Huddy selected as one of Atlanta's Most Beautiful People by Jezebel Magazine

photographer Nelson Hicks - source

ATLANTA, Ga. -- Who are Atlanta's most beautiful people?

There's a model, an actor and a baseball player, too. A teacher, a bartender and a photographer made the list as well.

Jezebel Magazine releases an annual list of Atlanta's most beautiful people to coincide with the company's anniversary. This year, the magazine celebrated its 14th anniversary.

"Atlanta is a beautiful city with an equally attractive populous -- an extraordinary mix of professional athletes, actors, artists, philanthropists, executives and 'everyday' citizens performing extraordinary acts of kindness, faith and charity," the magazine noted in its November issue.

When Jezebel picked its choices for Atlanta's most beautiful people, they searched for people whose inner beauty was as impressive as their outer beauty.

Many Atlantans will be familiar with at least one name on the list. Atlanta Braves baseball player Tim Hudson. The 35-year-old pitcher just wrapped up another season for the Braves, notching 17 wins and nine loses. Hudson and his wife, Kim, also started the Hudson Family Foundation.

Full article here. It's funny -- I end up in conversations all the time with people asking me who I think is the "hottest" Brave, the "cutest" Brave, etc. While we don't have many guys come through Atlanta who are Javy-esque, I think Huddy was a good choice from the current team, especially considering his philanthropic efforts off-the-field. (A sense of humor goes a long way for the girls who read here too!)

Congrats, Huddy!

2010 This Year in Baseball Awards - Vote Braves!

If you've visited MLB.com in the off-season, you've seen the site asking you to vote for plays, players, moments, oddities, and other categories. We aren't quite sure when the voting ends, but I've put a box in the sidebar to remind everyone to keep voting while the awards are still open! Here are the Braves up for awards...

Rookie of the Year -- Jason Heyward
click here to see Heyward's highlight videos

Starting Pitcher of the Year -- Tim Hudson
click here to see Huddy's highlight videos

Closing Pitcher of the Year -- Billy Wagner
click here to see Wags' highlight videos

Setup Man of the Year -- Jonny Venters
click here to see Jonny's official TYiB video
click here to see Jonny's highlight videos

XFactor Player of the Year -- Omar Infante
click here to see Omar's highlight videos

Breakout Player of the Year -- Martin Prado
click here to see Martin's highlight videos

Executive of the Year -- Frank Wren

Manager of the Year -- Bobby Cox

Must C Moment of the Year -- two Braves to vote for here! Brooks Conrad's walk-off grand slam and Heyward's home run in his first ML at-bat in the first game of the year.

Must C Oddity of the Year -- two Braves to vote for here! Melky Cabrera's "misfire" (ha) and the ball disappearing in Brooksy's jersey.

Must C Game -- Braves come back and score 7 runs in the bottom of the 9th to win, thanks to Brooksy's grand slam!

Must C Postseason Moment of the Year -- Rick Ankiel's home run into McCovey Cove in game 2 of the NLDS!

I think I have carpal tunnel from voting for our boys, especially a couple I think might not have the best chance of winning in their categories. Vote vote vote!

Click here to vote! 

"People are always going to have expectations"

Here are a few good articles and a video that came across this week. Enjoy!

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Scott Cunningham/Getty Images

Atlanta Braves pitcher Billy Wagner believes in second chances. Also third, fourth, fifth and sixth chances, ad infinatum. In baseball, the magic number for chances is three. But in life Wagner believes you always get another chance, a second chance to improve.

Full article from SI.com here -- My Sportsman: Billy Wagner

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This Huddy video is a year old, but I had never seen it and he still cracks me up. Thought you'd all enjoy it too!

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Here's another Beachy Q&A, this one from his college newspaper.

Q: Where can we expect to see you come spring time?

A: I have been told that I will be competing for a spot in the rotation, I am going to prepare myself the best I can. If that happens, great, if not there could be an opportunity in the bullpen or I could spend some time in AAA. But it’s something I try not to worry about and let everything else take care of itself.

