Smoltz: 'I'm coming back as a reliever'

Well how 'bout that. I was there for Smoltzie's 150th save and remember cheering loudly for Eli Marrero and Mark DeRosa that night, but cheering the loudest when Smoltz came bursting out of the 'pen. Looks like we'll get to see that again soon.

"I would have walked off the mound after the first inning if we hadn't been short on pitching," Smoltz said. "Even during those first four starts, I haven't been happy at all. I've been in a lot of pain. ... People say that I was lights out in those other starts. I was lights out for three innings and then gutted myself through the rest of those games."

Full article at MLB.com.

Also, in case you haven't heard, Hammy hurt his boob again. I'm not a pessimist, but I just can't imagine him pitching seven innings like JJ pitched this afternoon.

Adorable *and* Inspiring

That's our MattE, on the top in the green hat. SO Cute! And here's the article that goes along with the picture, about MattE and his brothers.

Sometimes I think MattE thinks he's playing football

Atlanta Braves' Matt Diaz, left, is tagged out at home by Washington Nationals catcher Johnny Estrada during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, April 29, 2008, in Washington. The Nationals won 6-3.
(AP Photo/Nick Wass)

April's not even over, and Smoltzie's on the DL. Again.

Yes, that's right...on the disabled list with biceps tendinitis. That's two trips to the DL this season, and we're not out of the first month of play yet.

Get well, Smoltzie. We need you. (No pressure, though. Take your time.)

Source.

Concerns

As April wraps up, I don't think we're where most Braves fans would like to see us. The current poll on the AJC Braves page asks, "What worries me more about the Braves is ...". The options are "Their sudden rash of injuries", "Their inability to win close games", and "The starting pitching".

I voted for option #1. The wins will fall in line when everyone's healthy, and I think our starting pitching will be a strength -- again, when everyone's healthy.

A Mets fan on a non-baseball forum I frequent said this yesterday, regarding his weekend: "(saw the Mets kick the Braves' butts all over Shea)". I responded as follows:

NOT fair. We are injured beyond belief right now. *sniff* In the past two weeks, it's looked like this:

• Tim Hudson, SP – flu
• John Smoltz, SP - trapezoid spasms
• Tom Glavine, SP - bleeding in hamstring
• Mike Hampton, SP - strained boob (fine, pectoral muscle)
• Jeff Bennett, SP/RP - flu
• Brian McCann, C - morbid obesity (only half-kidding, I love him, but he's a total fatty right now)
• Yunel Escobar, SS - hit by pitch, bloody fingernail, currently day-to-day
• Chipper Jones, 3B - back spasms
• Jeff Francoeur, RF – ankle
• Mark Kotsay, CF - stiff neck
• Rafael Soriano, RP (Closer) – elbow tendonitis
• Peter Moylan, RP - bone spur in pitching elbow, waiting to hear if he needs Tommy John

That's...almost everyone. Someone drank Jobu's rum, apparently. Give it back, whoever did it, and let's start winning again. :(

Necklaces

I've received a couple of IMs regarding the necklaces some of the Braves are wearing this year. While I don't know which name brand the guys are using, it's likely something like this:
The item description at Sports Authority for the Phiten-brand necklace reads "...features concentrated, micro-sized Titanium Spheres. Its sporty style and moisture-proof material makes it ideal for athletic activities or casual wear. It's recommended for improved blood circulation, fatigue reduction and relaxation."

You can get your own at most sporting goods stores. I have to agree with Joe and Boog, though -- I think this is an item that if you believe it makes you have more energy, you will have more energy. ;)

Baby Braves '05

L-R: Pete Orr!™, Langy, Frenchy, Baby, and Blaine.

The Sports Illustrated Vault is bringing up all sorts of goodies. :) This picture was taken in August 2005. Pete Orr!™ looks the same as always, Langy's pimpin', Frenchy's shirt looks dirty or wet or something, Baby's hand is under Frenchy's butt (I'm assuming), and Opie over there is lost in his own thoughts. Good times.

Sweet

I'm still not holding my breath.

1996 Smoltzie SI article!

"What I remember," he says, "is being on stages and getting trophies. And I remember all the people. I remember a hundred people watching me. I used to throw up before I played. By the time I was seven, I'd had it. I hated to practice. I told my parents, 'That's it. I don't want to play this thing any more.'"

"If you don't want to play the accordion," his mom asked him then, "what will you do when you grow up?"

Full article: Eye Opener

Thanks for bringing the to my attention, Chris!

Baby's first triple!

I was out of town last night and missed the game, so I love the people who wanted to preserve this moment for posterity. I have two videos here -- the first is a tiny bit clearer, but the second includes dugout hugs!




After Baby hugged Chipper and Chino, I was seriously concerned Frenchy wasn't going to hug him as well. But we got not only a hug, but what looks like...a near-kiss miss?! Ha ha, those boys... *shakes head*


Thanks to cyberlobster and Spunky!

SI.com: Brave Hearts

One of the sweetest articles ever was posted this week at SI.com about Brayan Peña and Yunel Escobar...their childhood friendship, their individual journeys to America, and how their "let's grow up to be Braves" dreams came true.

On this March night, the first of the 2008 major league season, they wore the same crisp Braves uniforms that had so mesmerized them as boys. Escobar, a budding star, was the starting shortstop and second batter, Peña a backup catcher to two-time All-Star Brian McCann. "If you wrote our story," Peña says, "no one would believe it."

Full story here -- enjoy!

4.23 Gonzo-Glav-Moylan Update

I am very grateful to Dave O'Brien of the AJC for giving us regular updates in his blog.

