BRAVES NEWS
Bowman: Both Heyward and J-Up Could Be Traded To Jump-Start Rebuild
If you thought that the Jason Heyward/Justin Upton trade rumors were going to end, HA! We're only in November, and we've got a long way to go until Spring Training, and an even longer way to go until next season's trade deadline, so until they either sign an extension (which actually might be possible now that Frank Wren's gone, in the case of Heyward) or one (or both) of them gets traded, speculation for their future will continue to go on, and it'll be intriguing to see how John Cop--I mean, the prospective new GM deals with this situation.
Kimbrel Wins Inaugural Hoffman Award
Craig Kimbrel has been the best closer in the National League for a few years now, but now he's got a trophy to prove it. This year, Major League Baseball decided to give out an award for each league's best closer. In the AL, it's the Mariano Rivera Award, while the NL hands out the Trevor Hoffman Award, and yesterday Kimbrel was given the trophy. Kimbrel collected 47 saves last season and had a 1.61 ERA and a 2.24 xFIP. For normal relievers, that's a career year. For Kimbrel, that's ho-hum. Now, enjoy this video of Craig Kimbrel's journey to becoming the best closer in Atlanta Braves history:
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50 Years Ago, Braves Pack Bags For Move To Atlanta
Last week for Throwback Thursday here on Talking Chop, I wrote about Hank Aaron's amazing 1957 season that culminated in a World Series victory for the Milwaukee Braves. 7 years after that happened, the Braves shocked the city of Milwaukee by announcing that they were moving down south to Atlanta. That announcement happened 50 years ago, and by 1966, the Braves were in Atlanta. But for a quick look at what motivated the move from Milwaukee to Atlanta, you should definitely check this one out.
MLB NEWS
KC Bounces Back With Big Victory Of Their Own
After receiving a rude welcome back to the World Series from the perennially-contending San Francisco Giants, the Kansas City Royals bounced back in a major way with a 7-2 victory over the Giants in Game 2. They got most of those runs in a big 6th inning, in which they broke the 2-2 tie with 5 huge runs. Although the series is tied, the Royals lost home field advantage and now have to try to get some positive results for the next 3 games in San Francisco.
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Lincecum Exits Relief Appearance With Stiff Back
Remember Tim Lincecum? Yes, he's still with the Giants and yes, he even made the Postseason roster! Unfortunately, he's been dealing with a neck injury that's already hampered any chance he had at making an appearance during important innings, and was relegated to mop-up duty after the Royals broke the game open last night. The bad fortune continued for Lincecum as he had to leave the game with a sore back. It's sad, and also surreal to see how Linecum has gone from being the linchpin of the team that won it all in 2010 to being a super-reliever in 2012 and now to this state in 2014.