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Finally, I have no idea where my buds over at Talking Chop got this picture of Kimmie (since it's not credited), but it's adorable. He looks like such a kid!

2010 "Love Notes": Pitchers

At the end of 2008, I wrote an end of the year wrap-up on each player in the organization. Work was very busy last year and the wrap-up was skipped, but I have all the time in the world right now. ;) This year will be slightly different – I decided to write “love notes” instead of a semi-objective wrap up for each player. So here are short little notes to the boys, as if they’d ever read them! :D

Player list pulled from Baseball Reference and is in the order they presented – apparently, no particular order. It was the best way to make sure everyone was covered!

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

#56

Dear Chris,

When I talk about you, I seem to spend a lot of time defending you against loser guys who mocked the backwards spelling of your name. You’re not that bad. :)

Love,

Lauren

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

#37

Dear JoJo,

I totally didn’t remember you made an appearance with the big club this year until I was pulling everyone’s names from Baseball Reference for this post. Sorry about that. I like it when you wear socks up.

Love,

Lauren

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

#37

Dear Beachy,

You are super cute, and I hope you don’t get traded away this winter because you showed so much awesome at the end of the season.

Love,

Lauren

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

#36

Dear Scott,

Your first day with the Braves, you came out in BP with an extra pair of shoes, put them down in front of you, and when BP was over, you took them back off the field with you. I’d really like to know why they came out in the first place, but it’s probably none of my business. :)

Love,

Lauren

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

#56

Dear MikeMinor,

Your beer shower on Braves Live was one of the most memorable interviews of the year. I look forward to seeing you pitch more next year!

Love,

Lauren

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

#11

Dear KK,

I wish we had seen some of the impressions we heard you do so well.

Love,

Lauren

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

#50

Dear Cristhian,

You creeped my friend and I out. Don’t do that again. You don't get a nice note.

Signed,

Lauren

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

#49

Dear JJ,

I loved talking with you in Publix at the Shop with the Braves this summer, and I’m so sad our picture didn’t come out well. I’m glad you took my suggestion to bring back the blow pops! :)

Love,

Lauren

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

#46

Dear Kimmie,

Funny, I can’t seem to find your autograph in my yearbook thingie from Baseball 101. I remember us talking about how you weren’t in there yet because you were a pretty recent callup, and I could have sworn you signed somewhere else in there. It’s okay; I’ll settle for a pic together next time we meet. :)

Love,

Lauren

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

#43

Dear Kyle,

Sorry if my suggestion to have my Twitter followers follow you caused you to close your account. Thought I was being helpful! :(

Love,

Lauren

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

#38

Dear Mike,

I loved the way your face had, like, 16 levels of smiles. You’ll be missed.

Love,

Lauren

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

#43

Dear Jesse,

“Low Rider”? Really? Hahahaha!

Love,

Lauren

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

#54

Dear Meds,

You’re hilarious, and you’re a doll-face. Heal up soon!

Love,

Lauren

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

#32

Dear D-Lowe,

From the stands, it looks as if you treat Meds and Tommy like kid brothers in BP – it’s one of my favorite things to see. I want to give you Gatorade popsicles every 5 days, and I don’t understand your hair.

Love,

Lauren

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

#15

Dear Huddy,

Comeback player of the year? Well deserved. Now, can we please see more videos of you pranking your teammates? We’ll love you forever for those!

Love,

Lauren

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

#48

Dear Tommy,

Do you have a height minimum for the girls you’ll date? One of my friends is curious.

Love,

Lauren (mostly, her friend)

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

#40

Dear Saito,

So, what do you order at Five Guys? I like that they tell you the origin of the potatoes for the fries every day (even if just a burger or hot dog is usually enough food for me and I don’t usually order fries).

Love,

Lauren

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

#34

Dear EO,

What’s the deal with the hat? The readers here are very amused that you take it off so often, even when the sun is beating down and you’re squinting. :) Do you just not care for them? Do you need a larger size?