By David O'Brien
April 23, 2008 6:33 PM | Link to this

Bennett feels good enough to pitch, Cox said….

UPDATE ON GONZO: I asked Bobby if Gonzalez might be here as soon as mid-May, and he said yes, he hopes so. So now it’s gone from all-star break to early June to late May to mid-May.

He’ll pitch in extended spring games starting tomorrow and Saturday, and after that he might begin a rehab assignment….

GLAVINE threw a bullpen today, not just played catch as originally planned. Went fine….

Oh, and I just talked to SMOLTZ at 6:30 outside the clubhouse, and he said he feels good today.

Didn't see Gonzo or Glavine at all yesterday, but saw plenty of Smoltz!

By David O'Brien
April 23, 2008 8:56 PM | Link to this

Crack, I talked to Moylan this afternoon. He’ll stay back here and rehab while team’s on road. When they return, he’ll throw and see how it feels. But they’re not expecting miracles. I’ll be shocked it it’s not season-ending surgery.

He didn’t give a very encouraging or hopeful response when I asked how he feels. Sort of a shoulder-shrug sort of answer.

He wasn't mobilizing his elbow when fielding BP yesterday...meaning, he could bend his arm to rest his hand on his hip but when it came time to throw, he was doing it with a stiff, flat arm. That was his sidearm motion -- the rest were either underarm or overhead-into-the-ground motions.

3000

Here are my pictures and videos from last night... (As always, you can click to enlarge.)

I got there in time to see about 20 minutes of the Braves batting practice, which is always fun. Not many people were in the outfield for us -- it's usually just the relief pitchers and the occasional bench guy...and Kelly Johnson. At least, he's the only starter that seems to be out there every time I go. It was nice to see he still seems to be friendly with Pete Moylan.

Pete and KJ trade batting tips. Apparently Pete's batting lefty today.

A really squally girl a few sections over got their attention, briefly. Pete doesn't usually look up into the stands, but he did throw a few balls to a kid in the left field corner. Later on, Blaine Boyer pointed to a little girl in the CF seats with his glove and then tossed her the ball, and she was completely thrilled. That's what it's about, guys.

Brayan Pena didn't hang out with a crowd. He moved in to take some 3B practice not long after this shot.


Pete: "Yes, yes it is. IN PRISON!!"



Pete: "I'm bored with you now."



KJ: "FINE, see if I care. Blaine's going to come over and tell me about taking Andie to the prom, and how he's going to deal with Steff and that Duckie kid."



Pete: "Okay, that was funny. I'll come back and hang with you guys now."


Blaine's baseball in his back pocket almost makes me want to tag this as a GL post, but I won't. :)

PETE, STOP IT. STOP TRYING TO THROW. I'm not kidding, young man! Now, I understand he needs to test the arm. From what I saw, he wasn't putting anything behind the throws, just checking his motion. I was kinda far away, but I didn't see any winces or touching of the injured elbow.

See? Far away.

Backup catcher Corky Miller and former Braves catcher Johnny Estrada had a chat, probably about how they're glad Javy Lopez retired so at least one or two women will look at them. (Kidding, guys, love you both.) After the Braves ran in, a few of the Nats hung out in left-center, waiting for someone to hit a ball that way. Here are former Braves Ray King and Johnny Estrada.

BP was over and my friend still wasn't there, so I wandered the Clubhouse store for a minute, then went outside to watch The Heavy Hitters. They have a girl this year! YEAH! She's playing the cymbals, but still! (I played the bass and quads in high school -- drumline was awesome.) One of the quad guys, "Swirv", has a really nice smile.

While watching their performance, I noticed this:


Um, that's a blank wall. Weird.


Okay, time to go up to my real seats. I took a large number of pictures of Teix stretching, almost as many as I took of Moylan in BP and Baby with his helmet off in the dugout. Honestly, there wasn't much going on today. Aside from Smoltz, it was a pretty boring game.

So: Teix stretching. Here he is with MattE, who's having his pre-game prayer.


MattE's serious today.


Our seats. I love it up here. You can see everything fine (for the price), and it's cooler in the summer because the wind whips around.

The starting lineup of YOUR Atlanta Braves! They're still doing the butt-to-crotch-to-face swirl-up. Weird.



Smoltzie warming up!

I took pictures of the RF video wall as they kept count of Smoltzie's career strikeouts.

2996
2997
2999?!
Riiiight, 2998. Way to catch that typo, Video Person.

Smoltzie's 3000th career strikeout is being covered pretty well everywhere, and I don't have much to add that the professionals haven't already put out there, so here are a couple of videos from the stadium.





And speaking of videos, here's one of Yunel Escobar and his superstitious little pre-at-bat stuff. You can't always see it in this detail on TV, so check it out!



And...the rest of the game:

Pete hung out on the top step for the first half of the game or so.

Awww, injuries.

Teix is so cute. A little Buzz Lightyear, but cute.

Baby's picture is cute too. Here's another, closer shot.

McCann's Cans! They're cool guys. I wonder if they have season tickets up there.

It was a lovely night for baseball, even if we didn't win.

Smoltzie left the game with 3006 career strikeouts.

One good thing about sitting above the visitor's dugout is that you can see Braves Dugout Shenanigans, which I couldn't see from where I was. Here's McFrenchy joking around, though.

So sweaty!

I called these two "Ted & Jane" all night. They were a cute couple.


