0-4 is the difference between 86 and 90 wins at the end of the season, which could mean everything. So I’d say every 4-game stretch is a big deal.
sure, but the point is that it’s not a bigger deal than any other random 4 games. people are freaking out because it’s the frist 4 games. If this was the middle of July people be mildly annoyed, not about to jump off a ledge.
like I said in the post, the braves had at least one (usually multiple) 4 game losing streaks in every year from 91 to 2002.
“BRAVES LOSE FOURTH GAME IN A ROW”
…only thing is it’s NINE games in a row and 25 out of our last 34. Anybody else see a trend here??
its not 9 games in a row. Games from last year do not count towards this year’s standings. If they did, we’d be sitting pretty, as last year’s record would probably get us in the playoffs this year.
also, if you post again under different names you’ll get ip banned will/shane
trolololol
Frustrations come from:
a) sitting Heyward for any reason whatsoever
b) playing Francisco against a LHP
c) Livan Hernandez and Chad Durbin’s heavy use. Down 1 is a high leverage spot, manage like it. I’m talking about both tonight and the Jurrjens game.
d) 4 errors, 2 on the same play by a guy who should not have been in the lineup
e) Jose Constanza being on the roster at all
Yes, it’s 4 games. I still think Atlanta has good playoff odds. I also hate Fredi Gonzalez. He has done nothing in these 4 games to alleviate my biggest fear for this season: the manager running this ship into the ground.
The question is, do we feel differently about Hernandez and Durbin yet?
nah, I feel the same about them. They’re just being used incorrectly.
But, do you feel Frediot will ever quit using them incorrectly this season?
ive stopped trying to figure things like that out. fredi gonna fredi.
Heyward had a 122 ops+ against lefties in 2010. Do you think fredi has a personal reason he doesn’t like Heyward( racist, cockiness, lack of toughness, not hustling) I mean it must go beyond talent. Bobby loved Heyward and so do the fans (most) I don’t really believe any of the reasons I listed but if one of them leaked as to why fredi doesn’t play Heyward I wouldn’t be surprised.
Was at the game tonight. Beachy looked pretty solid tonight (fastball sitting in the low 90s, good offspeed stuff). Main problem for him (besides the errors) was his normal issue and that is no overpowering out pitch. He had numerous batters 0-2 and then would have to spend 6-8 pitches before recording an out, issuing a walk, or giving up a hit. I hope the bats come around, which I suspect they will. Also, the Astros deserve some credit. They executed several hit and run plays which caused our SS to be moving to cover second for the throw from McCann and they hit the ball right where he would have been normally, which would have led to several double play opportunities.
My biggest concern tonight was passion and hustle. I know those are subjective measures but I like to see the guys run out ground balls and show some excitement. They get to play the greatest game in the world for pete’s sake. Only Pastornicky hustled out of the box and some guys (Bourn, McCann) actually walked down the line. We have the talent to succeed. I just didn’t see much heart out there tonight.
“no overpowering out pitch”? Didn’t he have the most stike outs by a rookie Braves pitcher for over 20 years… He has 2-3 overpowering out pitches. He just needs to get slightly better control and/or stop trying to nibble on the last strike.
Thanks, Matt, for that reminder. You more clearly stated what I was actually thinking.
Great response, love insightful conversations
Also, can someone tell me if O’Flaherty, Venters, or Kimbrel has pitched at all this year?
O’Flaherty and Venters both have a scoreless inning, Kimbrel has only been told to twiddle his thumbs.
Don’t like Frediot- but I will say you can’t use the monsters in the bull-pen every game down 1, down 2, tied, up 1, 2, 3….he got killed for over using them… maybe he gun-shy?? Thoughts????
“Watch me manage”
I don’t think the season is over by any means, or that the Braves won’t rebound and be very competitive, but it frustrates the crap out of me to see them give away ballgames, especially considering that last season came down to one game. That said I expect that after the notch that first win that they will get the ball rolling. And the starting pitching has been pretty good thus far, just mismanagement of the bullpen.
