09 Red Carpet Parade

Still haven't found any pics of Baby yet, but he WAS introduced tonight, so we know he's there. ;) Here are a few official red carpet pics I enjoyed:

Teix is still so cute, even when being a total dork. Has he ever said "rock on" before? Ever?

Tim Wakefield just looks so happy and humbled to be there. Who gets a first-time all-star selection over age 40? No one else, lately! Super-cute little girl, too. :)

Ryan Braun just gets cuter and cuter the more I see him. ;)


When you show the good, you have to show the bad...hair, that is. Check out Lincecum, Utley, and LaRussa. Eesh.

All-Star Workout

ST LOUIS, MO - JULY 13: National League All-Star Brian McCann of the Atlanta Braves is seen during the Gatorade All-Star Workout Day at Busch Stadium on July 13, 2009 in St Louis, Missouri.

Question: How long has he been grooming the beard so it would be looking great for the All-Star game? :D

If you find any pictures from the parade, please post them in the comments or let me know! I'm dying to see what kind of shirt he's wearing today. *rolls eyes*

2009 Home Run Derby Live Blog!

Afterthoughts: My apologies for not actually covering the HRD like a real journalist would. The "live blog" kinda turned into a chat room, and while I enjoyed that and I'm sure the participants did as well, there were other people reading who were probably looking for actual HR counts and things. Sorry, y'all! I'll do better next time. It was a little difficult with the blog full of comments that had to be approved and a living room full of 9 extra people and a dog! :D

2009 Home Run Derby is tonight!

Just like last year, I'll be live-blogging the 2009 State Farm Home Run Derby. A few friends have promised to come over, and I hope you'll join us via IM (see the Meebo box on the side of the blog). I'm looking into a few live-blog options that will work out better than y'all constantly refreshing the page, so we'll see what we come up with.

Who are you cheering for tonight? I've gotta pull for the big guy, Prince Fielder. I heart him a little... okay, a lot. :D (Could someone please explain to me how he can be a true vegetarian and maintain that body mass? I don't understand.)

I have to give a little shout-out to my friend Angella (the one who helped me count how many times Teix adjusted himself in a half-inning last year), who's on a mission in Korea and therefore won't be joining us. I heard Prince has his name tattooed on his neck in Korean, because he thought it looks cool. Nice!


This article tells the story of the tattoo and says the word is pronounced "wangja, with two long a’s". Hee hee.

Um, back to the actual topic, the Home Run Derby airs tonight at 8pm ET on ESPN. Hope to talk to you then!

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2009/hr_derby.jsp

It's been fun! Love you, bye...

Jeff Francoeur was very, very loved by Atlanta. His cheers at the Ted were only trumped by Chipper's, and everyone who met him thought he was a great guy. I met him the first time at a golf tournament in 2006. He was funny and friendly and everyone's best friend. When he came up to the hole I was monitoring, I passed along a joke that Baby had asked me to relay to him. (There was a roadster-looking golf cart at the hole, and if you got a hole-in-one, you won the little roadster. A few groups earlier, Baby jumped in the cart and said, "When Jeff comes around, tell him I said he couldn't fit in this. You know, Jeff Francoeur?" Haha, yes, I know who you're talking about.) When I passed the comment to Jeff, he was all fake-furious, "YOU tell Brian I'm surprised HE could squeeze in here!!" :D

I know I've made fun of Frenchy a little (regularly saying he runs like "a cross between Kermit the Frog and the Six-Million Dollar Man", to quote Phoebe), but I've cheered for him a lot too. Things I will miss: watching him flail his limbs while running, watching him throw people out at home, his celebrations with Baby, and his saucer-eyed stares. Things I won't miss: the incessant AJC coverage of his every move, angry anonymous Meebo messages from someone in his camp who regularly misunderstands me, and his lack of production.

That's really the bottom line, isn't it? Jeff wasn't performing to his potential, so the club moved him. They didn't give up on him too quickly, either...he was given plenty of time to make some changes, and it just wasn't working out. I don't think Ryan Church is an upgrade, but maybe both guys will flourish in a new environment. I just hope Frenchy can adjust to the new media attention. :/

Here are the two videos that aired in the pre-game show. The first is Frenchy's last interview, and the second is full of Braves' reactions.


