Hey, been reading the posts for a while just decided to post something.  So we have all seen our horrible hitting lately, save for chipper's triple and diaz's hr last night, so I have seen Barbaro alot since I live near where the Richmond Braves played.  So what I am saying is why not give him a look. I know he isnt exactly a young gun but who cares the man can hit.  Last year he hit .300 with 13 HRs, 67 RBIs, and only 67 SO in about 500 ABs.  This year he hasnt slowed down hitting .388 with 2 HRs in 50 ABs.  Try not to completely rag on me its just a thought.  By the way just would like to say I completely hate fair weatherd fans who are already posting that this season is done.

Thanks,

GOOOO BRAVES

Hopefully this game starts when theres 3 digits on the clock. Nice day...so far, rain is supposed to be coming a little later.

1) Attendance. I don't think we've broken 20,000 for maybe 8 straight games now.

2) Pick to click. Since the team kinda sucks now, this category is getting skinnier and skinnier. Choose wisely!

3) After tonight's game, how many strikeouts will Kawakami have on the season? See...this tests not only your ability to guess how many strikeouts he'll have tonight, but how many he currently has, and it will test your first grade arithmetic skills!

I have been thinking of what team has a surplus of power outfielders and are in desperate need of starting pitching.  Then I thought of the Rangers.  The team era is over 5.00 and now one of their starters is experiencing a very sore elbow.  

The Rangers are carrying 5 outfielders right now.  One of which has not been an everday player in his career,,,,Nelson Cruz.  If one were to extrapolate his career numbers per season and consider the limited playing time he has had, then he looks like a right- handed, middle of the order, 25-30 HR guy with good defense, above average speed, and a powerful arm from the outfield.  

What would you think of a JoJo Reyes for Nelson Cruz proposal?  The downside is he strikesout a bit and he is on a one year contract (which we would need to extend ASAP) but man what a good fit for both teams.

Don't kill me....just speculating

Don't know if this is a user violation on TC but this is the verbatim ESPN insider scouting report of Zack Wheeler (the guy Jim Callis thinks the Braves will pick at 7) by Keith Law

Zack Wheeler is a tall loose-armed right-handed pitcher from East Paulding High School in Dallas, Ga., who is a lock to go in the first round. On Wednesday, Wheeler threw a seven-inning two-hit shutout, fanning 14 while walking none. His fastball comes out of his hand easy and ran from 91 to 95 mph -- one scout mentioned that he had Wheeler at 96 the previous week -- with tremendous late life. His only real secondary pitch was a hard slurve at 74-78 mph that was all but unhittable; he'd sweep it away from a right-handed hitter and then throw a tighter one to hit the inside corner for a called strike. He threw one hard changeup at 88 mph that was more like a BP fastball than a true change.

His arm action is long but he repeats it well and the length seems to come from the low point where he separates his hands, which isn't that major of a fix for player development. He takes an enormous stride toward the plate with a little bit of drop-and-drive and generates good arm speed, which leads both to velocity on the fastball and sharpness on the breaking ball. He lands a little stiffly with some recoil. With a little projection left, two above-average pitches, and a good delivery, Wheeler should go in the top 20 picks and perhaps in the top 15 as one of the four best prep arms in this class (with Tyler Matzek, Shelby Miller and Matt Purke).

Hat tip to MLBTR. No fanposts for this yet? I googled him and couldn't find much. Would appreciate any info.

Here's the best article I was able to find, he seems like a very disciplined hitter with a high OBP and some power.

http://futureredbirds.com/2008/02/03/prospect-profile-brian-barton/

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Ok so as im watching the game Sunday afternoon they would show Kelly on tv every once and a while. He looks normal for the most part, but has anyone else noticed the random twitch in his hands/fingers and sometimes near his eyes too? I know he's young so it's probably nothing , but  does anyone think this is something serious?

Maybe he's twitching because Bobby just benched him after going 4-5 with 4 RBI. Or maybe he's tired of Bobby's man love for Latin American middle infielders, like Martin Prado. But anyways... 

Anyone else notice this or concerned?

Heres what I just read:

 From the The Sports Xchange: Center fielder Jordan Schafer clearly earned his spot on the season-opening roster and in the starting lineup. But he never spent a day at Triple-A and he missed 50 games at Double-A last season because of an HGH suspension. Add to the fact he had never played in any major league park until this season or faced that many major league pitchers (other than those he saw in limited innings in spring training) and there are going to be growing pains. That would be in addition to an actual pain: Word is Schafer hurt his left wrist to some degree during the opening series in Philadelphia, but he won't talk about it.

well, shit

firstly, i'd like to thank zeus that the braves dfa'd blaine boyer.  seriously, that shit shoulda happened last year.  thanks for the 40.50ERA dick.  it really leads one to question: who thought boyer should be in the pen, who thought moylan's arm was healed up and ready to go, who thought garrett anderson would be a good move( he's missed 1/3 of the season already and he's complaining about something else being sore now), why the hell isn't medlen getting a shot in the pen yet, who thought jo-jo wouldn't epicly blow it, why is terry pendleton still a hitting coach(his way of motivating a team that hadn't scored in 22 innings was to threaten to shave fyf's head), who thinks seasoning is overrated and wants to see hanson in the rotation like yesterday, who thinks that chipper jones' body was made in china? just some questions i've been asking myself and i wanted to share.  go braves.

So here we are, back on the winning track. Its a FRESH SEGMENT of NAHWAL, and anyone can win!

1) Attendance. Weather is crappy, and it IS Washington

2) Pick to click. After an 0-fer on Saturday, we hit the full monty on Sunday.

3) How many of Derek Lowe's outs will NOT come via the strikeout?

Lowe has had one phenomenal start, one rain-shorted start, and one start where he just never got started. What's gonna happen tonight? Have a good day, and happy picking!

How's that for a long title?

In the span of the last two days, I have watched four Braves games, and watched the Braves lose all four times.  Needless to say, for those of whom are familiar with the way I do things, at times like this, I try to lighten the mood, and try to provide a distraction, until the next game comes around.

It sounds cliché, and I'm sure nobody wants to hear it, but believe it or not, it's still early, and there's time to turn things around.  And I'll keep saying this until the start of May probably.  But it's true.  But anyway.

While the Atlanta Braves were out of town this weekend, the city of Atlanta was still privy to some Braves baseball.  Formerly the Richmond Braves, the AAA-affiliate of the big club was moved to Gwinnett County (Lawrenceville), Georgia, for better or worse.  And this weekend was the Grand Opening homestand of your 2009 Gwinnett Braves.  I attended Friday's as well as Saturday's games.

Including this one, there are a total of 31 pictures.  I hope you're not on dial-up.

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