In the top of the 9th, Mark Teixeira adjusted "himself" 33 times. That's not a typo. THIRTY-THREE TIMES. I don't think he realizes how often he jiggles the junk. (My friend Angella was happy to help me count, and we're sure the guy beside Angella was laughing at us.)

Baby was really, really, REALLY upset with himself for not getting a rally going in the bottom of the 9th. A quote, from mlb.com:

"Very disappointing," Braves catcher Brian McCann said. "It was a special day and we didn't do our part."

It's okay, sweetie. I know you wanted to win it for your friend, but you can't do everything on this team.

We lost 6-0. On the way to my car, I cut through a parking lot littered with tons of these. Awesome. Only in the Dirty South, y'all.

All that said, I was not happy that the Game Day program didn't feature Smoltzie. Ohman is okay and all (he seems really funny), but they had 5 days from Smoltzie's last start to be 90% sure he would start last night AND hit 3000 strikeouts. Hmm.

Tomorrow night! Smoltz! 3000 Ks!

The 3000 strikeout club is one of the more elite groups in baseball. There are only 15 other men in the history of the game with over 3000 strikeouts, and Tuesday night's game will be an historic event.

I'll be there...will you? :)

More: http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/mlb/events/smoltz3000/index.jsp

2008 Braves Salaries

Wondering what your favorite Brave is earning this year? (Click to enlarge, if you need to...)




















Source

Numbers 2-6 are worth every penny, if you ask me.

Book Club: Facing Clemens

If you're like me, you probably read voraciously as a kid; now, you spend hours a week reading the internet and much less time reading print materials for fun. Since this blog is about baseball, and specifically our Braves, I thought I'd begin sharing some of the baseball books on my shelf. Let's begin with "Facing Clemens: Hitters on Confronting Baseball's Most Intimidating Pitcher".

I received a very kind email from Jonathan Mayo, the author of the book, and he thought you, dear reader, would be interested in the subject matter. In his own words:

It was written before the Mitchell Report came out, so it’s not about steroids and congressional hearings. Instead, it’s about what hitters had to do to try and hit off of the Rocket throughout his career. Think of it as a nice, pure baseball book from a “simpler” time. You can check out more information on the book at my site.

At any rate, the chapter I thought would be of interest to you – and your readers – is the one on Chipper Jones. It centers around the 1999 World Series, but also covers every time they’ve faced each other, starting with when Clemens was rehabbing for Pawtucket and Chipper was a young up-and-comer in Richmond.

There is also a link to his audio interview with Chipper on his website. Chipper shows off his ability to remember nearly every pitch of every at-bat. Some major leaguers have incredible memories and incredible focus on the game, and I think that's why Chipper has been so successful on the field for many years. Lackadaisical kids don't have the kind of career Chipper's had -- you can tell he's put his all into the game.

I picked up Jonathan's book in the bookstore and thumbed through it, getting more excited to read it with every hitter's name I saw: Dave Magadan, Julio Franco (Juuuuuulio!), Cal Ripken Jr., Ken Griffey Jr., Luis Gonzales (Gonzo!), Juan Pierre, Torii Hunter, and Chipper, of course, among others. There's even a chapter on Roger Clemens' son, Koby, where Koby tells the story of being brushed off the plate by Dad. (Not surprising, kiddo.)

So I started reading...just standing there in front of the baseball shelves of my local bookstore, I read the foreword by Clemens himself, the introduction, and started skimming a few of the chapters. I don't just *buy* random books, but this was definitely a keeper. Half an hour later, I was devouring it at home. I love hearing stories directly from the players' mouths, and this book delivers.

It's an excellent read. Pick up a copy today, and please post in the comments when you have an opinion to share. :)

PS -- Thanks to Jeff for telling me about this book a couple of weeks ago. Sorry I didn't listen to you then!

Matty's putting in some overtime in the cages

With Gregor Blanco starting the last couple of days, I was a little concerned that Bobby was ready to start platooning Matty again. Therefore, this little blog comment made me happy:

By David O'Brien
April 19, 2008 3:39 PM | Link to this
...
Diaz is working with Pendleton in the indoor batting cage after his regular B.P. the past couple of days. They’re working on getting him to use his hands more in his swing, and some other little adjustments, things he’s gotten away from doing.

I really don’t think it’s the start of a platoon, not yet. But we’ll see.

Pitcher injury updates: Glavine and Moylan

Moylan reports elbow feels better

"Even after one day [of treatment], it feels unbelievable," the Aussie right-hander said Friday, speaking to reporters for the first time since Andrews confirmed Wednesday the earlier diagnosis of a Braves doctor.

Moylan shagged balls in the outfield during batting practice Friday and said his arm felt so good he had to force himself to toss balls underhanded instead of testing it with his regular throwing motion.

"When I left Sunday I couldn't bend or straighten my arm," he said, demonstrating how he could do that Friday. "I'm not saying it's a miracle; the bone spur's still in there."

But, he said, "If it can heal itself, there's a chance we might be OK."

----------------------------------------

Glav's DL story from DOB's blog

Here’s the deal on the DL: When Glavine showed up today, Bubby (trainer Jeff Porter) saw bleeding in the hamstring above the knee, always a bad sign.

Doc Chandler examined him at 7 p.m. and told Glav he’d risk really making it a six-week or so injury if he pitched on it. But the Braves didn’t give him a choice anyway.

Cox explained to him that they couldn’t afford to keep him on the active roster with their pitching situation, waiting for him to get healthy. And he said it wouldn’t have been right to send down an outfielder or infielder in order to call up another pitcher and keep Glavine.

