Talking Chop

Braves Demote James, Promote Stockman: Official Press Release with Facts and Links

yondaime4 — Sat, 17 May 2008 04:57:58 -0000

It is the truth. Chuck James was in fact demoted, but for the life of me I really can't figure out why . Phil Stockman was recalled but for the life of me I really can't figure out why . Anyways here is official confirmation from the Braves official website in case, you know, you want some proof of a claim.

Braves.com

Enjoy and have fun speculating possible starters. I know I will. Bye

Minor League Rehab Assignment x 3

traphicg — Fri, 16 May 2008 03:05:19 -0000

SHOP THEM ALL!!!! SHOP OFF EVERYONE!!!!!

Seriously though. Potentially, we have the somewhat near future gifts of both Gonzo and Rafi, AND SMOLTZ coming (back) to our bullpen. That is a VERY enviable bullpen. When we had Gonzo, Rafi, and Wicky as our 7th and 8th and closer, it was working really well. Gonzo has closed before, and did well. Someone else can posts the stats. Rafi is the bomb, we all know what he's capable of. And, if Smoltz can do it while not running on fumes, maybe we'll have the only real lights-out closer around.

When a healthy Gonzo is your 7th inning man, that's a solid bullpen. (I like him more than Rafi though, so i'd actually put him 8th)

Therefore - why not try to ship off our boatload of shitty, unreliable relievers? As i'm typing this, I realize that we wouldnt get shit of a starting pitcher for what we have and what's out there, and I cant think of a position that we would need to fill now either (except LF?). Maybe this whole post is a farce. Or, maybe its a ploy to get your creative juices flowing, and to have someone else come up with a good idea of how to dump our soon to be excess bullpen baggage.

C'mon Beard, dont let us down.

Chuck James

mm7du — Fri, 16 May 2008 00:20:40 -0000

Chuck James is an absolute joke of a major league baseball pitcher. He has two pitches (fastball and change-up) and his fastball sucks. He throws up in the strike zone and he does not fool anyone. He gives up twice as many home runs as an average pitcher. On top of that, he walks so many batters that he is constantly giving up two and three run home runs. We have no chance of winning a game he is pitching for us, and honestly, I never want to see him start another game in a Braves uniform. Bring up Morton, or start Bennett or even Campillo. We really don't have to live with his shittyness.

Would you want him?

Shaggy3391 — Thu, 15 May 2008 18:15:40 -0000

I apologize if this has been commented on already, however I had not seen anything yet on here. I was trolling mlb trade rumors and read where Mark Bowman believes the Braves could bring Maddux back for another tour. So the question is would you want him in the rotation? He has been pitching pretty well, he is 3-3 with a 3.60 era. HIs WHIP is 1.16, same as Peavey's, and opponents are hitting .280 which is better than the rest of their starters. Granted Peavey will continue to get better as the year goes on, but Maddux has the comfort of the West, a huge ballpark to pitch in but has a crappy offense behind him. Interested in everyones thoughts on if you would like to see him back with the Braves. Also, Bowman mentioned it would not take much to get him in terms of talent, though Maddux may have a no trade clause, not sure.

1 in a row! Now let's see how the new lineup does against a lefty!

Fortune favors the brave(s) — Thu, 15 May 2008 13:41:29 -0000

Edge of your seat game and its was 8-0. This ballpark is arena league. Terrible. How about tonight? Here is my lineup, I was correct about Kelly, he looks like a different guy batting 7th. Armchair managering is better than nothing! The Phillies aren't too great against lefties either, I hope that can continue 1 more game. No name calling from the fellow bloggers lately, there is hope.

Yunel, Infante, Chipper, Tex, Andruw Franceour,McCann,Diaz ,Kotsay, James.

Let's laugh

royhobbs — Wed, 14 May 2008 20:08:26 -0000

Typically, when the Braves start losing, the tempers start to heat up around here. Imagine being a Nationals fan, or a Reds fan, or a Rockies fan, whose teams aren't even close to being .500? Wonder what the tempers are like on those blogs?

So let's laugh, folks - it ain't the end of the world. Even if it's at my own expense, I'll try to get some people to smile and relax, because having grumpy baseball is still better than having no baseball at all. So with that, I give to you all, a story.

August 4, 2007 - The night prior, I had gone to my local supermarket, and purchased 20 random cans of canned food. Corn, peas, green beans, beets, kidney beans whatever I could grab that was least financially taxing, I put in my cart. The reason being is that it was that time of the season again, when John Smoltz holds his "Strike Out Hunger" canned food drive. For the cost of 20 (or was it 10) pieces of canned goods, Smoltzie himself would sign one piece of memorabilia for you.

