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***THE Official Atlanta (chop chop) Braves (chop chop) 2013 Thread *********

Discussion in 'Other Sports Forum' started by unluckyluciano, Mar 31, 2013.

  1. muscle979

    muscle979 Season Ticket Holder

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    Really irritating to see Atlanta playing crappy baseball right now. Magic number is only 4 and they're just going to screw around and let the Nationals creep closer. Hopefully an upcoming series against the Cubs will put this thing away. The Nationals suddenly can't lose. It feels like Atlanta's not going to clinch until they actually win those four games.
     
  2. unluckyluciano

    unluckyluciano For My Hero JetsSuck

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    down to 2.
     
  3. muscle979

    muscle979 Season Ticket Holder

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    About to be down to one. It would be nice if the Marlins could upset the Nats tonight and finish this thing.
     
  4. unluckyluciano

    unluckyluciano For My Hero JetsSuck

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    woah thanks for pointing that out to me. Thought we were done for sure haha. BAd ***.
    I wouldn't rely on the marlins to take out my trash much less win this for us haha.
     
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  5. padre31

    padre31 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    Closer to the prize, do think we need to shake things up heading into the post season.

    Seems like we make it in, then just are flat.
     
  6. Ray Finkle

    Ray Finkle Member

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    You're right the team has been flat for awhile, it seems like anyway. Obviously injuries to their rotation, bullpen and to Heyward have had a big effect on the team.
     
  7. muscle979

    muscle979 Season Ticket Holder

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    Heyward's return should help. The offense was really rolling with him at the top of the lineup. At this point they really want to finish with the top record so they don't have to face LA's pitching in a five game series. I think the Cards are going to hang on in the Central so if we can hang on to the top spot we'd get the Pirates or Reds in the NLDS.
     
  8. muscle979

    muscle979 Season Ticket Holder

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    They've been flat since Heyward's injury. Before that they had been streaking actually. It's a good thing too because the Nats finally woke up and have been winning a lot of games. It was good to see them buckle down and win that final game of the Nats series. It looked like they were just going to lose and lose and make things closer than they should have been.
     
  9. padre31

    padre31 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    Not sure what it is tbh, think perhaps it is complacency.

    "..oh we made the playoffs again..."

    Sort of thing.
     
  10. muscle979

    muscle979 Season Ticket Holder

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    They've only made the playoffs twice since 2006 [if you count last season which I guess you technically do....] and they're only two seasons removed from a historic September choke job. Complacency is tough to believe given that they're trying to clinch their first division title since 05. I hope that's not what it is.
     
  11. padre31

    padre31 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    Seems that way, when I watch us in the playoffs it looks like no different intensity then a June game.
     
  12. muscle979

    muscle979 Season Ticket Holder

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    Well last year seemed like more a comedy of errors than a lack of intensity. [And the umpire's infield fly rule assist] It was kind of like that in 2010 too. If Brooks Conrad isn't playing for injured Martin Prado and screwing up so much they probably win that NLDS.

    In other news, Freddie Freeman should be a fairly serious MVP candidate. I don't think he'll get it but he's definitely put himself in the discussion. Not bad for a pedestrian 1st baseman who's only 24....
     
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  13. padre31

    padre31 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    Yeah that Freddie Freeman guy is pretty good, wish we had Anthony Rizzo though.

    :lol:

    Really like Freeman's game, he's solid MLBer who is just a guy a team needs to win consistently, not flashy he just does everything well.

    I'd be happy if he wound up with down the ballot votes.
     
  14. unluckyluciano

    unluckyluciano For My Hero JetsSuck

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    Clinched
     
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  15. Mainge

    Mainge Season Ticket Holder

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    Only difference between this year and last year is BABIP.
     
  16. unluckyluciano

    unluckyluciano For My Hero JetsSuck

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    dafuq?
     
  17. muscle979

    muscle979 Season Ticket Holder

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    That's just a fancy sabermetrics way of him saying that he thinks Freeman is lucky. He's an MVP candidate b/c he's lucky.
     
  18. Ray Finkle

    Ray Finkle Member

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    All his numbers, especially power numbers, are basically the same as his entire career. The only thing that is different is his slash line which is boosted by his higher BA. For example his OBP is 52 points higher, yet he's walked the same number of times as he did last year in 8 fewer at bats. Not saying Freeman is lucky or unlucky but his BABIP is 30 points higher than his career numbers which is completely fair to point out, especially when that's the only thing that's different from Freeman in 2013 to 2012. His ground ball, fly ball and line drive rates are pretty much the same as they were last year too.

    Again it's not knocking Freeman, he's had a good year, but it's not like he turned into en elite 1B like Paul Goldschmidt has. He's a nice player but not a star (yet), he's still young so who knows.
     
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  19. Mainge

    Mainge Season Ticket Holder

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    Not thinks. Is.
     
  20. Ray Finkle

    Ray Finkle Member

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    I think the problem is when you say a player is or has been lucky people translate it to mean "that player isn't any good". That's not the case, even the best players in the game get lucky and unlucky too. Baseball is a hard game and a lot has to do with luck.
     
  21. Mainge

    Mainge Season Ticket Holder

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    Of course. Why can't he be both good and a little lucky?
     
