Escobar - NL Player of the Week

[Middle Man]

ESCO (http://mlb.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20090720&content_id=5957986&vkey=pr_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb)

I'm happy for Escobar. He's such a shy, unassuming fellow, maybe this will help build up his confidence a little. ;)

I agree with the sentiment expressed in the previous game thread. The Braves need to keep him. He definitely has some issues - some combination of immaturity, questionable judgment and lack of communication, it seems to me - but I can't imagine that we're going to be able to improve the team by trading him. So 'Ol Bobby's just gonna have to suck it up and not have a heart attack every time Escobar does something dumb.

Also, Escobar now has no excuse for ever being late.

"...Tourneau, the world's largest watch store, will award Yunel Escobar with a luxury Swiss Timepiece, suitably engraved, in recognition of his accomplishment as the National League Player of the Week presented by Bank of America."

Finally, here's a link to the current AJC blog which mentions the Escobar situation.

AJC Blog (http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves-blog/2009/07/20/the-freak-and-the-giants-are-inbound/)

"...but I’ll give Yunel Escobar his point, that we the media, don’t come talk to him after three hits but we want to talk to him after he makes a mistake.

That’s true, he’s right, can’t argue that, and I’ll tell you why - like I told him during a relatively cordial chat at the batting cage yesterday with Martin Prado translating. Sad as it is to say, maybe, we don’t make the effort we should when he does well because of the language barrier and the time and effort it takes to get a teammate or coach to translate..."

[Andy G.]

I also agree about keeping him. He's a difficult player to replace. His defense alone sets him apart from most shortstops. It's a shame he has to act like an a-hole sometimes. We should all feel pretty good about having him on the team, but he's ruined that for us to an extent.

Oh well. I guess there are worse things than having a dumb ball player on your team, especially if the dummy has talent.

[sdp]

I love Escobar.

[Lauren T.]

It's a shame he has to act like an a-hole sometimes.
How many of them don't act like an a-hole sometimes? The only one I can think of is Matt Diaz. :thumbsup:

[Chris_Moderato]

Congratulations, douche-bag.

[Hobbes]

Congratulations, douche-bag.
Is he a giant douche, or a turd sandwich?

http://images.southparkstudios.com/img/content/characters/126a.jpg

[Lauren T.]

You know, I was just telling a friend of mine that Yunel hasn't been the same since they traded Brayan Pena. If you're not familiar with their story, read here (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/04/22/brave.hearts0428/index.html). The McFrenchy bromance hasn't got anything on those two.

[Middle Man]

Congratulations, douche-bag.

:D It's interesting that you chose that phrase because I'm a pretty good lip-reader and I would swear that that is exactly what Bobby said to Escobar after that last HR.

[JanShan12]

Congrats, Escobar!

I feel like I'm in the minority when it comes to this guy. For his price, we have to keep him as long as possible. He comes through on offense and has amazed all of us more than once on defense. There's a reason we let Renteria and Andris leave... he's a special talent. I know he has some ego issues, but so what. How many pro athletes don't? That doesn't make his behavior ok, but it does mean that we should find a way to work with him so he knows he's appreciated, but at the same time know how the Braves organization presents itself. It might take a while, but it's not like we're reading about him at the strip clubs until 5am or messing around with drugs. He's just ridiculously cocky and needs to be taken down a few notches at times. We're not dealing with a Manny situation. I'm very thankful for Escobar and am willing to look past some of his actions (at this point) and let the organization handle him the best they can.

[Andy G.]

How many of them don't act like an a-hole sometimes? The only one I can think of is Matt Diaz. :thumbsup:
You've got a point. Diaz is one of the few. I can think of a couple times when Diaz was mad about something and he tried to act like an a-hole, but he wasn't convincing, so it ended up being more endearing than his usual cheerfulness. Then there was that time right after the huge bullpen disaster in that first series against the Phillies this year. When Lidge came in to close it out and Diaz hit a homerun off of him, he got a little excited and sort of threw his bat down a la Brett Boone. He's funny.

[-Dr. Brave-]

So all Escobar gets for being player of the week is this stupid watch? :)

[KB 34]

As much as I usually rip on the Braves management I'm going to trust them on this one. I simply don't see this organization dumping a player like this unless he absolutely has to go. Yes, Francoeur worries me a little as they put up with him forever but at the end of the day they had the guts to ship him to the Mets where he could kill the Braves if he turned things around. How about that for guts? They just said we don't believe in you so much we'll ship you to our biggest rival. My other reservation is Rocker but that's a can of worms I'm not getting into. I strongly believe the Braves know when to dump a player for character issues and will make the right move. I hope Escobar doesn't have to be dealt but if he's that much of a problem good riddance, he won't help anyone else either in that case either.

[bravos4evr]

The Rocker thing was different though. He made a national scene!!! Escobar is only an aggravation to Bobby and the clubhouse. It's not like he went on TV and said something bad or in an interview. IMO, if you trade away a young ,under control player who is performing in the top 20% of all players at his position..... You should prolly get fired ( unless you get something similar in return, like a pre arby outfield monster or something)

[Devil Wears Prado]

Congratulations, Yunel. You really stepped it up for us this week. I also hope we keep Escobar, but if the right opportunity is there, I think we should take it. I wouldn't trade him for anyone less than Holliday and also another player thought. I'd take Escobar with his sometimes dumb plays on this team if he keeps swinging the bat like this. It'll be hard to replace him if we trade him away though. I think the hardest positional players to find are catcher and shortstop.

