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Throughout the 2010 season, send me a picture of your seat at a Braves game (Major League or Minor League, any ballpark, as long as the Braves are playing). Don't try to get too fancy, just take a picture once the game starts and email me. It can be a view of the field, the scoreboard, the stands, or whatever strikes your fancy while sitting in your seat at a ballgame. Make sure you include the exact time and date the picture was taken and what half of the inning it was taken in. Your photo will then be posted on Talking Chop. By sending your photos, you grant Talking Chop full rights to publish and edit them as we see fit. The email address to send these photos to is martingandy at gmail dot com.
Four-A... Get the Book
Talking Chop co-blogger C.B. Wilkins has written his first book, Four-A, available here.
"In a story as much about life as baseball, Four-A follows relief pitcher Bry "Hummer" James over the course of a season, as he bounces between the highest levels of professional baseball, stuck in between, at an unofficial level called Four-A."
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The Braves End in a Tie, as I Head Home
by gondeee on Mar 19, 2010 10:15 PM EDT
in Game Recaps
8 comments
My last day at spring training and the Braves send me home with a tie. They had a chance to score in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded. Gregor Blanco actually came through and tied the game with a single that got through the drawn in infield. Mitch Jones and his spring of futility popped up on the first pitch he saw, still with the bases loaded, for the second out. That was the key at-bat of the game, as he could have ended it there with a deep fly ball. Brooks Conrad then came up and flew out to end the inning.
The Braves could have gone another inning or two as they had Jon Huber and Ryne Reynoso still in the bullpen, but the Tigers were out of pitchers after ten innings, so the game ends in a 4-4 tie.
Kenshin Kawakami had a good start. He said his 2-seam fast ball was a little up. On the two homeruns he gave up he said that one was cutter that got a little up, and the second one was a 2-seamer that he didn't locate properly, he also added that he didn't have good release point on those pitches, which led to the poor location.
A lot more after the jump...
8 comments | 0 recs |
Brett DeVall Avoids TJ Surgery
Check out my latest FoxSportsSouth.com piece that's basically a Q&A with Brett DeVall, where he tells us how he avoided TJ surgery... very interesting stuff.
about 7 hours ago
gondeee
2 comments
0 recs
The Braves' Jordan Schafer Takes the Slow Road Back to Baseball
by gondeee on Mar 19, 2010 6:47 PM EDT
in Beat Blogging
9 comments
For over a month last year Atlanta Braves opening day center fielder Jordan Schafer played hurt, and not just a little hurt; he had to eventually have surgery in the off-season to fix a broken bone in his wrist. That led to him missing half of the season, and has carried over this spring as he has yet to appear in any spring games. And if you hear Schafer tell it, it looks like he may not, "I really don't care at this point how long it takes," said Schafer, "I just want to make sure I get it healthy before I go and play."
To his credit he has learned from last year and seems determined not to repeat those mistakes, "I just don't want to go through the same thing as last year, trying to play hurt." He reiterated that he's on no particular time table to come back, "If I'm ready by opening day or if it takes two months, it doesn't really matter, because I just want to make sure I'm healthy before I get on the field."
Earlier this spring and during pre-camp workouts, Schafer was pushing his wrist too hard. That led to some major discomfort, Schafer explains, "I've got scar tissue in there, and the nerves were kind of trapped. When I'd swing it would shoot little shots of pain through my hand. So we had to get that massaged out and break up that scar tissue. It's starting to feel better when I'm hitting off the tee, so I'll start hitting on the field and we'll see how it goes." While Schafer is hitting off a tee and took batting practice today, he has yet to hit against live pitching, and that will be the real test for his reconstructed wrist.
As much as everyone is talking about this Heyward guy, the team could really use a healthy and productive Jordan Schafer. Not only does he bring excellent defense to any spot in the outfield, but he may be the only guy the Braves currently have who is a natural leadoff hitter. We'll keep an eye on him in the coming weeks, but if you were holding your breath waiting for him to come back any time soon, exhale.
9 comments | 0 recs |
Spring Training Open Thread: Tigers at Braves
by gondeee on Mar 19, 2010 5:37 PM EDT
in Open Threads
187 comments
See my notes post earlier for more info about today's game, 6:05pm start time. Here is the Braves batting order:
Melky Cabrera, CF
Martin Prado, 2B
Chipper Jones, 3B
Brian McCann, C
Troy Glaus, 1B
Yunel Escobar, SS
Jason Heyward, RF
Matt Diaz, LF
Kenshin Kawakami, P
After Kawakami, scheduled to pitch are Billy Wagner, Takashi Saito, Peter Moylan, and the long awaited spring debut of Scott Proctor.
187 comments | 0 recs
Braves Spring Training Notes
by gondeee on Mar 19, 2010 5:17 PM EDT
in Beat Blogging
3 comments
I've spent much of the last few hours sitting on the Braves dugout bench during batting practice next to Bobby Cox shootin the sh*t... oh, what a life. He's got Brian McCann hitting fourth today and Troy Glaus hitting fifth, but Cox said there was nothing to that and he's just tinkering for the sake of tinkering. "That's where he hit last year," said Cox about McCann.
Cox still has plenty of confidence in Jo-Jo Reyes, and it looks like they'll keep him around in big league camp until the end regardless. Bobby didn't give any hints about who he's leaning towards with regards to the last two spots in the bullpen. He keeps saying "it's wide open." He also didn't give any indication that the team needs any additional pieces, saying in not so many words that all the pieces they need are here in camp. So that lessens the possibility of an end of spring trade. That, and the fact that all of the relievers on the bubble have options left, so there's no need to trade anyone away if they don't make the team.
