Oakland @ Atlanta GameThread, May 16, 2008 7:35 PM EDT

A's @ Braves = Interleague Madness

by gondeee on May 16, 2008 8:23 AM EDT in Open Threads

Oakland @ Atlanta

We're about to embark on the longest homestand of the season, and not a moment too soon. The cruel "road" beat us like we cheated on Jamie Kotsay. I'm rather furious at Chuck James and his inability to... well, inability to pitch. I was really interested in what Joe Simpson said last night when he mentioned that James doesn't really follow through on his delivery, he sort of recoils his body, which causes the ball to be left up in the zone more often. Perhaps it's time for the Braves to send James down to Richmond and change his delivery. That's a drastic step, but major league hitters have either figured him out, or he's messed up mechanically. Either way, he has no business being in the Atlanta rotation (calling Charlie Morton, Charlie Morton please pick up the fifth starter phone).

We get the Athletics for the next three. While they have gotten off to a great start, they're starting to scuffle and come back down to earth as of late. I especially look forward to seeing Tim Hudson throw against his old team on Saturday.

We're back at the Ted, let's get some wins!

Next Game

Oakland Athletics
@ Atlanta Braves

Friday, May 16, 2008, 7:35 PM EDT
Turner Field

Dana Eveland vs Jair Jurrjens

Complete Coverage >

0 recs | Comment 147 comments

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Comments

Picks

1. 39900
2. Francoeur
3. Frenchy gets first homer since….forever and Braves win against a lefty for a change.

by SeligSucks on May 16, 2008 8:55 AM EDT 0 recs

Picks

1. 34,111
2. Jair
3. Tex does something useful. What, I have to be more specific? Okay, two hits and an RBI.

by VegasAces on May 16, 2008 9:03 AM EDT 0 recs

Haiku it up!

Interleague play starts
An Oak-town A-town showdown
Thank Pujols we’re home

by VegasAces on May 16, 2008 1:42 PM EDT up 0 recs

NAHWAL

1. 36,496
2. Escobar
3. Braves homer off of Joey Devine :-)

by pett-man on May 16, 2008 9:13 AM EDT 0 recs

Picks

1. 38,750
2. McCann
3. Jair

Chuck James is a bum
Jair Jurrjens has been great
Maddux: future Brave?

by Something Profound on May 16, 2008 9:24 AM EDT 0 recs

Err, I meant:

3. Jair strikes out the side in an inning.

by Something Profound on May 16, 2008 9:26 AM EDT up 0 recs

You should have left #3 alone!

All Jair had to do was show up and you would’ve gotten a point!
Ah, maybe not.

by secondbass on May 16, 2008 11:22 AM EDT up 0 recs

Picks

1. 32,768
2. Jeff Francoeur
3. AL pitcher hits into into a 4-6-3 Vidro.

Might be going to the game – so if you see me not posting, I’m at the game.

real men, don't wear small.

by royhobbs on May 16, 2008 9:38 AM EDT 0 recs

Picks

1. 36, 333
2. Chipper
3. Their nine hole goes hitless.

by Euruproktos on May 16, 2008 9:40 AM EDT 0 recs

picks

1. 42,498
2. Tex
3. Tex remembers he is good and shows it vs. the AL, going 3-4 with 3 RBI

by traphicg on May 16, 2008 9:51 AM EDT 0 recs

Oooo

A good AAB pick would be for TV announcers to bring up Teixeira stats vs. Oakland throughout his career while in the AL, despite the fact that many current Oakland players will be different from the ones he’s faced.

real men, don't wear small.

by royhobbs on May 16, 2008 9:57 AM EDT up 0 recs

picks

1. 36,748
2. McCann
3. McCann with 2 RBIS

by 10-4 on May 16, 2008 10:01 AM EDT 0 recs

Picks

1. 34,343
2. Yunel
3. Royce Ring gets his man out

by OntheGo on May 16, 2008 10:03 AM EDT 0 recs

Picks.

Last nights game was such a downer. I’m going to call Chuck James the Succubus from now on, because every time he pitches it feels like he’s sucking my will to live. I think I can count on one hand the amount of games we’ve had like that this year…games where you just know we aren’t going to win. Yet, we somehow have 20 losses. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

1. 31,112
2. Surgeon
3. Daric Barton does not draw a walk. (I really like that guy)

by Smoltz's Beard on May 16, 2008 10:08 AM EDT 0 recs

Succubus

I like it.

by musicman on May 16, 2008 10:17 AM EDT up 0 recs

How about…the Chuckubus?

by Something Profound on May 16, 2008 10:47 AM EDT up 0 recs

I like it

But there’s just something great about saying “Chuck and suck”. Either way, hopefully we won’t need a nickname much longer…

by WienerDog on May 16, 2008 1:25 PM EDT up 0 recs

What would really create some hope

Would be a come-from-behind loss one of these days. Nothing creates hope and optimism like those. Last year’s five-run defecit win against the Phillies is a prime example. We had a golden opportunity earlier this year when we ripped the Pirates in the 9th to tie it up, but then we lost in extras. A walk-off homer would be nice to experience again.

real men, don't wear small.

by royhobbs on May 16, 2008 12:04 PM EDT up 0 recs

Remember the game last year where we scored like 6 runs in the 8th inning to beat the Brewers? I remember being at work watching the GameCast thinking we were sunk, and then slowly getting more and more excited until I was fist-pumping in the quiet of my office.