  22. muscle979

    muscle979 Season Ticket Holder

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    He's not that far behind Goldschmidt in any category except home runs. Despite that the RBI production is not far behind. The Braves get enough HRs up and down the lineup that they can live with him being a little shy of 30. He's two years younger than Goldschmidt but has a little more MLB time as he didn't play in college. I'm sure nobody is knocking him, but suggesting he's trade bait on a first place team is grossly undervaluing the player. I know that suggestion was made a couple of months or so ago but even then I guarantee you Frank Wren would have had to have been completely blown away with an offer to even consider it.
     
  23. Mainge

    Mainge Season Ticket Holder

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    Who suggested he was trade bait?
     
  24. padre31

    padre31 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    Sort of player he reminds me of is Steve Garvey, his numbers will not blow anyone away, he's solid, affordable, and is always in the lineup.

    The problem with purely stats is say he fouls off 7 pitches then flies out, stats wise it is merely a put out, however it also works the pitcher more.

    Throw skips in the dirt, is dug out for the put out, stats do not account for it etc.
     
  25. Mainge

    Mainge Season Ticket Holder

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    They account for both of your scenarios, actually.
     
  26. padre31

    padre31 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    Hmm, could see the fouled off pitches scenario, not the dig a ball out of the dirt one as it merely shows as a put out not a "quality play" as that is subjective not objective.

    Do tell?
     
  27. Mainge

    Mainge Season Ticket Holder

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  28. padre31

    padre31 Premium Member Luxury Box

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  29. muscle979

    muscle979 Season Ticket Holder

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    Well we get the Dodgers. The Cubs couldn't do us a favor and even win one damned game over the weekend. Medlen's performance against Philly was encouraging. They'll need another like that in game one b/c they'll be lucky to get one or two runs off of Kershaw.
     
  30. unluckyluciano

    unluckyluciano For My Hero JetsSuck

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    Im hoping they just have to turn it on so to speak and have just been lazy or something. Either way not how you want to go in to the playoffs
     
  31. muscle979

    muscle979 Season Ticket Holder

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    Despite the mediocre September they won 5 of their last 7. Not against top notch competition but still... I don't exactly love our chances to finally win the NLDS again but I'm still super excited for Thursday.
     
  32. muscle979

    muscle979 Season Ticket Holder

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    Huge win and a great game tonight. So many big plays, especially on defense. For the first time we saw J-Hey come up big at the plate in the postseason.
     
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  33. unluckyluciano

    unluckyluciano For My Hero JetsSuck

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    hoping behind julio teheran we can take the next one. If our bats erupt we'll run to the series.
     
  34. muscle979

    muscle979 Season Ticket Holder

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    Really looking forward to Teheran's postseason debut Sunday night. We win that and we'll get a chance to take the series against Nolasco who we know very well.

    The bats took a step in the right direction tonight. Upton's getting close he even put together some pretty long ABs against Kershaw last night. Chris Johnson has excelled early with RISP. That hit tonight for Heyward was huge. We need him to come up big in the worst way. I was happy to not see any big defensive mistakes that seem to have become a trademark for the Braves in October lately. Elliott Johnson looks almost as bad at the plate as Uggla. I'm starting to think maybe they should have just put Uggla in, at least he hits a homer every now and then. For such a young team tonight was huge.
     
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  35. unluckyluciano

    unluckyluciano For My Hero JetsSuck

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    chris johnsons a beast! hope we can resign him. Think he's here for what? Another year? Going to be tough to sign him.
    I thought Teheran pitched last year? Am I delusional?
     
  36. Ray Finkle

    Ray Finkle Member

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    Chris Johnson won't be a free agent until 2017. If the Braves want him back they can keep him.
     
  37. muscle979

    muscle979 Season Ticket Holder

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    No team finds ways to lose the NLDS like the Atlanta Braves. This falls on Freddi Gonzalez. As soon as they ran into trouble in the eighth Craig Kimbrel should have been called out. Why do you have the best closer in the universe if you're not going to use him late with everything on the line. As if he can't make it through two innings with as little work as he'd had in the series.
     
  38. muscle979

    muscle979 Season Ticket Holder

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    Without looking at the actual lines it seems like Mike Minor, Evan Gattis, and Chris Johnson all had a good series.

    Some duds:

    Kris Medlen - Young yes but not his first postseason start and we needed him to be better than that.
    McCann - Did he even end up with a hit in the series?
    Eliott Johnson - Now I know it was a mistake holding out Uggla despite his awful average and strikeout numbers.
    Teheran - We'll chalk that one up to being young and first time in playoffs nerves.
    Freddi Gonzales - I won't complain too much more about him. He wasn't horrible but he should have been quicker to give Teheran the hook and he should have brought Kimbrel in when there was trouble in the eighth last night. He does those things and there's a MUCH better chance Atlanta's still playing baseball right now.

    You can't be too hard on a very young team trying to match up in a short series with the best team money can buy. Still frustrating though. It would have been nice to have that Tim Hudson guy available.
     
  39. unluckyluciano

    unluckyluciano For My Hero JetsSuck

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    I am ok with freddi as long as we make progress of some sort. Sure we didn't win the first round, but we did win the division. I think freddi needs to work on keeping our team in it near the end of the season though.
     
  40. padre31

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    Look at it this way, key game, Kershaw starts on 3 days rest, key situation in the game, Freddi does not rely on Kimbrel for 6 outs.
     

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