The JanShan Series: Braves @ Cardinals, Apr. 27

[Chris_Moderato]

Nothing doing for the Braves in inning 1. Lowe gets the first guy in the bottom of the first.

[Lauren T.]

Active thread tonight. ;) Bottom 6, 2-1 Braves.

[Devil Wears Prado]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Walla]

This is getting pathetic.

[-Dr. Brave-]

Go Braves

[KB 34]

Any Derek Lowe fans out there? I knew he sucked and should have been dealt:banghead:

In all seriousness this team isn't this bad. The problem is everyone on the offense has stopped hitting for the most part, and the starting rotation is going through some struggles at the same time. I see the Braves being a .500 team which means root for Heyward, Jurrjens, and Hanson to develop like crazy.

[Devil Wears Prado]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Again. Because I got my hopes up when we shrunk the lead to 1.

:no:

[KB 34]

Well shoot, the Braves are better than 2008 if one run games get our hopes up! We don't have false hope for Francoeur either and Heyward is better than Kyle Davies so chalk another up for 2010.

[Devil Wears Prado]

Well shoot, the Braves are better than 2008 if one run games get our hopes up! We don't have false hope for Francoeur either and Heyward is better than Kyle Davies so chalk another up for 2010.

I meant I got excited that we would win this game when we shrunk the lead down to 1, with men still in scoring position... then... then... something bad happened.
:(

[Chris_Moderato]

I'm still confident the team will bounce back, since it's not yet May. However, there are some serious issues with the offense that obviously weren't addressed sufficiently in the off-season.

In addition, despite some of the moves Wren has made that showed some foresight, this Derek Lowe deal has got to be one of the worst moves by the Braves since I've been watching them (since '87). I mean, we didn't even get one good season of the four we sank into him. Last year, lame. This year, Christ almighty, he's a disaster. $15M a year for this guy, and we've got him for two more? Are you kidding me?

He's an albatross.

[Wahoo]

And if that's not enough to make you vomit, I pulled this little nugget from the game recap on SI.com:

Heyward was 0 for 3 with a walk and has one hit in his last 20 at-bats. ``We're going to talk to him because he's taking way too many pitches for strikes,'' manager Bobby Cox (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/players/40850/index.html) said.


I don't know what the intent is here, but I know how it sounds.

It sounds like:

A.) Bobby's been drinking a little too much of Terry Pendleton's Kool-aid.

and

B.) That this just isn't going to end well.

I don't know what they plan on saying to The Kid, I just hope it's not what they said to freakin' Kelly Johnson, because that sure as hell sent him into a tailspin.

My vote on this one is for them to shut the hell up, and let the kid play. Maybe they should examine the situations and type of pitches he's taking for strikes. Maybe he's doing exactly what he should, and taking pitches that he knows he can't do anything with, and this isn't going to change until pitchers have to start giving him something to hit. But no, let's overreact and talk to the Kid and tell him he's got to be more aggressive, because that's the only viable solution. Sigh. Eye roll. Effin' A.

[quick]

Watching our pitchers go through their lineup did it for me. Man, what a collection of talent--healthy talent. You know, we shouldn't beat this team.

[Lauren T.]

Any Derek Lowe fans out there? I knew he sucked and should have been dealt:banghead:
We couldn't find any takers. I'm sure we asked all 29 teams to take him, and all 29 teams (...wait, and Japan) said no.

[quick]

Lowe pitched pretty well last night. The sinker looked good and his location for the most part was good. Lowe is not a number 1, but he looked solid last night.

I do think Derek should visit some with new Braves' announcer John Smoltz about improving his slider....;)

[wordslayer©]

And if that's not enough to make you vomit, I pulled this little nugget from the game recap on SI.com:




I don't know what the intent is here, but I know how it sounds.

It sounds like:

A.) Bobby's been drinking a little too much of Terry Pendleton's Kool-aid.

and

B.) That this just isn't going to end well.

I don't know what they plan on saying to The Kid, I just hope it's not what they said to freakin' Kelly Johnson, because that sure as hell sent him into a tailspin.