Glavine said he completely understood the situation. Said he felt like he let everybody down, that if he could have shot it up and pitched, he would. But can’t do that with a hamstring injury.

He’s pitched with ailments including a broken rib before, but never had leg problems.

Glavine goes on DL for first time

"He's a warrior; he was going to try it," manager Bobby Cox said. "We were the ones who stopped it."

And on a lighter note, here are some clubhouse goodies I forgot to share from earlier in the week:

A little levity: Bad as things have been with the losses and injuries on this Bataan Death March of a road trip, it’s important to have a little levity injected into the clubhouse from time to time.

Bullpen coach Eddie Perez provided some yesterday, walking around with a Braves hooded sweatshirt that he’d doctored a bit. It was a postseason sweatshirt from a few years ago, with “MLB postseason” above the Braves logo.

Eddie took two pieces of athletic tape, covered the year before “MLB postseason” on one side and something else I couldn’t read on the other. And on the left (if you’re facing him) piece of tape he wrote “1999” on the right he wrote “MVP.”

Perez, you might recall, was MVP of the 1999 NLCS against the Mets, when he went 10-for-20 with two homers and five RBI.

More humor: On a daily basis, you see snapshots of cultural bonding in a clubhouse. Take Tuesday afternoon, for instance. The big screen TV in the back corner of the visitor’s clubhouse. Jair Jurrjens and Mark Teixeira sunk comfortably into leather furniture watching a DVD of Dazed and Confused.

MLB.com: Moylan's treatment going well

I'm cautiously optimistic...

...but he knew something was wrong the next morning.

"I woke up the next day and I just couldn't straighten my arm," Moylan said prior to the Braves' Friday night game with the Dodgers. "I couldn't bend my arm. I couldn't tie my tie, I couldn't comb my hair, I couldn't brush my teeth. It was tough."

While he knew something was wrong, he didn't know how much was wrong until the next day, when he flew back to Atlanta and met with the Braves' medical staff.

"Once I saw their faces and I saw their reactions I thought this could be trouble," Moylan said.

Then came the visit to Dr. Andrews, which didn't do anything for his state of mental health.

"When you walk into his office and you see all the posters and the signed memorabilia that says, 'Thanks for the reconstruction,' you start thinking, 'Holy cow, what's going on?'" Moylan said with a smile. "But he's had his opinion and it's the same as the Braves' medical staff thought -- there's a spur in there but, hopefully, we can treat it in the next couple of days and see how it feels after that.

"It's lot of stretching, a lot of exercising with bands," Moylan added. "The problem that I had was the range of motion with my elbow had gone. So it was all about getting the range of motion back, straightening my arm, bending my arm. It's just keeping my arm straight with weights at the end of it."

The combination of treatment and rest has made a noticeable difference.

"From Sunday to now, the difference is night and day," he said. "I feel like a completely new man. They're optimistic that with treatment, within the next seven to 10 days, that I can maybe play catch and see how it feels but I'll just have to wait and see."

Full article here.

In other injury news, it was just announced that Tom Glavine will go on the disabled list for the first time in his 22-year career. *sigh* More on that when we have an article to link...

10:15pm in-game update. Moylan's sitting beside Chipper on the bench, beard is growing out quite a bit. I never, ever, ever wanted to see Pete put a plug inside his lip. Ew. (barfy face)

Scary Moylan update: Bone spur "compromised" the ulnar collateral ligament

By David O'Brien
April 17, 2008 3:43 PM | Link to this

The press release from Braves: Atlanta Braves right-handed pitcher Peter Moylan was examined by Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala., yesterday. Dr. Andrews confirmed the diagnosis made by Braves team physicians in Atlanta, which found that the ulna collateral ligament in Moylan’s right elbow has been compromised by a bone spur. Moylan, who presently has some swelling and limited range of motion, will continue treatment to rehab his elbow over the next two weeks. He will then be re-evaluated, with UCL reconstruction an option at that time.

OK, I’M GOING DOWN TO CLUBHOUSE TO TALK TO FOLKS

By David O'Brien
April 17, 2008 3:53 PM | Link to this

For those trying to read between the lines, it does sound like reconstructive surgery will be necessary, more likely than not certainly.

Just got off the phone with Frank Wren, who gave me this:

“We’re diisppointed, for both Peter and our club,” the GM said. “Because he was an important part of our bullpen. We hope that the rehab in two weeks will improve his chances of returning this year, but understand that they may not be possible.”

I asked him if Braves have the relievers to pick up the slack and fill in or if they’ll look to make a trade, and he said:

“I think we do have depth in our bullpen, but we’re continually looking to improve that area.”

Folks, it’s just not easy to replace a guy like Moylan, especially not this early in a seaeson. Teams aren’t looking to move top-flight relieivers like him.

“Lot of innings, and tough to replace a guy like that,” Wren said. “You don’t worry about matchups, because he does well against righies and lefties. Valuable guy to a team.”

By David O'Brien

April 17, 2008 4:06 PM | Link to this

By DAVID O’BRIEN dobrien@ajc.com

Miami _ Braves reliever Peter Moylan might require reconstructive elbow surgery, but will wait two weeks to determine if that season-ending procedure is necessary.

The Braves’ top setup man was examined Wednesday, who confirmed the diagnosis made earlier by Braves doctors: Moylan has a bone spur pressing against the ulnar collateral ligament, which has “compromised” the UCL.

He will continue treatment for two weeks before he’s reevaluated to determine if UCL reconstruction is necessary.

We’re disappointed, for both Peter and our club,” general manager Frank Wren said. “Because he was an important part of our bullpen.