This was a perfect opportunity to get a baseball signed by Smoltz, to add to my collection, and seeing as how I had missed out on the previous years' food drives and/or gotten there too late, I was not going to let this opportunity slip by.

On the way home, I listened as Jeff Francis outdueled John Smoltz, and the Rockies took the first game of a weekend series. Despite knowing that Smoltz would still be at his raiser, I was hoping that it would be following a nice win prior.

So the day of the game and food drive came, and I was morbidly mortified when three of my friends all bailed out on me. Fair-weathered, they were, so I suspected that they did not like the idea of arriving to the park well before the opening gates, just to wait for a silly autograph. They just didn't understand the importance of Smoltz, apparently.

Good thing was, that I had the tickets - they were given to me by a friend who worked for a company that had oft-unused season tickets in section 119 row 20 of Turner Field, so there was no worry that I wasn't going to be able to go to the game.

I arrived at Turner Field at 2:30 p.m., anticipating a long line; and it was a good thing that I did, because there were about two hundred people already formed a line outside of the Ted's still-closed gates. It was also a scorching sunny day, and I had spent the morning doing a lot of yardwork; so it wasn't long before I was parched. The line slowly, slowly, slowly began crawling towards the destination nobody could really see from where we stood, which had to be where John Smoltz himself, the savior, the yet-to-be-crowned strikeout king of Atlanta was signing random items, one at a time.

But I didn't know if I could make it - the temperature was climbing to 90F, and I was dying. But wait! I heard a sound, which sounded like angels to my ears.

"DRINKS! Cooolllld drinks! Only onnnnnnnnnnedollar!" shouted the youth, as he walked parallel to the line, holding a cooler full of Pepsi products and bottled water. Frantically, I reached for my wallet, and upon opening it, I was horrified when I saw that I had absolutely. Zero. Cash. My last $12 went to Turner Field's inflated parking lot, and I stood defeated, dehydrated, and hot as hell, while holding 20 cans worth of weight.

I sat down, leaning against the wall. Quickly uncomfortable, I sought out the source of my discomfort, which was coming from my back pocket. Four. Tickets. Four. Good tickets. My eyes lit up. Despite the fact that I had zero cash in my wallet, I most certainly was holding some cash in my hands... it just needed time.

And time came shortly enough, as a large African-American man strolled down the line, holding a piece of cardboard that stated that he NEEDED TICKETS. I beckoned to him, and for reasons unknown, sold him two of the three spares I had in my possession. He looked at the section and quickly offered me $20 for my seats. I now had my thirst-quenching salvation in my hands.

"DRINKS! Cooolllld drinks! Only onnnnnnnnnnedollar!" I heard again. I bought like four. I saved one to take into the game with me.

And another hour later, and I was one of the last ones to get a ball autographed by John Smoltz. This was a great day, and I hadn't even seen a single pitch yet.

Now in a moment of self-deprication, and a moment for y'all to laugh at me, I want to believe that I'll meet my future ex-wife at a baseball game one day. This is the reasoning behind keeping the third spare ticket, with sparse hopes that I would run into a pretty girl by herself, and I would offer her the ticket in exchange for some company while watching the game, and we would hit it off, eventually date, get married, get divorced, and be back to square one all over again.

When reality washed over me after my third Diet Pepsi, I realized that it was best for me to unload the third spare, before heading into the game. I found a scalper, and he gave me another $10 for my spare.

I went into the Ted, and got to my seat. Two seats down was an elderly couple; I had to ask them - "Pardon me, did you get your tickets from a scalper?" They bashfully agreed, and I told them not to worry, since they were my seats, and they should enjoy the game. We all laughed.

As first pitch neared, three of "those guys" AKA rowdy tween males who just turned 21 and were walking Hollister ads with bad Mick Jagger hair sat down behind me, and resumed being loud and douchey. I cringed like OJ Simpson in court, knowing that these bozos were going to be sitting behind me the entire game. I channeled my inner mantra to help me find the power to tune them out.

And then I saw a man and his two sons walk down the aisle and stop right next to me. He looked at his tickets, he looked down my row, and then down the aisle. He came back to me, and shyly asked if I would be willing to cooperate with him.

"Excuse me sir, I hate to ask this, but I just got my tickets from a scalper... and he sold me some tickets, but they're a little bit separated."