Original Video - More videos at TinyPic


Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

Poor Baby. I'd hate to have my BFF traded away with no notice.

Good luck, Jeff. I'll still cheer for you! :)

CONFIRMED: Francoeur traded to the Mets

"Plus cash considerations" for Ryan Church.

Thanks for the call, Jo. I still can't believe it! Here's the article on mlb.com.


Bye, Jeff. I'll miss watching you run like a muppet. <3 (More to come this weekend...)

D-Lowe's wedding pictures from Project Wedding

Wedding Derek Lowe Pictures - Project Wedding

Comments about the way they got together aside, this is an absolutely GORGEOUS wedding. Stunning.


Thanks for the link, Jo!

Belly flop!

Google Good Times

We need to talk about something fun this afternoon, don't we! :)

People type all sorts of things into search engines, and people arrive at this blog after searching for all sorts of Braves-related (and not so Braves-related!) things. The following are from the last week (7/3 - 7/9):

Top 5 Searches

1. braves love
2. peter moylan mandy
3. braveslove
4. atlanta braves straight up
5. catie mccoy


Other ...interesting... searches

home depot tool race braves
- Rad. :D

http://es.tinypic.com/r/16adws1/5
- I don't know how this led to my blog, much less how it was searched for FIVE TIMES in the last week and still landed here, but EW GROSS, CHIPPER NEEDS TO WEAR MORE CLOTHES THAN THIS ALL THE TIME ALWAYS.

kris medlen girlfriend
- I heard she's cute!

charles kelley shirtless
- Have no idea who this is, but three searches led people here?

our katy temple
- Miss you, OKT! <3

braes lvoe
braves lov
braves love blg
braves lvoe
vraves love
- Did schools stop teaching spelling?

braves my little pony
- YEAH!

braveslove blogs lauren t.
- That's...specific and weird.

brian mccann balding
- Yeah he is! :D

lindstrom mariners mormon missionary
- This isn't a Marlins blog, but yes, Matt Lindstrom (the Marlins' closer) is LDS and took two years off to serve a mission in Sweden.

swickets
- I...don't know.

what are the girls who dance on the dugouts at braves games called
- The Tomahawk Team. (Don't call them cheerleaders!)

yunel escobar frosted tips
- Gross, huh?


There were a lot of other searches, mostly ones that involve a player's name and "gay" or "homosexual", but as far as I know, there aren't any Friends of Dorothy on the team. If there were, that would be totally cool. (There is a gay former Brave, who I personally saw holding hands with his boyfriend at a charity event a couple of years ago.) ;)

Something I think you should all see...

I rarely do this, but I think it's warranted this time...


The wife, or whoever it was, apparently left the blog while I was responding. I hope she sees my response here.

Scary hugs!

Baby seems happy, though. He reminds me of a puppy sometimes, you know? Everyone hugs and pats him all the time, and no one ever seems to tire of him. :D

Know Your Braves: Kris Medlen

Video Link

Best video in a while! I know I'm shorter than he is, but I totally want to pick him up and snuggle-hug him like a two-year-old with a baby doll. :D And we want to see him try to beat someone up!

(Have I mentioned lately that I love Huddy -- and Rossy's his sidekick now! AWESOME.)

The E! True Hollywood Story: Baseball Wives

I saw a commercial for this a couple of nights ago, and I'm looking forward to watching this episode. I really don't envy their position -- I know I'd have issues with millions of girls/women lusting after my theoretical husband on a daily basis -- and I can't imagine what a person goes through when she chooses this life. (Some say love chooses you, but if you don't want to marry a garbage man, you don't have to marry a garbage man.) ;)

Anyway, the wives fascinate me. We don't know if any Braves Wives will be featured, but any perspective from the wives' POV will be interesting. You can watch a quick preview here and the full episode Wednesday at 10pm ET on E! (check your local listings)

Campillo's shoulder surgery

Did anyone else know about this?

Carroll Rogers
July 4th, 2009
12:31 pm

Campillo had season-ending shoulder injury in late May/early June. James Andrews cleaned it out. He should be back next year.

I know Campy isn't exactly a headliner, but you'd think we would have heard about it sooner, and you'd think it wouldn't have been buried on page 25 of a blog's comments. :/

Thanks for the tip, sdp.