I could go for one of those next time we’re losing.

by Smoltz's Beard on May 16, 2008 12:25 PM EDT up 0 recs

Sorry…7 runs in the 8th inning.

by Smoltz's Beard on May 16, 2008 12:27 PM EDT up 0 recs

Too bad...

It wasn’t 7 runs in the 7th. They’re running a promotion down here with an ‘Injun casino out in Mississippi, where if the Braves ever have a 7-run 7th, then a lucky winner gets an all expense-paid trip to the casino.

Aside from the Pirates game, the Braves just haven’t shown any desire to come from behind. Once a game exceeds a 3-run deficit, everyone just swings for the fences and it’s flyout after flyout after flyout. It’s like they don’t realize how demoralizing it is to the other team to blow a massive lead or something, but their pitchers are always in fear of doing it themselves.

real men, don't wear small.

by royhobbs on May 16, 2008 12:41 PM EDT up 0 recs

Feels like that’s been the attitude they’ve had since the year Andruw put the entire team on his back on ‘05 (still not sure why he did not win MVP).

by Smoltz's Beard on May 16, 2008 12:50 PM EDT up 0 recs

'Cuz Pujols is God

Pujols got the shaft two straight years because Bonds was putting up gaudy fake numbers. The minute Bonds was out of the equasion, Pujols was a shoe-in. The panelists certainly took Pujols’ always-outstanding numbers for granted, and it was due time for him to get his award. It was unfortunate that it came at Andruw’s expense, because Andruw was everything that defined an MVP that year. And is also rendered it hypocritical the following year when Pujols was once again taken for granted for the flavor of the year, Ryan Howard.

I didn’t see much sense in giving Howard the MVP over Pujols, because it was to me an identical situation to Andruw vs. Pujols the year prior.

Either shaft Pujols every year and we’d have Bonds, Bonds, Andruw, Howard, or just give it to the guy who is always excellent. Pujols, Pujols, Pujols, Pujols.

Let’s face it, the popular media just doesn’t like the Braves.

real men, don't wear small.

by royhobbs on May 16, 2008 12:58 PM EDT up 0 recs

Yeah…I understand that Pujols had a better year number wise (he has an OPS over 1.000 in 5 of his career 7 season!?), but if you were to factor in their defensive attributes I think it really evens out (Andruw made only two errors all season). Plus, if the voters had ever taken the time to watch a Braves game they would have seen that, like you said, Andruw was exactly what a MVP is supposed to be. But the voters never really look at the defensive value a player brings to the table…and they never really take the time to actually watch the games…so we get the same shit every year.

Here’s Andruw’s game log via Yahoo. He even had himself a hell of a playoff that year, too.

by Smoltz's Beard on May 16, 2008 1:09 PM EDT up 0 recs

God damn...

...Pujols really is a tremendous hitter. He’s been on the MVP ballot all 7 seasons his been in the league (top 5 in the voting 6 of the times), with 3 Silver Slugger awards (who in the hell is winning them at 1B if he isn’t? Derrek Lee that one year…), and 6 All-Star appearances (how you do not make the AS team and end up #2 in MVP voting is beyond me).

It’s like MLB and the Media is teasing him over and over again, afraid to say that he is actually the best player in the game. Don’t want to upset NY and A-Rod!

Here’s his career profile via Baseball Reference. If you click on the MVP links next to his season it will bring up the voting and each person’s stats. Hard to argue with him losing to Bonds all those years before the doping was out in the open. But Howard had no business winning the award in 2006.

by Smoltz's Beard on May 16, 2008 1:17 PM EDT up 0 recs

Defense is only appreciated...

...in the NFL. In baseball, it’s an overlook-able achievement, much to the chagrin of fans who love to see great defensive plays.

MLB and Media aren’t that dumb – they believe in the curses that we do. A-Rod is a Yankee, and has already been tainted. Whatever A-Rod can do, Pujols can do equally well if not better. Personality wise, Pujols is a breath of fresh air with his low-key demeanor and humanitarian efforts (Ever see the Pujols Family Foundation?) If the media got their grubby paws on Pujols, they would tarnish his good name, and essentially ruin him – I’d rather them rain on A-Rod and leave Pujols to his quiet dominance in quiet St. Louis. Also, if they declare him to be the next big thing, and the future of baseball, he’ll turn into the next Ken Griffey Jr., and miss everything due to injury.