I ask to see his tickets, because I knew where he was going with it.

119 Row 20, seat 2
119 Row 19, seat 1
119 Row 6, seat 7

"Would you be willing to trade your seat for this row 6 tick--"

I grabbed his ticket, and gave him mine, and I was like a bulldozer going downhill down to row 6. Totally gotta respect a dad who wants to enjoy a game with his sons, and far be it for me to deny a guy trying to be a good dad.

So the day was getting even better - let's assess what I've enjoyed thus far:
John Smoltz autographed ball. $30 in profit from scalping tickets. Upgraded seat and salvation from douchebags. Could this day get any better?

I excused myself through the people seated in seats 1-6 of the row, and I plopped down into my seat. Sitting in seat #8 - attractive, blonde, and tanned, with no ring on her finger. One obstacle - Dad. No, this didn't mean she was like 14-years old or something, because once I got to talkin' it was all good. Baseball fan dad, and college-daughter in for the summer. And in a tactical manner, I warmed up dad first. Smart, because it makes chatting up daughter a whole lot easier when dad's all pleased. Talked a lot about baseball, and how much I loved Tom Hallion as HP umpire, because he has a generous strike zone, and when he catches someone looking, he does that over-exaggerated Street Fighter Dragon Punch uppercut motion. Huddy was mowing down the Rockies, and the Braves chipped away at Ubaldo Jimenez. It was a pleasant evening as the sun set and the cooler night arose.

In my head, I was fantasizing about Jeff Francoeur ripping a huge pull foul ball right into my section, and with the agility of jungle cat, I would snare it out of the air, bare-handed of course, and without feeling any sting whatsoever, I would present it to the pretty blonde next to me, and the courtship would be on.

But that didn't happen, naturally. The game went on, but was still pleasant because I was chatting with a pretty girl and her decently cool dad, and when in the 9th inning, Bob Wickman (remember that tubby?) got Willy Taveras to ground out, and Jorvit Torrealba to strike out looking, with one final Dragon Punch by Hallion, the game was over, and the party was on.

Pretty blonde gave me a hug. Dad shook my hand. I had $26 dollars in profit. And a John Smoltz signed baseball.

It was the greatest baseball game day experience ever.

Now if you've read this far, kudos to your perseverance. If anything at all, maybe I've distracted you of some of the negativity that generally lingers around after a bad loss.

And yes, I really am this bored at work sometimes.

How did we lose that game, c'mon!

Fortune favors the brave(s) — Wed, 14 May 2008 15:21:36 -0000

Last nights game should have been over in the second inning! It had that feel that if we didn't put it away we would find a way to lose and of course, they did. Kendrick looked nervous and the Philly infielders felt it and visited more on the mound then they would have if he's was in the hospital! JoJo is good hitter and a lousy bunter and Bobby tried it twice and lost. Killed us and lost us the game. Let Reyes swing away, no one get a bunt down except Blanco. Bobby is hall of famer, no doubt, but I think it's time to retire. The game seems different and Bobby is part of the old guard. Old dogs! Just an opinion no need for the young guys who read this to take it personal. It would be refreshing if some of the usual posters don't go insane and make it personal towards me. I have my thoughts just like you. I can only hope.

Kotsay Shirts... ARE A GO

royhobbs — Wed, 14 May 2008 02:27:25 -0000

J. KOTSAY #21 shirts NOW AVAILABLE.

Available at http://www.cafepress.com/royhobbs.

There are several styles to choose from. Personally, I'm leaning towards the 3/4 Sleeve baseball raglan, 'cuz I like that style. (As shown above). But there are also short-sleeved t-shirts in white and gray, and I've gone through and put road-gray Jamie K. on the gray t-shirt to correspond, where as all others are home-white.

I would like to re-iterate that the shirts are selling for 0% mark-up, meaning that I am making no money on this venture, because this is for all of us, and we're all equals here. Even I have to pay for my own shirt, how f-ed up is that? But that's the beauty of CafePress, only those interested can pay to purchase.

NO, we mean no disrespect to the great Warren Spahn by using #21, we're instead glorifying the cosmic entity known as Jamie Kotsay, and her glorious attributes.

Other note: Get your shirts prior to August 3rd, which is the supposed tentative date for a potential meetup. (3:55 p.m., Saturday, vs. Brewers). But keep in mind that the 3:55 p.m. slot means that it's a FOX game, and if an emergency Red Sox vs. Yankees game needs to be broadcast instead, we're then SOL.