Braves PR director Brad Hainje came in the dugout and said that Jason Heyward had just hit his car. It turns out that Heyward cracked the glass on the passenger's side rearview mirror, Eddie Perez confirmed that it was Heyward's shot, as McCann was also sending some homeruns that way today. Hainje's quote about Heyward hitting cars was pretty priceless, "Like the grim reaper, you don't know when or how, but he's going to get you." I commented that Heyward is now adding precision to his repertoire, instead of just aiming for big windows, he's zeroing in on small little review mirrors.
Glenn Diamond let it slip that John Smoltz is planning on coming down at some point. It seems that he's coming down for some kind of "meetings," but that he will likely stop by Braves spring camp.
Most of the players were doing an autograph session after batting practice, so I didn't get to talk to too many of them. I did git a few minutes each with Brandon Hicks and Craig Kimbrel. I'll also have some more on Jordan Schafer's injury later on. Nothing bad, he's basically just taking it slow.
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Q&A with Braves Pitching Prospect Cole Rohrbough
by gondeee on Mar 19, 2010 11:39 AM EDT
in Beat Blogging
14 comments
One of the most disappointing performances from a Braves prospect last year came from left-handed starting pitcher Cole Rohrbough. A lot was expected of the young draft-and-follow player last season, after he had a breakout performance in 2007, with so many scouts raving about him. Instead his performance regressed from his already disappointing 2008 showing.
I caught up with Cole yesterday at the Braves Minor League complex in Orlando, Florida, and it certainly looks like last season was an eye-opener for the young lefty. He's spent the off-season working on his mental approach and completely changing his mechanical approach to pitching. Here is my Q&A with Cole Rohrbough:
Q: Looking back on last season, how do you feel about it now?
A: Very disappointing season. It wasn't the way I wanted it to go. Looking back I'd like to say I don't have any regrets as far as how hard I worked, and grinding through it. My game plan, my mental approach, wasn't quite where I think it needed to be, and that's what I'm trying to work on this year.
Q: How have you been working to change your mental approach?
A: I've just really been thinking about the times where I felt the most comfortable on the mound, and what my mental approach was then and what I was feeling like on the mound at those times. Last year I think it comes down to I was really overanalyzing stuff. I was thinking about too much and this year I need to think about a lot less, and just keep it real simple.
Q: Let the catcher to the thinking for you?
A: Well, yes and no. Hopefully do a lot less [shaking off the catcher] this year.
Q: Did you work on anything mechanical or pitching-wise this off-season?
A: I changed my mechanics around this year.
14 comments | 0 recs |
Atlanta Braves Fan Confidence Poll
by gondeee on Mar 19, 2010 9:00 AM EDT
8 comments
Every other Friday this off-season Talking Chop presents the Atlanta Braves fan confidence poll. This poll and therefore your confidence level should encompasses several areas of the team. These areas include, but are not limited to, the team’s ownership, current management, talent, minor-league system, general playing ability on the field, and of course during the off-season, how our off-season is going. The poll will stay open for 48 hours, and then the results will be posted and graphed against the previous weeks.
After you vote remember to pick up your copy of the Talking Chop 2010 Baseball Annual.
Click here to get the first every 200+ page annual dedicated exclusively to the Atlanta Braves.
8 comments | 0 recs |
Day at Braves Minor League Camp plus Big TC News
by gondeee on Mar 18, 2010 7:45 PM EDT
in Minor League News
19 comments
It was another fun day at the Braves Minor League camp here in Orlando, Florida. The players are still doing a bunch of drills in the early morning, but they start throwing off the mound and taking BP by 11 or so, and that is a bit more exciting. I spent a lot of time talking with TC reader rbravesfan. She's a good source of info for many of the players who pass through Rome.
I got several more interviews today including Todd Redmond, a great one with Adam Milligan (who is super-cool, and country), Mike Minor, Cole Roghrbough (some interesting info here), Mycal Jones, and Robby Hefflinger. Speaking of Robby Hefflinger, the big Talking Chop news is that it looks like he's going to be joining the Talking Chop team this season, keeping a weekly diary about his experiences in the Minor Leagues. We may be adding another player also, so I'll keep you updated on that development. As it stands, I'm super-excited to have Robby on board, sharing his Minor League experiences with you.
I have to say that the group that was at Danville last year and who will be at Rome this year seem like a great group of kids. After drafting players in years past with some questionable personalities, the Braves seem to be focusing as much on talent as on positive baseball personalities the last couple of years. Guys like Mycal Jones and Hefflinger are very approachable and seem to love to play the game. They hang out with a bunch of players from last year's draft that include Matt Weaver, Jordan Kreke, Riaan Spanjer-Furstenburg, Kyle Rose, and Jace Whitmer. I've never seen a group of young players bond so quickly, and that's just the hitters.
By the way, Jace Whitmer is huge. He's every bit of the 6'4" he's listed at. If he can adjust to the wooden bat and improve his catching, he might be a big power hitter in a few years. As tall as Whitmer is, Hefflinger is taller and more imposing. Ty'Relle Harris also impressed me, and impressed Kurt Kemp as well, during his mound session. He looks smaller and leaner and more of a physical specimen than I remember him being last year. He's also another tall one, and he could be a nice sleeper relief candidate this year.
I've already said that everything Edward Salcedo does is impressive. He's also a super-friendly kid, and he already seems to fit in well here at Braves camp with all the other players. Arodys Vizcaino and Julio Teheran seem to be joined at the hip.
Tom Glavine has been around the Minor League camp for the past two days while the big club has been in Jupiter. He's mainly been watching from behind the batting cage on the field or standing in the corner watching the pitchers throw. He seems to have been keeping a low profile.
That's all for now. Tomorrow's my last day at spring training when the Braves face Detroit here at Disney. Hopefully I'll get to talk to a few more players and I'll have those interviews for you in the coming days and weeks.
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