2009 Braves Team Photo!

I had a small freak out at work today, Lovvies. I arrived at the client's office this morning after a 3-day weekend, and there was a 2009 Braves Team Photo on my desk! It's wrapped in a plastic protector with a 2010 schedule inside, and sealed with a BELIEVE sticker. My brain went a little crazy...did some crazy internet stalker find my desk at a company where I'm not even employed? Is there anthrax inside? I didn't even know regular people could get copies of this photo!

Well, turns out it was a gift from one of my very favorite co-workers. He's a season ticket holder -- I guess he didn't have much use for the team photo and thought I'd like it, and I do!! Thanks so much CNC! :) :)

Full-res team photo

Back of packet

Enjoy, y'all!

McCann wins his third Silver Slugger!

Article from MLB.com

To quote an anonymous blog reader through Meebo, "Congratulations to Mr. Brian McCann: 3 times Silver Slugger Award Winner, and 2 years in a row! :-)"

Thoughts on the World Series

1. My dad is very happy the Yankees won. He's a Mantle fan from back in the day, and he likes Derek Jeter more than any player in MLB today.

2. Cliff Lee and Chase Utley are awesome.

3. I didn't expect Ryan Howard to strike out 13 times. I didn't think he'd do well against Yankee pitching, but I didn't expect him to perform so poorly either.

4. I didn't expect to see A-Rod crying on the field after the win. What an emotional 2009 he's had.

5. I'm very glad the Phillies didn't win out this year. Two straight years of WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS would have been difficult to swallow. (TWSS.)

6. Glad for Joe Girardi -- I always liked him. (Can't believe he got pie-d!)

7. Glad for Andy Pettitte and his record-setting.

8. A replay of Boog interviewing A-Rod on the field was on Sports Center this morning. Boog asked some insightful questions, and A-Rod kinda blew him off. Poor Boog.

9. I wasn't really cheering for either team; I was just hoping for a good competition. I feel like we got one, and I'm looking forward to Valentine's Day now!

10. A friend of mine works for the Yankees part-time -- I'll see if I can "interview" her about her experiences this post-season. :)


Please share your thoughts in the comments!

No Matt Diaz Interview

The recording was somehow corrupted and I couldn't find a way to get the audio / video to sync. Then my DVD-recorder thought the disc needed to be formatted, and it wouldn't let me continue, stop, exit, shut down, etc. until I formatted the disc, so the messed-up interview is gone forever. I'm sorry. I don't know what happened. Best of luck finding it elsewhere.

Game Day Pictures: Braves vs. Nationals 10-1-09

Last game of the season for me, and my sixth loss in a row. We were very concerned there wasn't going to be anyone there, considering how empty it was when we arrived. B is a sad face.


Seriously, the only time I've seen the stadium this empty is at Fan Fest, and even then, this might have been emptier. Oh well, let's look at some pictures! Full album here.

BP

- Brooks Conrad

- Booooone

- Yunie

- Baby

- JJ (heart)

- MattE 1 ~ 2

- Omar

I was wearing the #23 Matt Diaz shirt I bought on the street at the last game I attended, and Lizziebeth and B and I headed over to right field as soon as we were allowed. The plan was for B to hoot at MattE so he could see my shirt, and then maybe throw us a ball? It was empty enough that we could hear conversations on the field, so theoretically, it wouldn't take much yelling for someone to hear us. However, B was on the phone and completely forgot the reason we went over there, and by the time he hung up, the Braves were running to the dugout. Totally missed our opportunity. Sad face #2.

As an apology, B bought me a ginger ale in the 755 Club (not a baseball! but I still love ya, man), and we watched the end of the Brewers / Rockies game during Nationals BP. I always love watching the Brewers. :)

While walking around the club level, I spotted a $20 bill on the floor. After looking around for a few seconds to see if anyone around was looking for it, B picked it up and we took it to guest services. They told us that if no one claimed it by the end of the 7th, we could come back and pick it up. Awesome.

OK, to the seats!


Thanks for the tickets, B's co-worker's husband! I really like B's co-worker and her husband -- they're great to hang out with.

- Here are the Braves Live guys, preparing for the show: 1 ~ 2 ~ 3

- Yay, another MattE fan!

- Hanson stretching

- Lineups!