“We hope that the rehab in two weeks will improve his chances of returning this year, but understand that they may not be possible.”

Wren was asked if the Braves have other relievers to pick up the slack and fill in, or if they’ll look to make a trade.

“I think we do have depth in our bullpen, but we’re continually looking to improve that area,” he said.

The difficulty in adding a top-flight reliever is that few, if any, teams are interested in moving such pitchers at this early point in a season. Especially not ones who do what Moylan did.

The sidearming Aussie gave up three runs in his first appearance of 2007. Since then he’s posted a 1.51 ERA in 86 appearances, and last season he ranked third in the NL with 90 relief innings.

“Lot of innings, and tough to replace a guy like that,” Wren said of the Braves’ top setup man “You don’t worry about matchups, because he does well against righies and lefties. Valuable guy to a team.”

MLB.com article:

While Moylan might have a small tear in his ulnar collateral ligament, Andrews wants to wait at least 15 days before re-evaluating the reliever's right elbow. At that point in time, there's a chance the Tommy John surgical procedure will be prescribed.

"Compromised" probably means "torn", but they're hesitant to say something like that because they know it'll upset people like me. ;)

We'll pray for you, Pete.

Awaiting news on Moylan

I've been (figuratively) holding my breath all day. You know the saying, "No news is good news"? Let's hope that's the case when it comes to Pete's visit with Dr. Andrews yesterday...but considering they didn't give us an update during the game last night and no update today, it doesn't look "good".

By David O'Brien
April 17, 2008 2:13 PM | Link to this
...
No word yet on Moylan, but that should come soon as clubhouse is open at 3:30 or slightly before, depending when Braves release the news. Moylan hasn’t responded to a couple of e-mails, Braves PR people say they have no update yet.

More updates as soon as we hear something...

Please grow your hair back out, Matty

This is not the most attractive look for you. Maybe you were trying to change your luck?

More Fun with Google

The Braves are completely depressing me right now, so I thought I'd pop a post up about some fun things that y'all don't necessarily get to see. About six months ago, I put up a post with some of Google's top searches that led people to Braves Love, so I thought I'd update you on some of the more interesting searches and questions that brought people here...

Just like before, bold words are the actual phrases typed into Google that clicked through to Braves Love.

Top 10!

1. braves love
2. jeff francoeur wedding
3. jeff francoeur catie mccoy
4. brian mccann wedding
5. ashley jarusinski
6. brian mccann married
7. "sherry mccann" howie
8. francoeur wedding
9. brian mccann wedding photos
10. peter moylan

And the good stuff...

False statements

"javy lopez" duluth, ga
- Javy lives in Suwanee, GA, last we heard.

brian mccann tattoo
- As far as we know, Baby is tattoo-free.

jeff francouer tobacco
- I have never seen Frenchy using tobacco.

pete moylan divorces wife
- Pete and Tracey are still married, as far as the media has told us.

vote platoon diaz & brandon jones
- No! Don't!!


"Fat"

andruw jones + fat + pictures
chipper jones getting fat
francoeur fat
javy lopez getting fat
jeff francoeur fat


Looking for information...

"chaplain""atlanta braves"
- I have searched for this several times and cannot find an answer. I know they have one; Frenchy, Matty, and Teix have all mentioned him in interviews.

"braves" new outfield wall
- I took four pictures on opening day. See here.

adam diaz baseball players cell-phone number
- I don't know who Adam Diaz is; regardless, I would never post a player's cell phone number. Very rude.

age of matty diaz
- 30 as of 03/03/08

baby pictures of willie harris
- I really wish I knew where to see these! I'll bet he was adorable.

chipper's at bat song 2008
- "Let's Go", formerly "Crazy Train"

mark teixeira and his wife
- Mrs. Teix is *very* cute! Her name is Leigh, and here's a picture. (She's in the black dress.)

massage therapist for atlanta braves
- If you hear about any job openings, give me a shout, will ya? Don't get me wrong, I love my current job...but this would be a dream come true. I can't find any information that indicates the Braves have a LMT on staff like other clubs do.

propose on the jumbo tron at turner field
- I would say yes. ;)

So many searches about Kelly Johnson, and there's so little info out there.
- Agreed. I know he's not media-whorish like another teammate of his, but there's just not that much available on KJ. :(

tom glavines carrot cake
- I really want to know more about this. Does he have a special recipe?


And flat-out asking questions...

did jeff francoeur live with his fiance
- I've actually looked this up in the past and never found anything that indicates he did.

does anybody have pictures of yunel escobar wife?
Yunie's divorced now. :(

does jeff francoeur have any tattoos?
- Not that we know of.

does jeff love catie
- Bold question! I'm going with "yes".

how can you pick up peachtree tv
what channel is peachtree tv on local networks
- More info on PTV here.

how much to rent a suite at an atlanta braves game
- $2040 to $6000 per game. More info here.

how tall is jerome jurenovich
- I've received reports that he's in the 6'3" to 6'4" range.

how to get braves game day autographs
- Gondeee has written up a great guide to Turner Field that includes that information.

how to meet famous people+jeff francoeur
- I'd suggest pre-game autographs (see above), spring training, or charity events where you know he'll be in attendance. I would NOT suggest tracking down his house, his gas station, or his barber shop.

what are golden moon casino level seats at turner field
is golden moon casino a good idea in mlb
- I'm not a fan of gambling, but money talks. Lexus' lease on the luxury level was up and the Golden Moon swooped on in.