Love,

Lauren

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

#13

Dear Billy,

I loved the way you took the young guys under your wing and the sense of humor we got glimpses of in the occasional interview. You’ll be missed.

Love,

Lauren

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

#39

Dear Jonny,

I'm so glad your arm didn't fall off. I like your socks and that our hair is close to the same color; please don't shave it all off again next year. Thanks for being such a sweetheart at Baseball 101 and at the CNN Center!

Love,

Lauren

PS – Please reconsider the dip. It’s gross, and no one wants you to get cancer. ♥

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

#58

Dear Pete,

Early in the season, you demonstrated cricket pitches to a few of the guys during batting practice; it was very entertaining. You used to horse around more – we miss that.

Love,

Lauren

2010 "Love Notes": Outfielders

At the end of 2008, I wrote an end of the year wrap-up on each player in the organization. Work was very busy last year and the wrap-up was skipped, but I have all the time in the world right now. ;) This year will be slightly different – I decided to write “love notes” instead of a semi-objective wrap up for each player. So here are short little notes to the boys, as if they’d ever read them! :D

Player list pulled from Baseball Reference and is in the order they presented – apparently, no particular order. It was the best way to make sure everyone was covered!

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

#53

Dear Melky,

Your expanding hair over the season and that super-wonky throw amused me. Good luck with your next club.

Love,
Lauren

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

#27

Dear Brent,

I wish I had a dollar for every time I pronounced your name for someone. It’s not that difficult! :) I understand; my last name is an odd one too.

Love,
Lauren

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

#23

Dear MattE,

Thanks for tripping the Morph Suit (that was seriously awesome), hustling on the field, and occasionally making the day of some loud male fans in LF by talking to them during BP. Pretty much everyone thinks you’re amazing.

Love,
Lauren

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

#24

Dear Nate,

I’m not the one who yelled “Go Mighty Mouse!” at you. Just saying.

Love,
Lauren

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

#1

Dear Gregor,

I’m glad the trade to KC is giving you a shot to start everyday, but I miss your glowy face.

Love,
Lauren

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

#28

Dear Rick,

You’re one of the few former Braves I have next to no feelings about, one way or another. I have no idea why.

Love,
Lauren

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

#22

Dear Jason,

I was in the RF upper deck for your opening day home run, and I honestly thought the stadium was going to collapse from the cheering and I was going to die. :D Thanks for being a player so many fans can passionately cheer for.

Love,
Lauren

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

#20

Dear He-Man,

I’m pretty sure all my readers were madly in love with you by the end of the season and would die for a SkeHug. Please re-sign! We love your smile and prefer you with hair.

Love,
Lauren

2010 "Love Notes": Infielders

At the end of 2008, I wrote an end of the year wrap-up on each player in the organization. Work was very busy last year and the wrap-up was skipped, but I have all the time in the world right now. ;) This year will be slightly different – I decided to write “love notes” instead of a semi-objective wrap up for each player. So here are short little notes to the boys, as if they’d ever read them! :D

Player list pulled from Baseball Reference and is in the order they presented – apparently, no particular order. It was the best way to make sure everyone was covered!

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

#16

Dear BMac,

“All I Do Is Win” was a great choice for an at-bat song this year, and I always enjoyed seeing “everybody hands go up! And they stay there!”

Love,
Lauren

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

#33

Dear J.C.,

I was there for your first ML at-bat, and was proud of you for being so patient. Hope you get another shot soon!

Love,
Lauren

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

#8

Dear Rossy,

You should be mic’ed up more often. The singing was amazing, and you’re a very funny guy!

Love,
Lauren

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

#25

Dear T-Roy,

I started hearting you when I was in college in 2000 and you were with the Angels, and I was so excited to have you as a Brave this year. Thanks for standing in the batting circle with authority.

Love,
Lauren

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

#5

Dear Freddie,

What is your intro song? Please tell us – it’s driving us nuts! I totally know it and can’t place it.