The Future...

BlueVol03 — Tue, 13 May 2008 21:00:23 -0000

With the draft only a few weeks away, who do you see as potential picks for the Braves? Because of Glavine we won't pick until #40. Which position do you think we should go after? Personally, I could see us going several directions. Pitching is always an area that teams are going to focus on. We could probably use a good 3B prospect as well.

Here's my thought at potential picks:

Chris Dominguez, 3B, Louisville

Kyle Long, LHP/1B, HS

Daniel Schlereth, LHP, Arizona

D.J. Hicks, 1B, HS

Destin Hood, OF, HS

"Chasing Four-Tenths"

Smoltz's Beard — Tue, 13 May 2008 16:58:21 -0000

I'm not sure if I'm really supposed to be continuously pasting segments of Baseball Prospectus directly onto this blog, but please go ahead and erase this if you feel it is unnecessary Gondee. It's just a short article about our boy:

Sabermetric study has long ago proven that batting average is not one of the better indicators of a player’s offensive prowess. On-base percentage, slugging percentage, and a host of other, more advanced metrics paint a clearer picture. A look at Chipper Jones’ OBP, SLG, and EqA shows the venerable Braves third baseman is off to an outstanding start this season. Jones’ 1144 OPS and .389 EqA are both second in the major leagues to the Astros’ Lance Berkman (1243, .393), while his .459 OBP and .685 SLG are both third.

However, the number that stands out the most in Jones’ stat line for many is his .400 batting average, which leads the majors. While average is an archaic measure to more contemporary analysts, there is still something magical about the mark, and it still appears on every scoreboard in the major leagues.

"It’s such a special mark in the game of baseball," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "I don’t think that will ever change, regardless of the new statistics you see nowadays. For someone to hit .400 for an entire season would be one of the greatest feats in sports. Heck, just to hit .400 for as long as Chipper has is a great accomplishment. You’ve seen how long it’s been since someone has done that."

Sixty-seven years have passed since Ted Williams hit .406 for the 1941 Red Sox. Only four players have hit even .380 since--Tony Gwynn (.394 for the Padres in strike-shortened 1994), George Brett (.390 for the 1990 Royals), Williams (.388 for the 1957 Red Sox), and Rod Carew (.388 for the 1977 Twins).

"I always though Pete Rose would be the one guy who could do it, but he never came close, which tells you how hard it is," Cox reflected. Rose holds baseball’s all-time hits record with 4,256, but his highest batting average in a 24-year career was .348.

While Cox isn’t about to say that Jones is ready to become the first player since Williams to finish at .400, he does see why the 15-year veteran could at least have a fighting chance at the mark. "When you look at the last two guys who made a serious run at .400, Gwynn and Brett, those guys used the whole field as hitters and didn’t strike out very much," Cox said. "Chipper is the same kind of hitter. He has a little more power than those guys, but he sprays the ball from gap to gap and makes consistent contact. I’ll tell you this much, though, if he keeps swinging the bat all year like he has so far this season, he’d have a chance. I’ve seen him get hot a lot of times over the years, but I’ve never seen him this hot for this long."

Jones isn’t getting caught up in any kind of .400 mania at this early point of the season, saying "I’m swinging the bat well but it’s far too early to be thinking what my batting average might be at the end of the year."

Jones believes he has been the beneficiary of hitting behind the pair of players in the top two spots in the order, second baseman Kelly Johnson and shortstop Yunel Escobar. Johnson has a .328 on-base percentage and a .267 EqA but had a .375 OBP last year, while Escobar’s figures are .399 and .301. That trio at the top has helped the Braves rank third in the majors as a team in EqA. "When they are on base all the time, pitchers have to come right at me," Jones said. "They can’t afford to try to pitch around me and put another runner on base. It always helps when you’re getting pretty good pitches to hit. We’ve got a pretty good offense and when Johnson and Escobar are getting on base the way they are, we’re really good. There is no reason why we shouldn’t score a lot of runs."

What has the 36-year-old Jones more excited from a personal standpoint is that he is just four home runs away from 400 in his career. The only other switch-hitters to reach that mark are Mickey Mantle (536) and Eddie Murray (511). Jones appreciates being in that company. "When you think of Mickey Mantle you think of home runs and when you think of Eddie Murray, you think of longevity and his ability to produce runs," Jones said. "I’d like to be remembered as a combination of the two, a guy who could be counted on to hit home runs, drive in runs, hit for a high average, get on base, hit for power and be consistent from both sides of the plate, a consistently good switch-hitter."