If Aaron became king with consistency, then Pujols is bound to break all his records, as well as Bonds’ fake ones. And that, in the end is what everyone wants to see – Pujols vs. Rodriguez, done the right way, and not the way Sammy vs. Mac vs. Bonds turned out to be.

real men, don't wear small.

by royhobbs on May 16, 2008 1:40 PM EDT up 0 recs

Yes, I’ve seen his foundation. Believe it is for Down Syndrome, which his daughter is afflicted with. They ran a newspiece on it a long time ago on Baseball Tonight, I believe.

by Smoltz's Beard on May 16, 2008 2:02 PM EDT up 0 recs

albert pujols with only one MVP is a crime against humanity.

by bigjoe on May 16, 2008 6:50 PM EDT up 0 recs

at the time, i was like OMGZ ANDRUW MVP. looking back on it rationally, theres no way he should have finished higher than 3.

by bigjoe on May 16, 2008 6:49 PM EDT up 0 recs

Seriously?

by Smoltz's Beard on May 16, 2008 7:46 PM EDT up 0 recs

DLEE probably should have won the award that year. led the league in OPS, only 5 less homers than andruw, higher average than both of them, 70 POINTS HIGHER BA than andruw…he also won a gold glove

by bigjoe on May 16, 2008 7:49 PM EDT up 0 recs

Andruw made 2 errors in CF. Gold Glove D at 1st doesn’t quite compare.

And I know all the numbers don’t point Andruw’s way, but in terms of actually being the team’s most valuable player…it was Andruw.

by Smoltz's Beard on May 16, 2008 7:51 PM EDT up 0 recs

i’m gonna cherrypick some stats here. the 2005 braves had 2 other players with a OPS+ over 120 (frenchy, chipper), and three SP with an ERA+ over 120 (smoltz, huddy, HAMPTON?)

the 2005 cubs had 1 player with a OPS+ over 120 (ramirez, 2 if you count matt murton and his under 150 ABs). they had 2 SP with a ERA plus over 120 (big Z, prior).

if DLEE got some more help and the team didn’t finish FOURTH, this award would be his.

by bigjoe on May 16, 2008 7:57 PM EDT up 0 recs

Chipper only played in 109 games. Hampton made 12 stars. Even Hudson missed a couple starts. A-Ram missed a chunk of time but still played more than Chipper, and Prior surprisingly made only 2 less starts than Hudson.

by Smoltz's Beard on May 16, 2008 8:05 PM EDT up 0 recs

are we gonna just agree to disagree?

by bigjoe on May 16, 2008 8:06 PM EDT up 0 recs

when in rome.

by Smoltz's Beard on May 16, 2008 8:07 PM EDT up 0 recs

To be fair, if we’re including Andruw’s stellar defense in the equation, we have to include Pujols’s stellar defense. They both were basically the best at their positions in 2005. Factor in that Pujols and Lee posted far more ridiculous OBP/SLG lines than Andruw, and you’ll see he certainly wasn’t the most valuable player in the league. I’m note even sure his 2005 season was better than 2006 besides mildly increasing his XBH% and turning some doubles into HR.

(Interesting to note, Baseball Prospectus’s much maligned Fielding Runs stat has Andruw as basically a fielding god from 1997 to 2003, posting routine 20 or 30 FRAA, but from 2004 onward rate him as a steadily around average (+3, -8, -5, +9, +1). I normally dismiss the stat because of the way it jumps around for most guys year to year, but I think it accurately represents Andruw’s fielding value as otherworldly the first half of his career and pedestrian from then on. Something to take into account.)

And kind of topic, but I really, really hope Bobby isn’t going to start this platoon nonsense at 2B again. I mean, it made sense last year when Escobar was hitting as well as Kelly, but now he’s just wasting plate appearances on the team’s worst hitter (including Corky Miller). And the argument that Infante is hitting is already bunk. His nice 294 average is paired with a 294 OBP and 353 SLG, hardly besting Kelly’s 2008 numbers versus LHPs and well under Kelly’s career numbers versus LHPs.

by 17843 on May 16, 2008 10:05 PM EDT up 0 recs

Once again…I know that the numbers do not point to Andruw being the MVP. But we all know from actually watching the games, that when Chipper went down Andruw carried the team. It seems like the awards voting is either based entirely on their counting stats, or based on extracuricular encounters with the people casting the votes.

As far as the KJ debacle goes, I’m on your side. I stated in a separate post that it makes zero sense to bench Kelly when his OPS is better than Infante or Prado against LH.

by Smoltz's Beard on May 17, 2008 12:41 AM EDT up 0 recs

Picks

1. 33,824
2. Matty
3. Matty and SK combine for 5 hits.

by musicman on May 16, 2008 10:19 AM EDT 0 recs

^

I already posted this on the latest minor league update last night, but the braves have called up stockman…whether its for a few days or not, I don’t know yet. It could be for bull pen support until chuck’s spot in the rotation comes around, or until smoltz is back…

by bravos408 on May 16, 2008 10:32 AM EDT 0 recs

Mine

1. 38,249
2. Frenchy
3. Kotsay steals 2

by secondbass on May 16, 2008 11:23 AM EDT 0 recs

Did anyone expect a W last night?

I hope not. But tonight is a different story although I’m a wee bit worried that our stellar home record will soon begin to gravitate toward .500. Then again, our road record doesn’t seem to be doing that at all…

1- 39,693
2- Chipper if he’s in the lineup, SK if not.
3- JJ goes 7 and gets the win!!!

by WienerDog on May 16, 2008 1:32 PM EDT 0 recs