Love,
Lauren

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

#27

Dear D-Lee,

I sure wish we had a place for you next year. Loved watching you play for the Marlins and the Cubs, and loved having you as a Brave. Bottom line – you deserve a full-time job, and we have a 1B next year. It was great while it lasted.

Love,
Lauren

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

#10

Dear Chipper,

The story about Moylo was both scarring and funny. Pass the brain bleach, please!

Thanks/”Thanks”,
Lauren

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

#26

Dear Brooks,

Getting a high-five from you at Baseball 101 this year was one of the highlights of my summer. Your genuine excitement at having so many fans who knew who you were and appreciated your contributions to the team was fun to see.

Love,
Lauren

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

#14

Dear Martin,

Thanks for being so focused, working so hard, and being so cute you rendered my cousin speechless when we met you. You have no idea how rare that is for her. Heh heh.

Love,
Lauren

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

#19

Dear Yunie,

I think I was always more amused by you than other Braves fans were. The worm highlights may have been a bit much for Atlanta. ;) Hope you have much success in Toronto!

Love,
Lauren

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

#2

Dear Alex,

Love your intensity and competitiveness, and I look forward to another year with you at shortstop!

Love,
Lauren

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

#19

Dear Diory,

Your mug shot is cute. Can’t say that about all the boys!

Love,
Lauren

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

#18

Dear Brandon,

Try to be nicer, okay?

Love,
Lauren

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

#4

Dear Omar,

I still don’t understand how people thought you and Martin were the same person. Good luck in Miami!

Love,
Lauren

MattE participates in the Great American Teach-In

Read the accompanying article here.

What a cool way to give back! In his five seasons as a Brave, I still haven't heard anything that kicks Matt Diaz off the "good guy" list. Love it. :)

Huddy's busy weekend

One of the best parts of the off-season? All the off-the-field charity work the boys get involved in! My inbox has been flooded with tidbits and articles on Huddy's goings on, and here are a few select links. Isn't he great?

Events

11/19 and 11/20: The 2nd Annual Hudson's Honky Tonk Benefit Weekend -- Heard last year was so fun! :)

11/21: L.E.A.D.'s 1st Annual Dinner With Champions Awards Celebration -- Also starring Jason Heyward!

Articles

Atlanta Braves pitcher donates to Kingsland "miracle field"

Hudsons heed calling to start family foundation


I always love hearing stories like these. I'd like to think if I was as blessed as their family has been, I'd be doing the same. :)

We want our Lovvies back

Yesterday afternoon I was babysitting three awesome kids under the age of 3. I was looking at Twitter on my phone at 2pm to see the Cy Young announcement, and I had a really weird feeling about one of my favorite bullpen Lovvies. I messaged Alison at 2:08 PM, and the following is basically the chat transcript for the rest of the day talking about trades. Please also see her post at Aly ♥ Baseball. :)

Lauren: Is it bad that I'm super worried we'll trade Mike Dunn?

Because I'm super-worried

And I don't want him going anywhere yet

I just read part of an article on my phone

About someone wanting to trade Beachy + Dunn for Delmon Young

And I almost cried

 Alison: I just coughed in disbelief

Lauren: But... Who's trade value do you think is higher? Beachy or Minor?

I don't want Pretty Mouth going anywhere

I'm not as attached to Minor

Alison: I like Meds, Version Tall & Skinny

Alison: either way, I'm not super duper attached. I like MM and I like BB. We don't have any lefty starters though...

And Mike Dunn's ass/calves/pretty face have to stay here.

Lauren: <3 <3 <3 Dunn

Again, partial to BB because of the waving

And the smiling

Alison: :D

 Lauren: And the fact that he was drafted in 08 and striking out Utley in 2010

 Alison: heh

 Lauren: That's... Amazing.

Alison went to work. I was still babysitting. Did I mention I still need a full-time job? I do. :) But the kids were being awesomely well-behaved and I had a moment to check my phone again, still feeling something was up and I saw the Uggla rumors were blowing up in my Twitter feed...