- Brooks did the closest to the pin contest (and came in second place, again)

- Willie Harris' big screen pic

- Pete Orr's big screen pic

- More Pete Orr ;)

- Garret Anderson singled in the second for his 2500th career hit! Wow. 1 ~ 2 ~ 3

- Hanson's intro video, for Jenna:



- Mystery Brave (you can hear B and I "discussing" who it isn't)



- I was out getting a pretzel when the Tool Race started, so B was kind enough to record it for me! Thanks, B!



At the top of the 9th, we realized we might have $20 waiting, so we headed back up to the club level. On the way there, in our concourse, I saw this HUGE GUY walking towards us. Almost too late, as we passed, I threw up a wave and said, "Hi Jerome!" all casual like. He replied with a very friendly "hi" -- I think he thought we knew each other. :D That was fun. The $20 was still there at guest services, so we're each $10 richer!

Braves lost 2-1. :(

This was the best part of the "images of the game" on TV that night...



Happy off-season, everyone!

"Braves clean out lockers"

Sadly, this is the only picture of a Brave with his locker...


He looks so sad and old and tired, doesn't he?

Full album here; thanks for the tip, Amanda. :)

Hearts: 2009 Year-End Edition

Last time we played "hearts", it stirred up quite a bit of conversation! (Here's my chart and my roommate's chart.) I think it's time to play again, this time with the year-end menu:


Click to enlarge, and feel free to post a link to yours in the comments. You can upload pictures free at a ton of sites, including Tinypic. Here's my final list:


As you can see, I don't have Photoshop. ;) Also, I have four levels: Infinity Heart, Heart, Nothing, and Chipper. Nothing doesn't mean "dislike" - it just means "nothing". *shrug* I'm excited to see what you have in mind!


PS -- The messages left over the weekend on Meebo tell me some of you are very impatient for the MattE interview I promised last week. For some reason, on my recording the audio and video aren't synced up. I'm trying to fix it, but until then, good grief CALM DOWN. I'm not even supposed to put it up at all! ;)

Coming up...

Hi Lovvies,

My home laptop died weekend-before-last. I bought a new-to-me one (refurbished) but as turns out, it wasn't refurbished well enough. (Blue screens: I hate you.) I have a new-new laptop now, but I'm still loading programs and still don't have anti-virus yet, so things may be slow this weekend. However! Here's what you can expect to see soon!

- The post-game interview with Matt Diaz from last night's game (very emotional)

- Pictures from tonight's game (Go Jenna's boyfriend!)

- More random goodies!

I'll get things going as soon as possible, but there's only so much I can do right now. Let's win out, Braves!!

BELIEVE Video

They just aired the short version of this on Braves Live -- please enjoy the long version! :)




GO BRAVES!!!

BELIEVE

In case you haven't see it yet, you can download your own "Believe" signs at http://www.braves.com/believe ! If my home laptop was working, I would have driven to work with a sign in the back window of my car. Trust me, it'll be there on the way home. :)

Win streak: 7 Let's go get 'em, Braves!

More 2009 Braves Rookie Hazing pictures

All these are from Lizziebeth -- thank you SO much for braving the weather and sending over such great shots! :) Click to enlarge!

Reid Gorecki

A drool-worthy Brooks Conrad (lucky Mrs. Conrad, right?)

Tommy Hanson and Kris Medlen. How can you not love these two? :)

Kenshin Kawakami, then KK and interpreter Daichi Takasue (behind McLouth)

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Lizziebeth also took some great shots of other boys -- let's take a look.

Lizziebeth said Baby was "sighing". I agree with CABravesFan -- he looks like he needs a hug.

"GQ MattE" indeed. :)

Thanks again, Lizziebeth! See more of her pictures here at Talking Chop.

2009 Braves Rookie Hazing

Reader Amanda shared this commentary on this year's rookie hazing...

We got a short word about the rookie hazing, Big and Little had to wear speedos and walk thru the hotel lobby and KK and his interpreter dressed as ninjas to go thru the airports from ATL to NY. Yawn. No wonder we didn't get pics!

Hee hee, speedos. Thanks for the info, Amanda, and if anyone has more info or pictures, please let us know!

ETA: Here are two pictures from Leann! The first is Gorecki and the second is Medlen and Hanson. Click to enlarge! :)



Quite the minimalist look this year, huh? ;) Thanks for sharing, Leann!


ETAA: Here's a picture from Crista! They really ARE holding hands, hahaha!



Thanks, Crista!