The Braves seem…mistake-prone to me, to start of the season, but also stretching back to the middle of last season. Fredi is clearly a really nice guy, but I don’t think that helps with instilling trust or building confidence. There’s a lot of hesitation on both defense and offense. If I’m out there in practice dropping balls in the infield, or running home when I should stick at third, I get the feeling that Fredi’s saying “Ehhh…that’s OK. Just give it your all, slugger.” These guys need some tough love and Fredi ain’t it.
i watched the first 3 games due to having the MlB channels free for a week. today i listened on the radio. i miss the days of TBS, thats how i became a Braves fan all the way from CA. does anyone have any information on a site to stream the games? i tried firstrowsports today but it was only a radio feed that was behind the espn gamecast. anything guys??? please help if you have any info, i still want to watch my team even if i hate Fredi.
To be honest, the MLB.TV subscription is rather cheap if you watch/listen to many of the games. It’s not free though, if that’s what you’re looking for.
I think this team has given up on Fredi Gonzalez. How else do you explain what appears to be a lack of pride and emotion?
pride and emotion are really hard to accurately gauge from a TV screen.
I agree with the Shane and Allen comments above in particular. My question: At what point does the ‘it’s early’ argument end and meaningful changes have to be realized?
At some point in the season, any particular team is going to win 60 and lose 60. It’s what those teams do with the last 42 that determine where they’re going. Count these among the 60 losses that the Braves will have this year and move on.
Nothing I’ve seen so far changes my opinion that this team isn’t as good as last years team. A pathetic spring training followed by being swept by the unanimous choice to finish last in the East and the unanimous choice of worst team in the NL (or even ML). In the spring, pitching was iffy at best, the offense was pathetic and there were question marks in LF, at 3B, and SS defensively. Four games in nothing has changed. Hanson was impressive and that’s about the only positive takeway in four games. Of the first six hits last night, four were lucky wormburners that found an IF hole. Managing is part of it, but the team itself is not showing any signs of being any good at all. That’s just my IMO – so I guess I was “panicking” early and still am, but in my own estimation I believe it’s rather an early recognition of the need for lower adjusted expectations. I’m ready to be proven wrong at any point.
correction: being swept by the unanimous choice to finish last in the East and losing the first game to the unanimous choice of worst team in the NL (or even ML)
Turns out Francisco wasn’t the only Braves 3B to pull off 3 errors last night. Terdo had 3 as well!
As bad as its been so far – and its been pretty bad, it will improve, hopefully starting tonite. Especially if Frediot’s one remaining brain cell decides to play our best line up and is not required to use his great feel for the game in making key decisions. Have faith, the bravos are a decent team with some good players although we are not a great team by any stretch at this point. I also think that people are too easily swayed by the muppets on Espn who make it sound like the Mets and Astros are just garbage, they are not that bad at all and if you give them a chance they will beat you. One last point, has anyone else noticed Big Dan’s arms are even bigger than last year? I think its now impacting his ability to swing the bat!
Franklin, Kevin–how about a post refreshing roster options when Chipper returns? Who are the Braves best options to keep / send down given the overall weakness against lefties?
it should be constanza going down.
What should happen and what will happen are not likely to be the same in the land of Frediot.
well, luckily fredi doesn’t make roster decisions.
I don’t think there is any question who gets sent down when Chipper returns today. In fact, if Constanza isn’t sent down, I’m folding up my teepee and becoming a Phillies fan :(
Is Fredi going to try to “redshirt” Kimbrel this year?
Craig who?
I know that we all encourage teams to use their best releivers in “high leverage” situations on the internet, but what teams in baseball actually do that on a regular basis? The reason I ask is that our starters (going back to last year) have a history of getting in trouble in the 5th or 6th inning. This season, we have brought Livan out of the bullpen to pitch in these situations (often with runners on base) with disastrous results. How about we reserve this role (how about we call it the “get ouf of a jam” situation and actually count how many times a bullpen pitcher successfully gets out of this situation with no runs) for our third or second best bullpen guy – either O’Flaherty or Venters? Throw guys like Livan out there at the beginning of an inning with no baserunners.
Another example of complete mismanagement of a pitcher. How many times in Livan’s 35 years in the league has he served as a high leverage reliever. Completely agree with you that Livan should be starting innings only. Leverage situations (high or low) in the 6th inning should go to Meds, CM, and until he is cut, Durbin.