My vote on this one is for them to shut the hell up, and let the kid play. Maybe they should examine the situations and type of pitches he's taking for strikes. Maybe he's doing exactly what he should, and taking pitches that he knows he can't do anything with, and this isn't going to change until pitchers have to start giving him something to hit. But no, let's overreact and talk to the Kid and tell him he's got to be more aggressive, because that's the only viable solution. Sigh. Eye roll. Effin' A.

It was enough to make me vomit.

I HOPE they just leave him alone. Put him lower in the lineup and just let him work on things himself. He has always done pretty well BEFORE he got to the major leagues and he will figure it out at this level, too.

[Middle Man]

It was enough to make me vomit.

I HOPE they just leave him alone. Put him lower in the lineup and just let him work on things himself. He has always done pretty well BEFORE he got to the major leagues and he will figure it out at this level, too.

Amen, let him work it out. He's always been good because he was selective, imo.

[piratelooksat40]

Heyward has the fourth best average on the team right now (among starters). How about have a little talk with Escobar, Glaus, Cabrera, and Diaz? They all have more major league experience than the kid. They need to be producing and taking some heat off of him.

[bravestud]

And if that's not enough to make you vomit, I pulled this little nugget from the game recap on SI.com:




I don't know what the intent is here, but I know how it sounds.

It sounds like:

A.) Bobby's been drinking a little too much of Terry Pendleton's Kool-aid.

and

B.) That this just isn't going to end well.

I don't know what they plan on saying to The Kid, I just hope it's not what they said to freakin' Kelly Johnson, because that sure as hell sent him into a tailspin.

My vote on this one is for them to shut the hell up, and let the kid play. Maybe they should examine the situations and type of pitches he's taking for strikes. Maybe he's doing exactly what he should, and taking pitches that he knows he can't do anything with, and this isn't going to change until pitchers have to start giving him something to hit. But no, let's overreact and talk to the Kid and tell him he's got to be more aggressive, because that's the only viable solution. Sigh. Eye roll. Effin' A.
That's a pretty scary comment from Cox. You wonder why so many have our hitters have tanked under BC/TP the last few years and then revitalized their careers when they've gone other places...this might be a good clue. Heyward's patience is a gift, and it's a big part of what made him such a dominant player in the minor leagues. Telling him to change his approach because of one little mini-slump is mind-boggling.

Thank God Cox only has 142 games left as Heyward's manager. Hopefully one year isn't enough to screw him up.

[toss sweep]

I agree .... no need to change anything with the kid right now.... is kinda nice to see a patient hitter looking for something good to hit instead of up there hacking away at every "pitcher's pitch" that is thrown

[Middle Man]

Welcome to CN, toss sweep. I especially like that you agree with me.

Here's what Chipper had to say, according to DOB:

...“I was on second [base],” Jones said of his vantage point on the strikeout. “Miller made some pretty tough pitches on him. It’s his first time through the league. Crunch time, you throw a sidearm lefty out there with a good slider, and you know, he located a good fastball on the outside corner. It’s not like it was right down the middle. It was located. Mac [Brian McCann] or Nate [McLouth] or any other left-hander would have a tough time with that guy.

“There’s a [learning] curve there. We’ve just got to be patient, let the kid see everybody a time or two.”...

BLOG LINK (http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves-blog/2010/04/28/cox-heyward-taking-way-too-many-pitches/)

Damn. I nominate Chipper for batting coach.

[toss sweep]

well like others have said here .... we have had kids come up and regress in their hitting ..... then they go elsewhere and become hitters again ... make you wonder ..... I loved TP as a player but sometimes the best coaches were not the best players

[Devil Wears Prado]

http://nooooooooooooooo.com/vader.jpg

http://nooooooooooooooo.com/

[Wahoo]

Welcome to CN, toss sweep. I especially like that you agree with me.

Here's what Chipper had to say, according to DOB:



BLOG LINK (http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves-blog/2010/04/28/cox-heyward-taking-way-too-many-pitches/)

Damn. I nominate Chipper for batting coach.


I think he'd be a helluva a batting coach. He's a pretty intelligent hitter. He's definitely a thinking man's hitter, where as TP is the John Daly of hitting coaches, grip and rip it.