THE Kotsay shirts

royhobbs — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:35:44 -0000

Read this first: DO NOT PURCHASE YET

They aren't final yet. It was easier to do this than to upload them to my own server. If you do purchase these shirts, do so at your own risk. Because I'm suggesting a change right now, and if you purchase one of these shirts right now, it'll be like getting an Orioles jersey that says "RIPKEN #7".

SO DO NOT PURCHASE THESE YET THEY ARE VIEWING ONLY

(the URL if you can't click the bigass text: http://www.cafepress.com/royhobbs)

Just thought I'd get all that out of the way.

So what we have here are the Jamie K. shirts some of us have been discussing. CafePress, because this way, nobody has to dedicate to pre-paying for a shirt that they may not get if a snafu occurs. Only the people who want them, can purchase them. Ideally, all the dudes on the board would buy one, and when we one day have a meet-up day, nothing will signify solidarity like these.

The prices listed are 0% marked up. There is no profit in this venture, so the cost of the shirts are approximately the cost of the printing. They're higher than what you might expect from CafePress, because of the printing on both sides.

The colors (name/number) are also official colors - I pulled them from the Braves logo that I ripped from the MLB Pressbox website. I've also limited the colors available for the shirts, because 1. I'm too lazy to make alternate versions for all the colors, and 2. If we ever do meet up, too many colors leads to too much confusion, and a lack of solidarity. So for the time being, it's just home white, and road gray.

I'm suggesting a change - Yeah, Mark Kotsay wears #11 on the Braves, but since the picture is a shopp'ed up image of Kotsay's Oakland jersey, I'm suggesting changing the shirt to read "J. KOTSAY #21." Nobody to my knowledge wears #21 on the 40-man roster, so it's as fair game as any to declare it to the superior Kotsay. And if some does have #21, screw them. This way, the back of the shirt will match the glorious front's glorious backside of the shirt.

Fellow Jamie K. fans - give me your feedback.

Girls - I'll make one for the girls, but y'all have to collectively agree upon one image, or else you all are going to be "Mrs. Corky #whatever."

New Braves Blog

iLukeisamazing — Tue, 13 May 2008 01:11:10 -0000

First off, let me state this unequivocally, I am, in no way, attempting to divert any traffic or draw direct attention away from this blog. Gondee does an INCREDIBLE job posting news and tidbits and this is probably my favorite blog on the net.

However, I just wanted to make you guys aware of another blog, http://www.thebravesblog.com/

This was started by a friend of mine and I will be posting there as well. If you guys have a few moments, please take one of them and stop by and post a comment or two. We're trying to get it off the ground and gain somewhat of a following right now.

Thanks, and again, I'm not wanting to take away from this site.

Time to start over

Shaggy3391 — Mon, 12 May 2008 20:06:47 -0000

I think it's pretty obvious that we are not built to win the league or even make the playoffs, with everyone getting injured, our starting pitching that was supposed to be a strength looking pretty bad, the lack of timely hitting, and the fact we can't buy a road win. So the next question is how to right the ship. As I look over the roster I am struggling to find a superstar player. Chipper is one of the best when healthy, but he is 36. Smoltz and Glavine, both great pitchers and two of the best at one time, are on the wrong side of any age. Hudson is a good #2 starter, but is getting older. Texiera is a hired gun and will go to the biggest paycheck i.e. yankees. Frenchy and McCann while good young players are not developing with the urgency that is needed from them. Though McCann is batting .309/6/17 he is somewhat streaky as is Francoeur. Escobar is a better than good but not great SS. As far as the other players on the team they all have good qualities but are not all-star caliber players or even close. So as we age into oblivion I suggest that we look further into the future than even I want to. I propose that we overhaul the entire team and trade the aforementioned players for multiple minor league talent. We could seriously stock pile and see a new generation of Braves in 2-3 yrs. with a higher probability to winning a WS than right now. I love the Braves and Smoltz, Jones, Glavine, and the other players but I would like to see us win another WS than continue not making the playoffs. This is almost as bad as watching Jordan with the Wizards. Now, if you were GM and in the position the Braves are in now, how would you change it. As well as, who would you trade and not trade for future talent. I'd like to know who else thinks we should start from scratch.

Away Games

royhobbs — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:24:56 -0000

Just curious- any California transplants out there?