Precisely the point I”ve been making. Livan’s never been a reliever in his career, yet Fredi’s inserting him in one-run situations while proven relievers rot on the bench. Livan needs to be used as an emergency long reliever — not the guy you bring in to get you out of a jam or to shut down a team for a couple of innings to keep a game close.
I’m not angry about the Braves losing four games. That happens in a 162-game season. Yes, it’s annoying that it’s to the Mets and Astros. But still… only 4 games thus far.
What actually does annoy me is Fredi Gonzalez. I think a lot of things he does are moronic, but it really irritates me to see Heyward on the bench. Heyward will be in Atlanta (or should be) long after Fredi Gonzalez gets fired. Frediot is screwing with the development of a player that has, or at least once had, massive potential. I feel bad for the kid.
Oh well.
I’m actually hoping for us to get swept by the Astros as well and that cause Wren to make a coaching move… Remember, Fredi = Fired as an anagram.
i think schuerholz makes the managerial calls.
Agree here as well. Days off with one of your studs come after 20-30 games in a row, not four games with a day off stuck in the middle. It’s garbage that Heyward is on the bench in game 4.
Certailnly no time to panic, but the absolute worthlessness of Durbin and 3 errors by Francisco call in to question Wren’s judgment on his last minute ST deals, and I am normally a supporter of Wren’s work. I also thought Fredi’s reasoning for why he wanted to play Francisco over Heyward was suspect, at best.
Playing Francisco over Heyward just made no logical sense. Fredi said that he wanted to see Francisco hit against a lefty before Chipper returned, but is he going to judge Francisco’s hitting based on that one game trial as opposed to 3 years of major league stats and scouting reports? One game is far too small a sample size to judge anything in baseball (so is 4 games for that matter), and taking Heyward out hurts the team in all aspects.
Yeah, I was trying to be nice.
watched this 2 weeks ago and it was AMAZING, my first proper west end show, and its not going to be my last, aoslluteby LOVED IT , wish i could have seen it with idina mazel, and chenowerth, but the cast were awesome
Fredi’s managing is the only thing getting me close to angry (then I crack open a Hoegaarden, and everything is okay again).
I agree with a couple of the above commenters that the benching of Heyward is just insane. But I’ll just ramble if I talk any more about that.
The relief situation should not be difficult to figure out. You bring in your best relievers when it’s a one-run game and they’re available. If after all 3 pitch it’s still a one-run game, well then you have to use a pitcher that is not one of your top high-leverage guys. But the difference is 1) your offense, by this time, may have changed the game to a low-leverage situation, and 2) even if they haven’t, you’ve given yourself the best chance and now you’re just playing the hand you’ve been dealt. Why this is difficult for Major League managers to figure out is beyond me.
Also, I didn’t mind the Francisco pick-up, and I didn’t mind him playing Francisco last night. I minded him playing Diaz in right. Maybe Francisco really is a terrible 3B, or maybe he’s just in a rough stretch right now (like a lot of our hitters). Or maybe he needs to be a little scrappier … then when he goes 1-3 with a run scored, the announcers will forgive his 3 errors (see: Conrad, Brooks).
Hey CharlotteChop (Or anyone else with Charlotte insight), I’ve been in Charlotte for work the past few months. Do the games come on up here often? If so, what channels usually? Thanks.
Yessir – almost every game is on TV here. Fox Sports (1508) and SportsSouth (1510) are your best bets. If not there, try to find Peachtree TV. A few games are on there, usually home games, but I can never remember the TWC channel. I always end up thumbing through the guide to find Peachtree.
This particular element of Charlotte is one reason I never want to leave.
Great. Thanks for the help. I think the hotel has SS, but not sure about FSS and Peachtree. May be a good excuse to go to a bar!
Charlotte is pretty awesome. I’m in Ballantyne right now, which is nice. And Uptown is pretty damn fun.
Good God! I’m so tired of people acting as though the Braves have no “passion” because they aren’t making funny faces and snapping bats over their knees every time something doesn’t work out. These are grown people, and you have no way to gauge someone’s “passion” by watching them operate in a professional environment on television. Players play poorly. It happens.
