Mac has pretty much reached legacy status in regards to the ASG. He'll make it in some capacity every year until he retires, or some new stud catcher comes up (like Buster Posey).
The Braves just traded Yunel Escobar & Jo-Jo Reyes to Toronto for SS Alex Gonzalez, LHP Tim Collins and INF Tyler Pastronicky. I'm sure this makes Bobby Cox happy to get Escobar out of Atlanta.
It's definitely a "win-now" type of move. Escobar has been horrible this year, but in the long term I think he'll be a good player for Toronto if he gets his head right and plays like he can. Getting JoJo Reyes the hell off our 40-Man was big as well. Nice job by Wren. A-Gon is a solid glove man, and if he hits like he did in the first half this could be a great move. I think this also means the Braves have HIGH hopes for Eduardo Salcedo. I think he'll ultimately be moved to 3B when Chipper retires, but I've heard the Braves haven't ruled out the possibility of him playing SS.
I can't believe they found somebody that would take JoJo Reyes. That is good news. I have no idea what happened to Escobar offensively this season. But without the production from before it's no surprise they didn't want to deal with his other issues anymore. I don't know anything about any of the three players we picked up in the deal.
this is addition by subtraction in the case of Escobar, but as a bonus, i have read and heard some very positive things about the prospects we picked up in the deal. and it isn't just Bobby who was ready to get rid of Yunel according to Mark Bowman. the locker room is tired of the guy, and everyone says AGon is pure class, and pure professional. apparently the final straw was when Yunel made a very lazy throw against the Mets the other night that could've gotten Glaus hurt trying to make a play on it. according to Bowman that was when Wren kicked it into high gear to get a deal done. i know Yunel is very good defensively, and showed what he is capable of last year offensively, but i like what the Braves got out of this deal. plus financially, it won't hurt next season since Yunel will likely get near what the Braves will be paying A Gon next season in arbitration.
Which means he's probably even shorter than that since teams usually lie about heights/weights of players.
I saw a picture of him yesterday, pretty funny. But goddammit, 15 K/9 is Playstation like, even for the Minor Leagues. And he supposedly tops out at 93. I'm not sure how he does it.
basicly the same thing posted above about the pitcher and his SO to walk ratio. and that the INF has potential to be an everyday big leaguer supposedly though not necessarily at SS. and if nothing else an attractive piece in a future trade (if the Braves are looking still to get a right handed outfield bat) without costing the organization one of their homegrown talents. oh, and that either one was worth JoJo Reyes at this point, and getting both makes the trade favor the Braves.
66 now. Nice when you can split a series and still pick a game in the division. The Padres are coming into town, so this is a key series. At least we don't have to go out west again in the second half. The furthest away from home the Braves travel is Colorado. Pretty nice.
what do you guys think of this jersey http://www.jerseyskey.com/views/MLB-Atlanta-Braves--22-Heyward-Grey-Jersey-90564.html
There have to be better Chinese knockoffs out there. They butchered the numbers on that one....badly. But for $20 I guess you can't complain too much.
I was watching sportscenter this morning and heard the words, "And the Mets' disastrous road trip continues." Music to my ears. We have the biggest lead of any division leader now. I think the Phillies moved back into second but it doesn't matter as much when second place is six or seven games back.
You realize getting swept just once will make that lead seem uncomfortable right? Its way too far out to say any team is too far back. Should be a great series, I just wish we had Josh Johnson going against you guys.
Losing nine in a row again would probably also make the lead uncomfortable. I just don't think it's going to happen. There has been no reason to think something like that will. The Marlins are a quality team but I'd be shocked if Atlanta didn't at least take one game out of the series. Especially with Josh Johnson not starting in the series. Atlanta hasn't lost a series since early May. I think they've lost about five all season and three of those were during that April losing streak. I think it's safe to say this is more than just a hot streak. They are the best team in the National League. They may very well lose this series, but the Marlins will need a lot of things to go their way and several to not go Atlanta's way. Especially to get a sweep. Of course the competition isn't too far back. But are they better than the Braves? Every series against the Marlins is a dogfight, I look forward to this one too though I won't get to see it unfortunately b/c I'm out of town.