is jeff francoeur gay?
is jeff francoeur married?
- As we've covered many times, Jeff is married to the former Catie McCoy.

is mark teixeira a christian?
- Yes.

is matt diaz married braves
- Yes.

is ron gant married?
- Yes.

is there a picture of bobby cox wife-pam
- I've seen her in person several times, but can't seem to find a picture through the traditional searches.

john smoltz is getting married?
- Haven't heard anything about this.

tell me when jeff francoeur married his fiancee in 2007?
- FINE. ;) November 3.

what does beach mean on the atlanta braves uniforms
- "Beach" is the nickname of former Braves player and coach Jim Beauchamp, who died of leukemia last Christmas. The players are wearing the "Beach" patch in his honor for the 2008 season.

what percent of aussies marry their high school sweethearts
- Any of my Aussie readers want to take a stab at this one?

who is dob braves
- The initials "DOB" are short for "David O'Brien", one of the Braves beat writers at the Atlanta Journal-Consititution. He's usually good for a behind-the-scenes story or two. :)

why call mccann heap?
- A nickname given by his minor-league teammates, we've heard it comes from several sources. One, he can sleep anywhere, anytime, two, he's...not the neatest boy, and three, he eats "heaps" of food.

will matt diaz get a contract
will matt diaz start next year in atlanta
- Let's hope so. I'd love to see him here for as long as he'd like to play.


Some of the more weird searches that led people here...

"brian mccann" " married" "ashley"
"matt diaz" defense -lawyer
anusual love stoory
athletic uniform malfunctions
atlanta braves jaw pictures
birth day massage to love one
braves a face tattoos
cute pictures of brian mccann
cute pictures of brian mccann!!
dentist peter moylan
how to taxidermy kangaroo
inside lining of mouth
jeff francoeur with a beard
lauren loves matt more
love is a game to start playing the game
one month one star i love the one we are
tattoo i love lauren
uncontrollable syndrome


Finally...

far as i'm concerned; love it

Thanks! I love you too!

The cameras are always rolling

Lesson of the day, kids...



(I don't have any fancy-dancy recording equipment, sorry. I just thought y'all might like to see that clip.)

Pete Moylan on the DL! Noooooo!

Moylan felt some discomfort in his elbow while throwing a pitch in the ninth inning of Friday night's win over the Nationals. The Australian right-hander went to Atlanta for an MRI exam on Monday. Results haven't been released.

Source: Official Braves Website

Article #2, AJC

Get well soon, Pete. Hope everything is okay. :(

What is up with all the Braves injuries? There has to be a stop to this. No one's allowed in a car, no one's allowed to use a chef's knife, and no one's allowed to throw a pitch, y'all understand? We can't take any more risks. ;)

Get well, Tommy!

As Glavine walked through the clubhouse after Sunday's game, he said there was minimal pain. In order to feel the strain, he indicated that he had to stretch the leg longer than normal.

"I don't know what the heck that it was," Glavine said. "But it was different, and it grabbed. Like I said, hopefully it's not something that's going to get any worse and cost me too much time.

"It doesn't hurt. I can feel the grab and tightness. But it's not like it's a lot of pain or anything."

Source

My boy's never been on the disabled list, and it would be wonderful if he could retire with that record intact. But the most important thing is for the hammy to heal, and if he needs to take a little time off, so be it. *sigh*

I hope he has a good massage therapist. I'm nationally certified and have worked with professional athletes before (AHL hockey), and there are specific techniques used to speed up recovery so they can get back out there as soon as possible.

Good luck, Tom. Let's hope this was just a freak accident and not a long-term concern.


4pm 4.14.08 update:

"It's OK," Glavine wrote in a text message. "No worse. Just trying to move it around as much as I can."

...

Glavine is still moving forward with the idea that he won't miss his next scheduled start next Friday or Saturday against the Dodgers.

"In my mind," he said. "But I've never been through this before, and I'm a little stubborn."

Source

The Braves Play Here - Commercials

For those of you outside the Atlanta area, these are the commercials that are advertising the Braves games on Peachtree TV. I've seen the first far more often than the second, but they're both well-done.

The first song's artist is James Otto:




And here's a more urban take on the same theme, this one by Vawn, featuring Scar:



Sadly, neither of these commercials are the Brian McCann / white slacks "tv appearance" we heard about in Spring Training. Still haven't seen that, and I'm starting to wonder if it exists...

Pete Moylan radio interview 11-30-07

Take a listen to this wonderful interview with Peter Moylan from last winter, via Australia's 88.3 Southern FM radio. Around 35 minutes into the podcast, Pete talks about the birth of his new baby, working with Roger McDowell and John Smoltz, reshaping his goattee (now it's a "flavor saver"), and how he doesn't particularly care for "Down Under" being his running-to-the-mound song. Well, that's understandable.

Pete also mentioned that he wishes they had a glove or t-shirt day at Turner Field in his honor. Dude, don't we all! If they sold Moylan shirts, you know I'd own the first one I saw. The Braves are totally missing out -- they don't sell Diaz shirts, either, and that kinda pisses me off.


Thanks so much to Mark Missen for the tip on the podcast! If you'd like to hear more Aussie sports podcasts, check out 88.3 Southern FM's website.

Yunel Escobar: Impressive

Sporting News is expecting Yunie to have a breakout year. We all knew that already, so I suppose all I can say is, "nice bat".

I Heart Brian McCann's Hair

I don't know why, but his hair makes me so happy. Sometimes it looks like golden cotton candy, and sometimes it's all five-year-old-just-out-of-the-bathtub hair. Fantastic.