I agree Owl Hunter (do you really hunt owls, by the way?). “Passion,” “intensity,” “desire,” and other such traits are just not things that we can see from the television. Generally, one wants to be in full control of his emotions when playing a game that requires skill and precision of the highest degree. So getting red-faced or screaming obscenities is probably not what you want from your team anyway.
However, there is one thing that I’ve noticed (or that I think I’ve noticed) that I was wondering if anyone else has. Last year, I was struck by how Dan Uggla was in full sprint on every ground ball he hit all the way through the bag … even when it was clear he would be out. Through just 4 games, and through what little I’ve been able to watch of them, it seems to me that he’s dialed this back a notch. Anyone else notice this? Or am I just seeing things?
That’s still tough to call. I know I saw one last night where I figured he would be out easily that he did make somewhat close so I gave him props for the hustle. Still, there might be other instances where he might not have ran quite as hard and honestly, it’s hard for me to blame anyone for that. You’re at the plate trying to make a difference and you hit a slow dribbler straight to an infielder… I think it would be difficult for anyone to come hauling ass out of the batter’s box every time in that situation.
Yeah I doubt I can really tell. Just wondered if anyone else thought they saw it. Considering you saw the opposite, I’m probably just imagining things.
And I agree. Grounder to second, I say take it easy. Need those legs for the long haul.
I agree Owl Hunter. I don’t think passion is the problem. I think that these guys just aren’t very good right now. They want to win, but I feel like they have the wrong manager and a poor mix of aging veterans and prospects who haven’t lived up to the hype yet. Mix all the in with an ownership group who doesn’t care what the Braves record is and a salary cap because of it, this could turn into a small market team who’s hopes rely on the small amount of time they can keep the young guys under contract. Wait til next year. What happens to the free agents, especially McCann? The Braves simply won’t be able to throw the money at McCann to keep him. And what happens at 3rd base, CF, LF and how long until Heyward is shot because of Gonzalez? There are alot of questions. I just don’t want to go back to the 80′s. That was the worst.
I LOL’d at your “how long until Heyward is shot” comment at first because I thought you meant literally (as watching some of his swings last year made me want to shoot him). But then, I realized you meant shot as in a chance at being a superstar because of Fredi’s horrible managerial decisions.
But in all seriousness, I think the truly scary part of your comment is referring to the city of Atlanta as a “small market.” It’s scary because I can see it being true and it’s sad because there is no way in hell Atlanta is a small market. It’s just the Liberty Media tools and a bad TV contract are seriously screwing our future.
I see your point OHunter, but this is mostly the same group who pouted and looked at their feet for the last five games last year…. while tv stations panned around MLB and other dug-outs around the baseball world were going nuts and having a blast. That last game against Philly was A JOKE…they were WINNING the game towards the end and they showed the dug-out and most of the guys were staring at their shoes like third grade students when their teacher says “Who’s next for their book report!!?”
“Going nuts?” Seriously, you cannot tell what’s truly going on in someone’s head by watching them play baseball on television. The Braves have always conducted themselves with a professionalism that fans continuously mistake for “lack of passion.” Until this “lack of passion” is somehow brought to light my legitimate sources, it’s nothing more than the musings of frustrated fans.
Regarding market size, isn’t Atlanta top 10 metro area nationwide and don’t the Braves have a significant regional and nationwide fanbase (it always seems to be up there in the Red Sox, Cubs, Cardinals category when it comes to nationwide fan polls)? There has to be a better way to monetize this fan base, even if it won’t be via attendance
Will we see a Francisco/Bourn/Diaz outfield this year? Or how about a Francisco/Bourn/Constanza outfield? Seems likely…
You’re scaring the natives…
Don’t like Frediot- but I will say you can’t use the monsters in the bull-pen every game down 1, down 2, tied, up 1, 2, 3….he got killed for over using them… maybe he gun-shy?? Thoughts????
Francisco is fat, like Melky he came to the braves out of shape. Send him down to lose like 30 lbs & bring Sutton up to be Chipper’s backup. Sitting on the bench doing nothing won’t help his fat ass.