5:21 PM Lauren: OMG 5-5 )+_ :2*3 (:2 _//

  That was supposed to be

DID YOU HEAR THE UGGLA RUMOR

WE WILL CRY IF IT IS TRUE

 Alison: Which one????

Am I gonna be pissed??

Lauren: Uggla for INFANTE AND MIKE DUNN

Alison: Uh… NO!

 Lauren: Apparently the deal is close to done

 Alison: O  M  G

 Lauren: I'm seriously sick

I don't want Uggla if it means giving up Mike Dunn. I love Mike!! And I KNOW you don't want to give up Omar. >:(

  x-(

Alison: No

Lauren: I'm going to change this poopy diaper now, and then maybe the smell will actually make me sick and I'll feel better

But

I'm seriously upset

 Alison: I feel ill

 Lauren: :'(

Alison: we have some hope;  the Blue Jays are interested in Uggla and I'm sure that they can pull out a better package than the Braves…

Alison writes: Literally minutes after I said that, the deal was done.  But I couldn’t respond since I was actually working, and then, when I got a moment, I didn’t want to be the one to say it… because that would make it real.  However…   

5:49 PM Lauren: It's done. I actually want to cry. Driving home now.

680 the fan says Prado in LF

Uggla was told he's at 2B

Alison: yeah.

Lauren: I'm sick.

Alison: me too

Lauren: I don't want Uggla. I want one of my Lovvies back.

 Alison: I want my Lovvie back.  omg.  why

Lauren: We need to do a conversational joint post tonight called "we want our lovvies back"

Alison: ok.  I'm down.

Lauren: Because...

Alison: I'm going to cry

 Lauren: Prado in LF means Ske and MattE are a no-go

 Alison: yeah.

 Lauren: I am for real scowling

  In my car, at this red light

Alison: honestly, Mike Dunn being traded, I am upset, but not as upset as I am about Omar.

Omar has been my darling from Day 1

(of course, I have so many darlings... but still)

 Lauren: vice versa for me

I always liked Mike's mr clean head

But the end of the season, he rocketed to infinity status

 Alison: I know.

Alison: all I have to say is, if Dan Uggla slumps when he gets here… I'm going to declare that something about the Braves is cursed.

Switching from phone to computer chat for me, at home...Alison's still at work...

7:03 PM Alison:  I knew it, too.

  Remember when I was like, "I think we might trade Omar?"

  I just didn't know it'd be for Dan Uggla... :(

Lauren: I can see how the organization would see both boys as being expendable

but I see my desktop wallpaper

and...

not expendable

>:(

Alison: :(

Lauren: http://twitter.com/jcrasnick/status/4683280729251840

Alison: While I'm glad that the Braves were like "hands off MARTEEN"

  did it HAVE to be Omar?

Lauren: it's all bad

Alison: this just means I have to go to every marlins game now

Lauren: so Mike and Will Ohman can pose for us ;)

 Alison: yes

 Lauren: and you can take pics of Omar practicing SS

  Will's a free agent again, I think

  I need to look him up

  well, Omar will practice everything

  to stay sharm

  sharP

 Alison: true, because Omar is the shiz

 Lauren: whatt's wroing with me

I CAN'T TPE

 Lauren: *sob

Alison: I feel shellshocked

I mean

I <3 him.

I want to make a "We Miss You, Omar" sign

I hope he gets to start

why is Frank Wren breaking up my Venezuelan Troupe of Man Love?

it's like the cutest bromance ever, Prado and Infante!

[Alison: Half an hour goes by… Keep in mind, I’m at work… ]

Alison:  ok.

  well

  Fredi likes Dan.

  I guess that's a start.

Lauren: His name is Uggla

  :p

  ;)

  http://twitter.com/gondeee/status/4671754790240256

Alison: the Marlins needed a lefty in the bullpen?

  they do not!

  also, what??

  is he being sarcastic?