WASHINGTON - APRIL 12: Brian McCann #16 of the Atlanta Braves signs autographs before the game against the Washington Nationals April 12, 2008 at Nationals Park in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

GL: Purple Nurple!

Okay, so it's not really a GL post. I know it's mostly middle school boys who give each other titty twisters, but...Chipper just looks really excitable here. :)

Happy Birthday, Mark Teixeira!

Best wishes for a wonderful 28th! :x

"Big" thanks to Jo for the picture. :)

Snowed out in Denver!

I'm so glad we're back on the east coast today. The pollen counts might be astronomical, but we don't have to worry about Huddy pitching at Coors! Here are a few interesting things from yesterday...

By David O'Brien
April 10, 2008 2:02 PM | Link to this

Right now I’m watching Tim Hudson take camera-phone photos of Matt Diaz and Blaine Boyer making snowballs in front of the dugout.

And in left field, Jeff Bennett has constructed a snowman.

Diaz and Boyer started to roll ever-growing snowballs toward him to help out with new layers of the snowman, but they stopped halfway up the thrid-base line when things got messy.

The field is covered in snow.

By David O'Brien
April 10, 2008 2:18 PM | Link to this

Now Acosta and Soriano are out behind home plate taking camera-phone photos of each other with the stadium background.

They’re dressed smarter than the previously mentioned fellas. Acosta and Soriano have on their game pants, heavy warmup jackets and stocking caps. Diaz was out there in shorts and a T-shirt.

It’s COLD folks, about 32 with the wind blowing. And still snowing, though not hard like before.

By the way, Braves are still here because they’re waiting for their plane to get here from Salt Lake City. Wasn’t supposed to arrive until about 5, but they got it moved up. They’ll be here another couple hours probably, then head to airport.

Cute!

Also cute? The boys trying to stay warm in the pics after the jump...




Moylan on the left, Jurrjens on the right, and who's that in the center? Acosta?

First photo, AP. Last two photos by Karl Gehring, Denver Post. Thanks again to sdp for pointing out the DOB goodies.

ESPN on Schafer's HGH allegation

Sources: Braves' banned prospect didn't test positive for HGH

Two sources said Wednesday that Jordan, regarded as Atlanta's future center fielder, received the growth hormone from someone close to him but outside the organization, and that a player who had previously violated MLB's anti-doping policy informed baseball officials that Schafer was using the all-but-undetectable drug.

All I want to know is... who ratted him out?


Thanks to sdp for the tip on the article.

The 2008 Braves as you've (maybe) never seen them before!

Ah, Baby Braves. I was pointing a friend to Jenny's fun "Clubhouse Yeah!" story from Smoltzie's birthday last spring, and thought y'all might like to see a few more of the rookie cards that have been added to the collection...


I'm going to be a good girl and not make a comment about anything below the belt. I'll just say that he was pretty buff even as a rookie, and I love his pinchable cheeks. (ON HIS FACE.)



Omar Infante must have been a rookie in 1954, because that's when it appears this picture was taken.



Yunie's hat and chinneck seem Photoshopped. I almost called him Fred Flinstone, but that would have been mean.



Kelly A. Johnson. At what point does a person's signature go from high-school-legible to a grown-up scribble?



Kots looks like he's testing out his "Oops, I crapped my pants".



I can't say anything snarky about Matt E. Diaz. He's too awesome.



Josh Anderson, my #1 choice for next year's CF slot.



Mustache To The Rescue!!



Tom Glavine was so cute. He's still handsome in his own way, but my little second-grader heart loved him soooooo much back then.



The baby turquoise polo shirt almost makes you forget how fragile he is underneath. Or, reminds you how fragile he is. You choose. ;)


Thanks to HomeRunCards.com for the pics!

Jordan, Jordan, Jordan...

"Braves prospect Schafer suspended", the headline reads. For what, you ask?

Major League Baseball announced late Tuesday afternoon that Schafer has been suspended 50 games for using human growth hormone, a performance-enhancing substance that is in direct violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

"We are extremely disappointed that Jordan has violated the Commissioner's Performance Enhancing Drug Policy," Braves general manager Frank Wren said in a prepared statement. "We are supportive of the program and will continue to educate all of our players. Earlier today Jordan asked to speak to his teammates to apologize for the mistakes he has made and for letting the organization and his team down. During his suspension, we will continue to support and counsel Jordan."

When asked to provide further details, Wren said he wouldn't provide any additional information.

To quote Goose, "This is not good." I don't understand why any ballplayer would still try to take something that is blatantly against the rules -- risking their health, their good standing with their club, and possibly their career. *sigh*

Frenchy's Coming Up To Bat Song

I should preface this post by saying I don't listen to country music often -- one station is on my second-tier presets in the car, but I don't own any country CDs and couldn't differentiate between any two artists.

So on Monday night, I didn't understand why my friend Jen got a little inflamed at Jeff Francoeur's song choice. He comes to bat to the song "Watching Airplanes" by Gary Allen.

Her thoughts:

Why is it that Frenchy's "inspirational" song is some country song about a guy watching airplanes, wondering which one his ex-lover is on? That, to me, is not very inspirational; rather, it's depressing. Is he trying to tell us all something?

I mean, if you are going to choose a song, make it fun and upbeat. If you aren't sure what you are looking for, try the U2 song, "I still haven't found what I'm looking for".