Francisco is out of options.
Despite what you say, I am scared. The Braves missed the playoffs by one game last season. Fredi’s mismanagement cost us at least that last season. We are seeing the same thing this season out of Fredi, and we also are seeing that the Braves are just not good enough to overcome it.
Not playing Heyward costs us about .03-.04 of a win assuming he’s 6 wins better than Diaz. I dont know how to measure the pitching decisions, but Im sure we can show that pitching Livan instead of O’ventbrel in a 1 run game gives the Braves a better chance to lose.
I understand that Fredi isnt going to make perfectly optimal decisions every time, but if this was a fantasy league or a computer game league, you would think the person managing the Braves now was intentionally suboptimizing them (Ie. Trying to lose). If that doesnt get you a little fired up on a site based on optimizing resources, why are you here?
I understand that sentiment. And like I said, the managing was really bad. But the managing comes from Fredi being, to put it bluntly, not smart about baseball. That’s not going to change. We knew that from last year. I look at it like getting upset about Fredi being Fredi is like getting upset every day that the weather is dreary when you live in Seattle. Sure, it’d be nice to get a managerial change, but until we do so, that is what it is. It’s also something that should have been expected. That shouldn’t cause you to be panicking NOW.
I dont know, I guessed I just hoped someone would explain how to use the players he’s been given. I guess I was just hoping he would improve. I guess I was just hoping that someone that has one of only 32 jobs of his kind in the entire world, would actually know how to do it.
Its like, this is a spoon Fredi, you use it to eat soup. This is a knife, you use it to cut things. Do not use the knife to eat soup and do not use the spoon to cut things.
Oh well, can’t wait to see the new flowchart this year.
Everyone is jumping on Fredi, but who is the man who hired him? Who gave us Durbin and Hernandez? Who acquired a third baseman that can’t field? Who refused to make any moves this off-season to improve the club?
Any thoughts on Bourn’s start to the year? I was at the game last night and don’t remember him getting on base in any of his at-bats. It would help if he could get going and set the table for the guys hitting behind him.
Also, with Chipper coming back, how does that affect the lineup? McCann hit 3rd last night. Does he drop to 5th with Freeman 6th and Heyward 7th (if Fredi decides to play him).
In three years the team to beat will be the mets. They get no respect. Their rebuilding has started. The braves will be back to the 80,s and the phillies will also be towards the bottom. Look at their young players and their minor league pitchers. Their general manager has a plan. While all of baseball is laughing at them it will turn around.
Any place we can go online to get info on the Mets minor league pitchers? We hear alot about what the Braves have but I would be interested to know who we might be facing in a couple of years.
This is the first time I have ever responded on the web. Not sure why no reply. Just to add in two years all of their big contracts will be off the books and their money problems will be behind them. At that point they will be very active in the free market buying.
Good reminder about the money angle. These days, it is difficult to project how a team will do several years out because of those contract issues and how management will choose to split their money in order to field a team. It seems some of the smaller market teams have in many ways become farm systems for bigger payroll teams to come in and swoop up the best players who have proven themselves at the big league level.
Yeah but no. Probably not. It’s Liberty Media. They’ll just look to pocket more profit. We already know that the Braves are skimping on investment in the draft and internationally. I can’t see the above scenario actually happening.
well, except Liberty doesn’t make a profit on the Braves.
The two A teams are Savannah sand gnats ans St Lucie mets. The AA team. Binghamton mets and AAA team is Buffalo bisons.
I do disagree a bit with one piece of the conventional wisdom about last year – that Fredi “overused” the strong half of the bullpen, which costs us a playoff spot down the road… Given all of the close games we were in during the first part of the year, the Braves probably would have lost a few more games earlier in the season had he not overused the the three best releivers in our bullpen. The ultimate blame with bullpen overuse is that our starting pitching was not strong enough to go 6-7 full innings and/or our lineup wasn’t adept enough at scoring runs to give our starting pitching leeway. I understand that given our talent level, managing becomes more important; however, in this case, it was kind of pick your poison.
yeah, I actually posted something to that sentiment a while back. I dont blame Fredi at all for overusing the top 3 guys last year.