 Lauren: either way, it's obnoxious

 Alison: strangely, I actually do like all the NL East teams.  [I’ll clarify here and say that I like individual players on the Phillies, but NOT the Phillies.  ;P]

 Lauren:  yeah, I do too, in a weird way :)

Alison: I've been mostly UN foulmouthed.  [I’m kind of surprised]

  I think I'm still bleh, like…

when Gregor was traded I was like, "SOB"

right now, I feel numb.

I think it's because I'm sick

 Lauren: I stopped shaking

  I think that was blood sugar

 Alison: but I feel super just... numb.

  and we both know how I felt about the Yunel trade…

 Lauren: but I still feel shocked

 Alison:  there was cursing

  I figuratively threw things

End chat. We also talked on the phone for, I don’t know, half an hour? 40 minutes? Said a lot of things we can’t say on a family blog. :D 

I understand that a lot of "regular" fans (read: men) will look at this trade and say Omar and Mike were expendable. We needed a power RH bat. Uggla was awesome at Turner Field. Prado can play LF. Yeah yeah, I know all that. Here's what I like and don't like about this deal...

Like

- Uggla is a Silver Slugger.

- Joey likes Uggla because Uggla spoke to him once, wasn't a jerk.

- Uggla's from KY/TN.

- Fredi and Uggla are buddies, apparently.

Dislike

- Uggla only has one year left on his contract. I expect he'll want a taste of the free agent market if he has a successful 2011 here. (And why wouldn't he?)

- Therefore, we gave up Omar AND Mike for a one-year rental of Uggla.

- Uggla's giant tobacco ball

- Seriously, Prado in LF sounds to me like we won't be resigning MattE and Hinske, and I really wanted both back. The 2010 team was special... no one named in this post was on my mental list of expendables.

- I never ever ever buy Braves memorabilia, but I bought the most beautiful Mike Dunn rookie baseball card on eBay right after the season ended. I hate autograph sessions, but I was going to consider braving one to get him to sign it, because it's just so pretty. I'm especially going to miss the seemingly 16 different ways his face could smile -- you can see a bunch of them in this video. Wish I'd gotten the chance to talk to him; he seemed fun. :)

Neutral
- I love Chris Rose and I can't decide if this video is awesome or not. ;) The Cheap Seats: Dan Uggla

Omar, buena suerte! Como si usted lo necesite, jaja!

Mike, what up! Adding you to my long list of "this is why I need to stop liking relievers and utility guys so much". You're awesome. Keep being awesome.

Uggla, your hustle might win me over. We'll see. I respect hard-nosed players.

PS - Readers, there weren't actually any tears. We just thought you'd like to see the raw emotion version of our reaction to the trade of a couple of our fave Braves. Rrrg.

2010 Rookie of the Year: Not Heyward

source

After Jason Heyward's electric home run in his first at-bat of the year, most Atlanta fans fully expected him to win rookie of the year. While I understand the BBWAA's choice of voting Buster Posey as the winner (I am a bit partial to the battery, if you haven't noticed!), I was a bit disappointed when I read our Heyward didn't win. I'm not going to go into comparing their stats and all that mess -- there are plenty of sites who do that much better than I could -- but I will say I'm glad they don't let the fans vote. It would just turn into a popularity contest (like the All-Star starters), and I don't think that's any more fair.

As for the end of that chart, I'm very happy someone put a vote in for our Jonny Venters. I'd love to know who this was, because middle relievers don't get enough love and I'm curious if this was an Atlanta beat writer, an NL East writer, or another writer who was impressed with his mid-to-upper-90s sinker. It's really amazing to see in person, and I hope Jonny's a Brave for a very long time. :)

Oh! As I was writing, I got an email that identified San Francisco's Andrew Baggarly as the Jonny fan!

I was one of the 32 voters and I can reveal my ballot to you now: 1. Posey 2. Heyward 3. Jonny Venters.

Here's a link to his blog. Thanks for recognizing talent, Mr. Baggarly! You're awesome. Love, Braves fans.


PS -- If I'd voted, and there was a 4th place vote, it would have gone to Gaby Sanchez for clotheslining Nyjer Morgan. I never get tired of that footage.  ...And this is why I'm not a serious sports writer. :) I'm too easily biased!