I didn't so much mean us sweep you, just in general. Every team loses and wins a few in a row as the season goes. Too early IMO. Have a great series, no injuries.
I loves me some Brooks Conrad...dude is money. GS #2 isn't it? The one vs the Reds, now this one against the Marlins? As pinch hitter for goodness sakes!
Putting Jesse Chaves in in extra innings is equivalent to conceding victory to the other team. Especially after Nate Mcclouth blows it in the biggest way. Against a joke of a bullpen. And the Marlins get incredibly lucky. How many times does three consecutive hits not produce a run? Not often. I knew David Ross should have just went for the score anyway. They should have possibly swept this series, not lost it. This one today really pisses me off b/c of all the opportunities they left on the field.
I mean, we could've potentially swept the series as well. That 8 run inning last night is about as lucky as it gets. Good series.
Scarlett Johanneson could have also potentially come to my house and proclaimed her love for me. That inning wasn't lucky. It was a combination of a bad bullpen and several defensive errors. I could have probably knocked that hanging breaking ball he threw to Brooks Conrad out of the park. What's lucky is three consecutive hits not equaling a single run. That doesn't happen all that often. I'm still shocked they didn't go into the bottom of the 11th with a lead. I'm not saying the Marlins are a terrible team or anything. The Braves just were not at their best. If you're the Marlins, you'll take a lucky series win or anything other kind. Because you've just done something no other NL team has done in months now. Just make sure you play the other division teams just as tough.
It's lucky when you have a bull crap bloop hit, get away with hitting a tailor made double play that the worst defensive 3B in the majors throws away, and then a player leans in and gets bull crap HBP with 2 strikes to set up an inning. Not many teams will get away with that sequence often. Heyward is ridiculous, btw.
Who is this crap team that is posing as the Braves tonight? Will the real Braves show up again sometime before they lose first place...
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS Phillies get Oswalt....the NL East is tightening up quickly!!!!! On a side note, Cantu dealt to the Rangers. I am going to miss him. NOT!!!!!!
Great time for the Braves to start slumping. I see no reason to believe that they'll be able to take a series against Cincinnati being they can't even drive in enough runs to take out the mighty Nationals. In other news maybe Philly has a real team on their schedule at some point in the future so they can start losing games again. I know they'll blow a few against the NL East.
The Phillies are peaking too early. They're not supposed to do this until September. Not a good sign for them. Laws of probability suggest they'll cool off now near the end of the season. I just made all of that up but it sounds good to me.
The Braves just need to weather the storm. They're on a 9-Game Road Trip and Florida was a hot team, and the Gnats have been better of late also. The Phillies are on a lengthy home stand and played the struggling Rockies (who were on a load road trip as well) and the horrible D-Backs. The Braves survived a Mets surge last month, just need to do it again with the Phils. Philly is a traditional second-half team, so you know they're gonna be there at the end. Atlanta just needs to hit. Glaus is ice cold, and Prado has cooled somewhat. Need to have a nice series against Cincy and get back on track. And no, I'm not worried about Oswalt in that bandbox in Philly. He's been downright bad this year and I don't expect him to magically pick it up now that he's with a contender. We shall see though.
i agree with hardkore on Oswalt pitching in that stadium, but it was a nice trade for the Phillies in that they didnt give up too much, AND the Astro's are paying a big chunk of his salary.
So to recap: The Phillies traded Cliff Lee to Seattle for several prospects who aren't anything to write home about, then traded for a guy who appears to be on the down slope of his career. They also gave up a solid lefty in J.A Happ, who I think has the ability to be a solid #2 in the NL. Dude had a 1.2 WHIP in his rookie season.
That may have been harsh. He's actually having his best year in the last few years. And he has been pretty solid in the second half when he's been healthy. I still think he's on the down slope of his career, and I don't think pitching in Philly will help that. However, Philly is starting to hit again so it might not even matter. His career numbers against the NL East do suck, however.
Minute Maid Park is a pretty good hitter's park, not as good as Philly's but it's not like he's coming from Petco Park. Oswalt will definitely help the Phillies but their pitching overall isn't as good as the Braves, especially in the pen.