At the end of the month, I'm further continuing my quest to visit all the Major League ballparks, and on my agenda are the following:

Sunday, May 25 - Dodger Stadium - St. Louis Cardinals vs. LA Dodgers
Monday, May 26 - Angel Stadium - Detroit Tigers vs. Anaheim, California 92806 Angels of Los Angeles
Tuesday - May 27 - Petco Park - Washington Nationals vs. San Diego Padres

If anyone's from LA/Southern California, and can help a brother out, I'm clueless on what there is to do in between games. Good food (novelty, giant foods), places to see, things to do, etc... I'd be much obliged.

The only downside to all this is that those are all days that I won't be able to sit at home and blog (read: complain, bitch) about the Braves with the rest of yous, while they probably do battle with the Diamondbacks, and then go on the road to struggle with the Brewers and Reds - After the ballparks, it's off to Las Vegas for the remainder of the week.

Platoon is the word, is the word is the word. . .

Fortune favors the brave(s) — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:02:40 -0000

With Infante's quick start since returning and the solid play of Blanco, platoon is the word (sung to Grease is the word). Now if the Braves don't hit into 6 double plays in a game we may have a tough lineup to match up against. What other platoon possibilities may be on the horizon? McCann, no, Kotsay, maybe, can't Norton play the outfield? Although Kotsay is playing very well and I would rather have him in the line up and give Franceour a day off. I know Frenchy is not coming out, don't get all excited ejruiz!

TJ Simers at it again!

bigjoe — Mon, 12 May 2008 02:45:50 -0000

http://www.latimes.com/sports/baseball/mlb/dodgers/la-sp-simers11-2008may11,0,7611597,full.column

I seriously don't feel sorry for him at all. He's being a tremendous dick throughout all of this suckitude, so why should anyone give a damn about him? Not bringing him back is possibly the greatest non-signing in Braves history. Could you seriously imagine him in the 4-hole? Chipper would have about 60 walks by now. I'm so thankful I never bought one of his jerseys...

Hanson Promoted to Mississippi

secondbass — Sun, 11 May 2008 14:38:17 -0000

From the Pelicans Website:

"Pelicans’ right-hander Tommy Hanson has been promoted to Mississippi (AA). He is expected to start for the Braves on Tuesday, May 13th, against the Montgomery Biscuits at home."

There's more....the link:

http://www.myrtlebeachpelicans.com/news/pressreleases/index.html?article_id=678

I'm happy for him, I hope it signals a debut in Atlanta in his near future (if he proves ready, of course), but I'm going to MB in 3 weeks. Nobody asked me if it was okay to promote Hanson! Frank! Where's the courtesy phone call?

And now that I've figured out how to post my pictures, look out.....

Poll for the girls

chance13ga — Sun, 11 May 2008 02:31:11 -0000

Who would you like to see more pics of in the gamethreads? The guys have obviously chosen the serial killers wife, Mrs Jaaammmmiiieeee Kotsaaaaaay.

need extra words x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x xx x x x x x xx x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x xx

Poll

who do the females on this site think the hottest brave is?

Mazzone regrets leaving Atlanta

sdp — Sat, 10 May 2008 20:57:59 -0000

Bored and restless, Leo Mazzone wants back into baseball

After a highly successful run with the Atlanta Braves, Mazzone left for Baltimore after the 2005 season. He received a hefty raise and got to work with his best friend, Sam Perlozzo. But if he had it to do over, Mazzone would accept whatever Atlanta offered and assume his customary place in the dugout next to Braves manager Bobby Cox.

"At the time it was a great move, but now I regret it. You see the difference in organizations and how things are run and, believe me, the Atlanta Braves are about as good as it gets," Mazzone said.

"I got a chance to go back to my home state. My dad’s 86 and my mother’s 81, and they got to see me more in two years than they had in the last 16. Then I have three boys that live up in western Maryland. So we were able to get a lot closer. That part of it was good. But now, as I sit here on my back porch, I second-guess it.

I wonder how things would have been if he had stayed.

You can't win them all but . . .

Fortune favors the brave(s) — Sat, 10 May 2008 14:50:38 -0000

Wow, how many other Braves followers out there look at games like last night and wonder is that the one that kept us from making it to post season? It was another frustrating, double play hitting, mis-opportunity, waste of a game. Glavine deserved better. I still feel that Johnson would be better suited batting seventh or eighth but not leadoff. His inability to get down that bunt set up double play #52 this season and another 1 run road loss. That hurt! To do list: lead off hitter, first baseman after Tex leaves and practice bunting!