(Non-GT)Atlanta Braves Baseball....new beginnings
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Top prospect Aaron Blair, acquired by the Braves in the Shelby Miller blockbuster, is a “strong possibility” to step into the Atlanta rotation on Sunday, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes.
I saw him pitch a great game last Tuesday at Gwinnett. He's the real deal. 87 pitches and 59 strikes. Only one walk, the one batter over the minimum for 7 innings work. Is he ready for the majors? We'll see.
Throw them to the wolves. Shades of Glavine, Smoltz, and Avery. I think MLB clubs overthink this stuff way too much.
The Braves have tried to trade Hector Olivera since the outfielder’s arrest earlier this month on a charge of misdemeanor assault and battery, Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan reports. Olivera is currently on paid administrative leave while Major League Baseball investigates the alleged incident under the league’s domestic violence policy, and a suspension is widely believed to be in his future.
With this disturbing charge hanging over Olivera, it’s no shock that Atlanta would be looking to move on from the 31-year-old outfielder, and it’s as equally unsurprising that rival teams aren’t jumping to make a deal. Olivera’s trade value is so low that one executive whose club was approached by the Braves told Passan that he “can’t believe they even asked.”
With this disturbing charge hanging over Olivera, it’s no shock that Atlanta would be looking to move on from the 31-year-old outfielder, and it’s as equally unsurprising that rival teams aren’t jumping to make a deal. Olivera’s trade value is so low that one executive whose club was approached by the Braves told Passan that he “can’t believe they even asked.”
Maybe they can trade him to Cuba. Didn't the president recently normalize relations with those communists
Paco Rodriguez, and the 34th overall draft pick this June were also key pieces in the 13 player trade. Some of it was dumping salary, like Bronson Arroyo. Jim Johnson is back with Atlanta. Avilian was rocky last year. Perazza is a singles hitter at best, struggling at the higher levels now.
Shortstop Erick Aybar has been a huge disappointment early on for the Braves, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. While the Atlanta front office emphasized that it valued his inclusion in the Andrelton Simmons trade, Aybar has been one of the league’s least productive offensive players over the first several weeks of the season. Hopes were that the 32-year-old would help keep the team competitive and, perhaps, turn into a mid-season trade chip before hitting the market after the season. Instead, he’s followed up on a down year in 2015 with a remarkable -1.1 fWAR thus far, the worst mark in the majors by a full half-win.
Beat the rush and go ahead and start thinking that for the next 2 years as well. It's good to plan and be proactive I've been told.
Bring up the farm. I'm sick of watching Bud Norris go 1 2/3 innings w/3 walks and giving up .6 runs.
Amen to that. I think these MLB guys have their heads stuck in the dirt with this thinking of keeping guys down at the MiLB level. Screw that. Bring 'em up. Let 'em take their lumps. If their confidence gets shaken, then so be it. Like Crash said to Nuke at the end of the movie... "these guys are going to light you up like a pinball machine...but, you stay cocky and arrogant". IOW, keep your confidence.
Braves so far...
*current 8-game losing streak could match the earlier 9-game losing streak with a loss today at Fenway
*1-12 at home
*3-0 vs Marlins and 1-17 against all other opponents
*Today concludes the 8th series of the season so far...in the previous 7, 6 resulted in a series sweep...Braves swept the Marlins, but then have been swept in the other 5...only Dodgers series wound up 2-1 (in favor of LA of course)
*Braves are on pace right now to lose 131 games
Braves so far...
*current 8-game losing streak could match the earlier 9-game losing streak with a loss today at Fenway
*1-12 at home
*3-0 vs Marlins and 1-17 against all other opponents
*Today concludes the 8th series of the season so far...in the previous 7, 6 resulted in a series sweep...Braves swept the Marlins, but then have been swept in the other 5...only Dodgers series wound up 2-1 (in favor of LA of course)
*Braves are on pace right now to lose 131 games
I don't think Advil is going to be enough for this season...and I'm not talking about it for the players. They should pass out psychotrophic drugs for the attendees as they peel a game away each time from that "last year at Turner Field gizmo chart". The rest of us staying away are peeling our baseball hides away.
I used to use the Elmer's but lately I find that the Krazy Super Glue gives me more satisfaction and less hangover when I want to get high. Elmer's helped me get through the 1994 GT FB season. Smoking a lot of mushrooms helped me get through last football season. The Krazy SG though has helped me with the past decade of GT Men's Hoops.
Lately with the Braves, I've just been getting my high by betting against them every chance I get at my book. Works like a charm.
Cubs break a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the eighth for 5 runs. They are 17-5, while the Braves streak ends at one, are now 5-18.
While the Braves were never expected to be a contender in 2016, the club’s 5-17 start is nonetheless a disappointment to a front office that expected to see some improvement over last year’s 67 wins, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. “We’re obviously disappointed in the way this season has gone,” GM John Coppolella tells Rosenthal. “We’re not going to make excuses. We know we need to play better.” Notably, Rosenthal writes that it’s “difficult to imagine” manager Fredi Gonzalez surviving the club’s upcoming eight-game road trip, though he notes that it’s unlikely that any other manager could extract positive results from the current roster, especially with Ender Inciarte on the shelf and Freddie Freeman struggling so greatly. Were Gonzalez to be dismissed, Rosenthal lists first base coach Terry Pendleton and bullpen coach Eddie Perez as candidates to replace him on an interim basis. The Braves extended Gonzalez and the rest of the coaching staff through the end of the 2016 season last July.