Video: The Braves thank the fans for an awesome 2010

If you're on the Braves email list you've probably seen this already. :) If not, here's the link...

Video Link

Braves who speak into the camera are listed below, with my comments. Please excuse the extraordinary number of exclamation points -- I miss baseball too much. :)

• Heyward - So smiley and handsome!
• Hanson - Looking less uncomfortable than usual!
• Rossy - Playoff beard starting? Looks good!
• Jonny - Aww, love ya! ♥
• Brooksy - Should definitely be a broadcaster when his playing career is over.
• Ankiel - Scares me a little, haha!
• Ske - He-Man! ♥
• Wags - We will miss him - he came across as one of the good ones.
• MattE - MattE is awesome. What else is there to say?

Brian McCann: Four-time Silver Slugger

July 13, 2010; Anaheim, CA, USA; National League catcher Brian McCann of the Atlanta Braves holds the game MVP award after the 2010 All Star game at Angel Stadium. The National League won 3-1. Photo via Newscom

Congrats, BMac! I'm pretty sure he won this award on July 13, right? :)

MLB.com Video Link

The first time I met BMac was at a charity golf tournament, a day or two after his first Silver Slugger was announced. I congratulated him on the award, and he was exactly as modest as you'd imagine. Sensing he didn't want to talk about his awesomeness, I dropped the subject and we ended up talking about Frenchy the rest of the time -- he liked that much better. It was pretty hilarious. :D

Four Silver Sluggers in five years. Amazing.

Pete Orr!™ is a Phillie? NOOOO.

Source - Rally Foundation

I. I have no words. I can't cheer for the Phillies. But... Pete Orr!™

Phillies Sign Pete Orr
By Ben Nicholson-Smith [November 11, 2010 at 9:59am CST]

The Phillies signed utility man Pete Orr, according to Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun. Orr, 31, last appeared in the majors with the Nationals in 2009. In five seasons for the Braves and Nationals, he has a career .260/.287/.335 line. The Canadian has just 555 big league plate appearances, but he has played at second, third, short and in both corner outfield positions.

Orr spent the 2010 season at Triple-A Syracuse, where he batted .264/.326/.436 in 536 plate appearances. He hit 12 homers, stole 25 bases and played second, third, short and all three outfield positions.

I guess I'm glad one of my favorite former Braves found a job with a successful team. *margesimpsongrumble* Hey Pete Orr!™ - can you talk to stupid Jayson Werth about breaking my phone? Phones are expensive. ;)

November picture page

Random! Last week I discovered a public image website I never knew existed. There are zillions of images here of our boys dating before I was born, and I had fun testing myself to see which randoms I could remember. (John Thomson! I forgot about him but totally recognized him! Socks up FTW!) Of course, I had to look through all 169 pages of Braves images, because I've been going through withdrawals and I haven't been feeling well and that many pages of action shots make a megaheadache and a minicold feel better, right? Right. So here are some of the best I found -- you might like them too!

Best angle ever of the Omar-into-Alex's arms leap (also starring MattE, Ske, and Meds) (also also, read the caption carefully, hee hee)

Look at everyone on the tarp!

SUPER HIGH FIVE (Love Alex's face)

Socks up Meds! We need more socks.

For CABravesFan: Angry Mac

For Alison and my old roommate Heather: Thor, bubblicious

PETE ORR!!! Loved him. Tons. :)

2006 pic of "Matthew Diaz". He tries so hard, always.

2006 Moylo, without sleeves and without "sleeves"!

Huddy is listed at 6'1" and BMac is listed at 6'3". Really? Really.

Langy! Look at the socks! Is that just a young player thing?

2005 McCann baby face.

My note on this pic was "recycled reliever faces" -- it's labeled as Macay McBride, but looks an awful lot like Eric O'Flaherty, right? And check out this pic of definitely Macay McBride, lookin' like our Kimmie! Crazy!