Some odd images from last night...

Baby bunting with an injured wrist (get well soon!).


JJ just stopped running on the way to first and let Figueroa tag him out, then walked back to the Braves' dugout. I know Roger McDowell is of the "don't wear yourself out on the basepaths, pitcher" mentality, but I don't remember ever seeing a player just stop halfway down the baseline when he wasn't injured. I'm sure JJ was just doing as instructed, but it was strange.


Do any of these guys look like we just won the ball game? (Check out the larger version of the picture.)Also, Rossy's cup is insane. It's always poking out at the weirdest angles! I don't even notice most of the guys' cups, but when it's horizontal instead of vertical, you can't not see it, right? :D

11 games to go, kids!

Kawakami's first save!

With Lowe's early exit, the Braves called upon Kenshin Kawakami to take the ball the rest of the way. In doing so, the Japanese right-hander became the first Braves pitcher since Mark Grant in 1990 to record a four-inning save.

Surprisingly, that's all I could find on Braves.com about KK's feat. I think it's a big deal! It's certainly as rare as someone hitting for the cycle -- heck, we've even had a perfect game thrown in the organization since someone last recorded a four-inning save. The AJC didn't offer much either:

Lowe (15-9) gave up three runs and six hits in five innings and Kenshin Kawakami pitched four scoreless innings of one-hit ball for his first major league save.

...

Kawakami notched the first four-inning save by a Brave since Mark Grant in 1990 at San Francisco. Kawakami, a 34-year-old major league rookie starter, last recorded a save in 1999 for his longtime Japanese team, Chunichi.

Let's give kudos where they're due -- congratulations, Kenshin! Thank you for keeping us in the game! Love, Braves fans everywhere

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To all of you in metro-Atlanta (and beyond) who are affected by the floods, my thoughts are with you. My parents' county has sustained the most damage so far in the area, but they're fine. I'm also fine, and hoping the waters will subside soon.

"Gave his body up"

In case you missed last night's game...


Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

Reason #98,347 to be a fan of how hard BMac plays the game -- he'll never be benched for laziness. ;)

Sing-Along LOL!

Happy Friday, y'all! :) I'm taking one for the team and not going to the game tonight as previously planned -- can't spoil the streak!

KK's impersonations

I love Carroll's stories at the AJC. This is part of last night's article on New Javy wanting to stick around...

Kawakami performs

Kenshin Kawakami has brought more than an extra arm to eat up some innings in the bullpen. He has provided a little comic relief.

In the sixth inning of Tuesday night’s game against the Mets, with Tommy Hanson cruising on the mound, Kawakami put on a show for his fellow relievers by imitating Braves’ hitters. That’s one language that needs no translation.

He started with the easy target: Adam LaRoche. He had them laughing at his Brian McCann imitation, right down to signaling for a time-out to take off his helmet and cleans his glasses. Buddy Carlyle’s personal favorite was Kawakami’s Matt Diaz.

“In Japan I did a lot of impersonations,” Kawakami said through his interpreter.

It should be no surprise, then, that Peter Moylan thinks Kawakami’s best impersonation is Ichiro, which he saw in spring training. On Tuesday night, Moylan was partial to Kawakami’s McCann and to his imitation of Yunel Escobar jumping in the on-deck circle.

When asked whose swing is the toughest to impersonate among his teammates, Kawakami said Garret Anderson.

“He has such pretty form, it’s hard to imitate,” Kawakami said through his interpreter. “It’s so smooth.”

So who can do the best imitation of Kawakami?

“Martin [Prado],” Kawakami said.

As for McCann, he heard about the imitations and got a chuckle out of it.

“I got something for him,” McCann said with a grin.

It's the behind-the-scenes stuff I love. Thanks, Carroll! :)

LOLFRENCHY #8

Just for Amanda. :)

Happy belated birthday, blog!

Heh, I'm a bad blog mom. Braves Love turned two last week (ha ha, "turned two"! I didn't get that till I typed it out) and I totally forgot to mention it. Sorry blog! I still love you!

In honor of the birthday, here are some baseball-themed cakes from Cake Wrecks. :)

Thanks for reading, everyone. I am so grateful for the friends I've made here. *hug*

Go Braves!

She's been taught well...

I saw this on the Today Show and cracked up! What a fun little girl -- this would have been me at that age had I grown up in Philly. ;)

Video Link