[bravestud]

I will be furious if we trade Escobar. How do you give up a career .304 hitter at age 26 with developing power and plate discipline to go along with a rocket launcher for an arm at shortstop? A shortstop with his skill set and proven level of production at the major league level is extremely hard to find. I know his antics are an issue and I don't entirely dismiss them, but I also think they're highly overblown. What this guy gives you on the field is just too good to give up unless he's severely disrupting the clubhouse, which I don't believe he is.

[Lauren T.]

"Escobar reaches out to media": http://bit.ly/h9sHZ

As much as I dislike Bowman's "voice", I'm glad this article is out there.

[Andy G.]

"It will be an advantage for him when his English skills allow him to do interviews and to carry on conversations with mostly English-speaking media," Braves general manager Frank Wren said. "At that point, he'll feel more comfortable and the media will feel more comfortable. I think it will normalize the relationship."

...

But in an attempt to help improve his public image, the Braves used Javier Vazquez to help them talk to Escobar on Monday about the importance of at least attempting to prove cordial around media members.

"If he had the ability to communicate with you guys directly, I think he would feel more comfortable expressing his own feelings and having you guys understand them," Wren said.
I've probably criticized Escobar's attitude as much as anyone lately, but I'm really impressed with both Escobar and Wren after reading this. I didn't read it until just now. If I had read it before yesterday's game, I probably wouldn't have called Escobar an "idiot" in yesterday's game thread. I'm glad he's upset about people saying he has a bad attitude. It shows he's not so arrogant that he doesn't care if people criticize him. I'm really impressed by Wren too. What I gathered from the article was that Wren wants Escobar to improve his image, because he realizes that he's developing into to quite the ball player and doesn't want the trade speculation to continue any further. He probably realizes what slayer has been saying, which is that Bobby Cox is too lenient of a manager to have the desired impact on Escobar in regards to the way he carries himself on the field and in front of the media. Wren took it upon himself to try to help the situation. I am turning into a huge fan of Frank Wren.

[CharlotteBrave]

Would love to see the Braves keep Escobar, and work with him, however possible to improve his image. I'm sure he knows the value of having the reputation as a hard worker and team player. It's not only important from a fan standpoint, but it's also worth it's weight in gold.

Hopefully he realizes, learns english, and becomes a model player for the Braves. I for one, hope they hold onto him as long as possible.

[wordslayer©]

I've probably criticized Escobar's attitude as much as anyone lately, but I'm really impressed with both Escobar and Wren after reading this. I didn't read it until just now. If I had read it before yesterday's game, I probably wouldn't have called Escobar an "idiot" in yesterday's game thread. I'm glad he's upset about people saying he has a bad attitude. It shows he's not so arrogant that he doesn't care if people criticize him. I'm really impressed by Wren too. What I gathered from the article was that Wren wants Escobar to improve his image, because he realizes that he's developing into to quite the ball player and doesn't want the trade speculation to continue any further. He probably realizes what slayer has been saying, which is that Bobby Cox is too lenient of a manager to have the desired impact on Escobar in regards to the way he carries himself on the field and in front of the media. Wren took it upon himself to try to help the situation. I am turning into a huge fan of Frank Wren.

I hope you are right about Wren. And I am glad that Wren did step in to try and help the situation.

I can understand why Cox would be frustrated with him, but overall, I just don't think that Escobar is anything other than immature. I can see where people would think he is a jerk, but it's just too early for people to make that call, and certainly too early to just trade him off without some type of intervention.

If it weren't for the Lowe signing, I'd be a really big fan of Wren's.

[Braves N 10]

I know this is a old thread, but I did not want to start another one just for this one question.

Does anyone know what Yunel's intro song is when he is coming to the plate.

[Braves N 10]

Nevermind I found it. It is Somos de Calle if anyone else is interested.

[Lauren T.]

I've been trying to keep an updated list of the at-bat songs for the Braves on my blog this year. 2009 Braves Intro Songs (http://braveslove.blogspot.com/2009/04/2009-braves-intro-songs.html)

[Freddy_Ballgame]

I've been vocal about my thoughts about Escobar. He should be the guy they build around, everyday player-wise. McCann is right there but he takes an awful lot of abuse behind the plate. I'm "old school" but even I don't have a problem with Escy's antics. He's overcome a great deal of things in his young life, learning to become more professional won't be that big of a challenge. I haven't seen a game lately because of work and the sad tv schedule, but I don't think he's caused any trouble lately, has he? He's on his way!

[Lauren T.]

Funny you mention him not acting up lately -- he's been very well-behaved, very mature lately, but didn't run out a play that would have extended the first inning and it looks like he's been benched as punishment. The announcers said he's not talked with or sat with the trainers, so they assumed it wasn't injury-related.

[ScooterBrave]

I know this is a old thread, but I did not want to start another one just for this one question.

Does anyone know what Yunel's intro song is when he is coming to the plate.

I think it is "Take It Easy" by the Eagles. :)

[Freddy_Ballgame]

Didn't run out a play? How can he get called for that? It's practically a team trademark. Chipper shags to first routinely on plays that he figures he's out on. It's common for most of the guys. When I get to watch these days the ones who do hustle are the ones who stand out!

[Lauren T.]

When's the last time Chipper got called out for doing anything incorrectly?