While the Braves were never expected to be a contender in 2016, the club’s 5-17 start is nonetheless a disappointment to a front office that expected to see some improvement over last year’s 67 wins, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. “We’re obviously disappointed in the way this season has gone,” GM John Coppolella tells Rosenthal. “We’re not going to make excuses. We know we need to play better.” Notably, Rosenthal writes that it’s “difficult to imagine” manager Fredi Gonzalez surviving the club’s upcoming eight-game road trip, though he notes that it’s unlikely that any other manager could extract positive results from the current roster, especially with Ender Inciarte on the shelf and Freddie Freeman struggling so greatly. Were Gonzalez to be dismissed, Rosenthal lists first base coach Terry Pendleton and bullpen coach Eddie Perez as candidates to replace him on an interim basis. The Braves extended Gonzalez and the rest of the coaching staff through the end of the 2016 season last July.
Time to go from daily look in's to the Braves to weekly checks. Looks like I am going to have lots of time this summer to develop a new hobby. This change should be good for the heart health as well.
Veteran left-handed reliever Sean Burnett will opt out of his minor league contract with the Dodgers and sign a new minor league pact with the Braves, reports Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (Twitter link).
Burnett, 33, is seeking a return to a big league mound for the first time since the 2014 campaign. Once an excellent setup option for the Nationals, Burnett signed a two-year, $8MM pact with the Angels as a free agent prior to the 2013 season. A left elbow impingement in 2013, however, led to season-ending elbow surgery, and a torn ulnar collateral ligament in 2014 required Tommy John surgery (the second such operation of Burnett’s career).
After a year off to recovery from that Tommy John, though, Burnett is back on a mound and now with his third organization in the past six weeks. The veteran southpaw, a client of agent Jim Munsey, was in camp with the Nationals on a minor league pact but didn’t make the club in Spring Training and subsequently latched on with the Dodgers, for whom he tossed 7 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level over the past month. In that time, Burnett allowed three runs (two earned) on eight hits and six walks (one intentional) with five strikeouts. That lack of control isn’t particularly encouraging, though some rust for a pitcher who had as long of a layoff as Burnett did is to be expected.
Burnett will report to Triple-A Gwinnett tomorrow, according to Nicholson-Smith, where he’ll look to continue to iron out some of the kinks. The Braves figure to present a clearer path to the Majors for Burnett, as Atlanta’s collective 5.14 bullpen ERA is markedly worse than the collective 3.84 mark turned in by the Dodgers. The two lefties in Atlanta’s ’pen at the moment are veteran Eric O’Flaherty and 26-year-old rookie Hunter Cervenka, either of whom could conceivably be unseated by Burnett if he can rediscover his form. From 2009-13, Burnett posted a 2.77 ERA with 7.5 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9 in 243 2/3 innings between the Pirates, Nats and Angels.
Burnett, 33, is seeking a return to a big league mound for the first time since the 2014 campaign. Once an excellent setup option for the Nationals, Burnett signed a two-year, $8MM pact with the Angels as a free agent prior to the 2013 season. A left elbow impingement in 2013, however, led to season-ending elbow surgery, and a torn ulnar collateral ligament in 2014 required Tommy John surgery (the second such operation of Burnett’s career).
After a year off to recovery from that Tommy John, though, Burnett is back on a mound and now with his third organization in the past six weeks. The veteran southpaw, a client of agent Jim Munsey, was in camp with the Nationals on a minor league pact but didn’t make the club in Spring Training and subsequently latched on with the Dodgers, for whom he tossed 7 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level over the past month. In that time, Burnett allowed three runs (two earned) on eight hits and six walks (one intentional) with five strikeouts. That lack of control isn’t particularly encouraging, though some rust for a pitcher who had as long of a layoff as Burnett did is to be expected.
Burnett will report to Triple-A Gwinnett tomorrow, according to Nicholson-Smith, where he’ll look to continue to iron out some of the kinks. The Braves figure to present a clearer path to the Majors for Burnett, as Atlanta’s collective 5.14 bullpen ERA is markedly worse than the collective 3.84 mark turned in by the Dodgers. The two lefties in Atlanta’s ’pen at the moment are veteran Eric O’Flaherty and 26-year-old rookie Hunter Cervenka, either of whom could conceivably be unseated by Burnett if he can rediscover his form. From 2009-13, Burnett posted a 2.77 ERA with 7.5 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9 in 243 2/3 innings between the Pirates, Nats and Angels.
And, infielders, outfielders, catchers, starters, closers, manager, front office personnel, and bullpen coach.
What they apparently have an abundance of are hot dog and beer vendors as well as laundry management personnel in the dugout (our guys rarely get their uniforms dirty). *SIGH*
The Sun'll come out tomorroooow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorroooooow...
Things could be worse. We could all be living in Syria right now. Or, Norway for crying out loud. Would the Braves even win a game in Syria? Hmmm....
We also have owners who are very happy to keep this ass-et in the family for the unforeseeable future, as they have recently announced. The required tax break period expired, so why not do us locals a favor and sell the Bravos to Stech81? He knows more about baseball than they do, and has unlimited credit 622 billion times over.