And finally, the BEST PICTURES EVER.

Mac sliding past Rossy on a triple hit by Smoltzie

Chipper, 1993

1987: My fave Brave of all time, Dale Murphy

McCann nickname change

Small site cleanup note... when I started the blog in 2007, I didn't really expect to still be blogging in late 2010, preparing for the 2011 season. And when I made Brian McCann's archive label "Baby", I didn't expect to have to answer literally thousands of questions about that. The story is that when he first came up, I made lots of jokes about his baby face, but I was very impressed with his ability. I tend to nickname people, and I started calling him "Baby" (short for "baby face"). Well, that didn't work so well after he started wearing facial hair full-time, so I stopped calling him that... but the tag stayed on the blog for years.

That's it. So now, his tag is "McCann". I've added the new tag to Mac posts about a year back and have about 300 posts to go. Oh yeah, there are over 1200 posts in this blog. It's excessive. :)

Wildcat Week interview with Brandon Beachy

Here's a nice long interview with Beachy -- kinda reminds me of Charlie, but with confidence? (That's horrible. :D Miss you, Charlie!) Anyway, great interview doll. Hope you're in the rotation next year!

Video Link

2nd Annual Brian McCann Rally Celebrity Softball Game is tomorrow night!

 

DATE
Friday, November 5, 2010

LOCATION
Georgia Tech’s Russ Chandler Baseball Field
Parking will be $5

BENEFICIARY
Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research

TIME
Gates Open at: 6:00pm
Home Run Derby: 7:00pm
First Pitch: 7:35pm

TICKETS

Adults: $10 minimum suggested donation
Students: $5 minimum suggested donation
Kids 10 and under are free

More info here!

Last year was a lot of fun -- will you be there? :)

"Psychologist", "Gravity", and some Surprise Socks

I've mentioned before that I have Google Alerts on most of the players I like so I can share fun hidden internet nuggets with you guys, and a few great things have come in over the last few days that y'all definitely need to see. :)

First, here's 8 minutes of Chris Rose interviewing Rossy back in June!

Video Link

1. I love Chris Rose anyway. 2. I love what Rossy said about whether they pranked Heyward. ;) 3. I LOVED Rossy's description of Schafer's reaction. :D Not surprising at all. ♥


Second, here's an article on Brandon Beachy from his hometown paper.

NW’s Beachy relished his late callup to the big leagues

Hope to see much more of him next year!


Finally, um, Mike. Dude. You should be socks up all the time.

Source. Awesome.

So the Giants won the World Series...

With one final, masterful performance by The Freak, the Giants shut down Frenchy and the Rangers three games to one last night, and the 2010 baseball season came to a close. I feel a little better about our playoff run coming to an end knowing we lost out to the eventual champs, and I was so proud of former Brave Edgar Renteria winning the World Series MVP award.

Following the Giants as closely as we have over the last six weeks, I got a little fond of a few of the players. :) Ended up with huge "playoff crushes" on Cody Ross (socks, playoff beard, AWESOME... how could you not, you know?), Brian Wilson (spent far too many hours watching interviews with him online), and heeeey DeRo! I missed you. :D

Here are a few interviews I found amusing last night. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did. Four months! What are we going to do?!


Lincecum & Lee arriving for Game 5. I tweeted that Lincecum looks a little PeeWee Herman, which prompted one of my followers to make this. Ha!




This is from the live interview, and one of Lincecum's comments was cut for the replay. Can you guess which one? ;)




Cliff's eyes are gorg, super-love the rosin-hat, too. (You won't need that for a few more months, hon.)




Back to happy! Does it get happier than this hop of Cody's? His hops were one of the best things about the playoffs, period. :D




Seeing the celebrations with their kids after the game was pretty great. In the following vid, Jeremy Affeldt's son (?) isn't buying that his clothes are soaked with water / "grape juice" - watch his face! - and Cody's little boy is super-way-ultra-cute.




And finally, the closer, Brian Wilson. Why is his beard so dark? (I love him.)