This [song choice] could mean several things: (1) "I haven't found that fast pitch ball thrown right over the plate for a home run yet," (2) "I haven't found my footing to throw the ball to home plate to get the base runner out," or (3) "I still haven't found what I am looking for in a life-long partner." Sure, this too is depressing, but at least you are looking for something obtainable. Please, Frenchy, change your song to something the fans can get excited about!

Interesting points. ;) Thanks, Jen! (And thanks to Holly for helping me identify the song!)

Everyone Loves Mark Teixeira

I'd hold Teix close to my heart too, Baby. And Chipper, puckering up in the background!

After yesterday's game, I'm wondering why Teix took off toward third to celebrate with Chipper after making the final out of the game. It looked a little strange to me, is all. Before I get worked up about Chipper again, I'll switch to mention Braves Live. This show airs on SportSouth and FSN before and after the games, and they usually have awesome interviews with the players.

During Chipper's post-game interview we saw Chino walk across the background in a too-small towel.

Now, please explain to me why the cameras can accidentally snag a nude Chino and not a towel-clad...well...nearly anyone else in that clubhouse? ;)

Francoeur, fiancee share barbs, spread cheer

But mostly barbs, in this article from 2006. It's awesome, though. You can tell it's all said in good humor.

Catie: I threatened him: If he proposed to me on one of those giant sports video boards, I would kill him. So the Fox Theatre (Sept. 10, "Beauty and the Beast") was pretty good. Most people don't know this, but when we were high school seniors, we went to see "Annie" there, and that was the first time he said he loved me.

Sweet. Read the rest! It's full of gems about the ring, the dogs, how they met, etc.

Angry Baby!

Aside from KJ's pinch hit grand slam yesterday (go Kelly!), this was my very favorite part of the whole game: the return of Angry Baby!



I suck at reading lips, so I didn't try too hard to see what he's saying to Bobby. Something about passing the runner? And to prove how much club management trusts Brian McCann, Bobby Cox turned right around and went back to argue that Pagan (on second) shouldn't have passed Church (on third) on the basepath. Pagan should have been out, but the umps never saw the pass occur. In the end, we still won, but this succession of calls represented a major screw-up.

I also love that he needs a beach towel to dry his poor hair off. That was the worst part about catching for me, when I played -- the equipment is so hot! I don't blame him for wearing a hat as little as possible.

Back to KJ's grand slam for a second, I love that Chipper didn't high-five him -- he just wrapped him up in a big ol' hug. :)

Jeff Francoeur's 2007 Gold Glove

Congrats, Frenchy! Here's hopes for many more.

Thanks to sdp for the tip on the pic! He's looking a bit chipmunky, but maybe that's because I just finished watching "Enchanted". (I understood the irony, but that was a terrible, terrible movie.) Also, the wonky eye is out in full-force. Poor guy; I know he can't help it.

Here's another pic, with GM Frank Wren.

I think you're okay, Matty.

Another story I forgot to post earlier...this is from DOB's AJC blog nearly two weeks ago.

Diaz says to me, “I come in today and notice I’m not in any of the BP groups and I’m not on the extras list. So all of a sudden I was having flashbacks to the last six years of getting sent down at the end of camp. Or the last two years of worrying about being sent down. People said I was crazy to worry last year, but I still did….”

“I still can’t believe I actually get days off in spring training now” (he was off Sunday, which is why he wasn’t on the lists).

“Yesterday our meal money was up; you can kind of count the days and know when meal money is up and have a good idea when cuts are going to be made. I saw Bobby come out of his office and I instinctively went the other way.”

He’s kind of smiling and chuckling as he says this stuff, knowing how paranoid he sounds, but also knowing how it’s a product of all those years of being the odd man out.

And he doesn’t think the paranoia is such a bad thing anyway:

“It keeps me on my toes, keeps me working hard.”

Matt Diaz is definitely one of my favorite 2008 Braves, and every time I hear a story about how hard-working he is, or how much he loves his family, or what an upstanding Christian he is, I like him even more. I really wish the organization would go ahead and give him a long-term contract, but sadly, I can't make that call.

We're cheering for you, Matty!

By the way, have you ever seen his autograph?

Without the clear E and D, I might not have recognized the name. Hmm.

Glavine would trade it all for the Cup...

Check out this excellent interview with Tom Glavine at Face Off Circle.

Q: The pro-athlete fraternity is pretty small. What NHL players do you consider friends?

A: Gosh, they’re all retired. I don’t know if I have any friends anymore. I have played a handful of rounds of golf with Wayne Gretzky.

Q: Did you beat him?

A: Of course!

McCann, Francoeur taking the lead

'Baby Braves' Brian McCann and Jeff Francoeur are emerging as two of the top players on the roster

This is a sweet little article from macon.com about two of our favorite Braves. I especially enjoyed this quote:

"They're like Heckle and Jeckle, the cartoon characters," hitting coach Terry Pendleton said. "They're always on each other, first of all. But it's all in love."

Awww.

More fun with the Page-A-Day Calendar

I made some corrections here:

Rain Out! :(

Well, I tried, gang. The Braves vs. Mets game was rained out. You can see a few pictures of the rainy stadium here: One - Two - Three - Four

To pass the time between arriving and waiting to see if the rain would lighten up, I went to the Braves Hall of Fame & Museum. I've been several times before, and I convinced the token guy to give me a free hat if I bought a token to go in. ;) There are a few pics after the jump...There's a semi-lifesized Tom Glavine cutout in a reconstructed dugout. I sat on the bench, like I always do.
Braves of the World! You may recognize a few of them.

Full Album of pics here. Check out Bobby's baseball card. He wasn't too bad looking when he was younger!