Few more articles for the end of 2011

What a bittersweet year. Here are a few new articles you might want to read...

Braves Insider: Hudson's injury was front and center

Hudson threw a one-hit complete game shutout in the second game of a May 4 doubleheader [my birthday! thanks huddy! - lt], but his back stiffened during his May 20 start and he missed his next turn. An MRI then showed no damage to his sore back -- or so the media was told -- and he started once again on May 30 versus the Padres.

We have to remember that 1. the media doesn't know everything, and 2. incorrect information can be fed to the media so fans will think differently - or not think about a situation at all.


According to Bradenton.com, you can take lessons from a future Brave right now:

Ongoing: Tyler Pastornicky, a two-time Minor League All-Star and current Atlanta Braves prospect, will be conducting professional hitting lessons in the Bradenton area. All ages and ability levels are welcome. Information: (941) 716-4890.

And here are a couple of articles on future Braves pitcher Jaye Chapman:

Chapman primed for next baseball step

Chapman eyes opportunity to make Braves roster

(Love this kid - can't wait till he's in Atlanta full-time)


Did you miss Fweddie's gay tweets? I sure did...

link

If you don't have MLB Network or missed Kimmie's GIBBY, here you go:




FABF Sherrill is officially back with the Seattle Mariners

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In other news, everything's in the works for the new website/blog. Domain name purchased, web developer working on formatting, etc. Should be up by Spring Training. EXCITING.

And in case my parents are reading... my mom always says that birthdays that end in 5 and 0 are the big ones. It's a REALLY big anniversary today - hope they have a wonderful one!

Special! Gameday Pics: Hawks vs Wizards 12-28-11

Let's! Go! Hawks!

It's not a secret that during baseball hibernation I enjoy a basketball game now and then. I didn't grow up in a football family, but my family is pretty good at basketball.

So this happened:

true story

And I won! Deddy was all excited, I reminded him what Hawks colors are (and he wore a nice red corduroy shirt and navy jacket), and I even convinced him to meet me at the MARTA train station closest to him. He was born at Crawford Long, grew up on the Westside (for real - Hollywood Road, English Avenue, etc.) and somehow had never ridden on the train. Or any train. Adventure!

The tickets were great, about S rows up from the Wizards bench in the lower level. Here are some pictures... most of them didn't turn out well. My camera isn't as good with motion shots as I'd like.

They gave us a t-shirt!

Some old guys sang the National Anthem. Dad liked that.

Hi Shaq! During the Kiss Cam, they put him on the jumbotron and he licked the head of the guy in the mustard coat. Gotta love it.

Jerry Stackhouse welcoming everyone to the season. He didn't get to play.

swish!

I like the home whites, but the red ATL are my fave uniforms.

Not "retired NBA star", no. He's a "TNT analyst".

Marvin Williams taking his free throws

"Dear Lord, please bless me to dance well enough so some rich man in the audience will marry me. I can't do this forever! Amen."
(Sorry, Cheerleaders - this pose was too easy.)

Score at halftime ~ Hawks promotional line of the year

Marvin takes his shot after a technical. Oh wait, who's that in the AFFLICTION shirt in the background?

Oh, it's Mr. and Mrs. Chipper!
(No, I didn't spot him first - the jumbotron showed him to us.)

There were a few kids with them - this one sat on his lap for a little while and they laughed a lot together. Cute.

See? My action shots are so blurry.

Air H-"air"-y walking up the stairs, bopping fans with his giant blow-up hand

There are more cheerleaders than Hawks. Maybe twice as many?

One of the Hawks in-game entertainment guys is SkyHawk. He does acrobatic slam dunks and dances for the crowd. Please enjoy:

thud

final score!

The Hawks haven't trailed in a game yet. Awesome!

Next game, I hope to get to see Tracy McGrady play more, Jerry Stackhouse play at all, and more Marvin! He's my fave. :)

Full album here. Thanks again for the tickets, Hawks. We had a great time!

Answering the Mailbag, 12.20.11

I'm a few days late again with my little off-season project. Gotta love the holidays!

Every time I read the Braves Mailbag on the official site, I always answer the questions in my head before reading Bowman's (real) replies. Woo! Let's go. Here's this week's mailbag...

Oh yeah, don't take my responses too seriously... :)

Why are the Braves not trying to go after any big-time free agents like the rest of the National League East?
-- John H., Pittsburgh

I have a few theories on this. First, our current roster is pretty good. I have confidence Huddy and Moylo will come back all healthy and strong, Freddie won't have a sophomore slump, and JHey will be strong in his corner. Second, we don't have an unlimited budget. (I think the people who ask questions like this don't have a budget of their own, or they don't look at the front office as a business.) Third, if all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you do it too? ;)

I've read recently that the Braves talked to the Orioles about trading Prado and Jurjjens for J.J. Hardy and Adam Jones. Any substance with this?
-- Patrick S., Williamson, Ga.

Someone misspelled Jurrjens and it wasn't caught before being posted. :)

As for the actual question...why can't people separate speculation from fact?

What is the chance we will get Josh Hamilton once he is a free agent after this year?
-- Kaleb H., Dawsonville, Ga.

Do not want. I know this is a ridiculous reason not to want a player on your team, but I feel like I couldn't trust him.

I've been very impressed by Kris Medlen and feel that he's a top-tier starter. Will he be given the chance to compete for a role in the Braves' starting rotation?
--Chris K., Lincoln, Neb.

I think that will depend on whether or not Huddy, Hanson, and Jurrjens are healthy when Spring Training starts. If all three are good to go, he would be a fantastic addition to the bullpen. Frankly, I don't know why it matters where Meds ends up -- he'll be valuable any and everywhere.

If Freddie Freeman can play left field, what about the Braves trading for Mark Trumbo?
-- Scott S., Cleveland, Tenn.

Freddie played 3B for 5 games in rookie ball and literally every other professional game in which he has played defense, he has been at 1B. Have no idea where this guy got the idea FFF can play LF, but I'd rather watch his splits at 1B than watch him chase balls down in the OF.

Has there been any discussion on moving Dan Uggla to third base once Chipper Jones retires?
-- Scott B., Tallahassee, Fla.

Again, let's keep Uggla right where he is. And I hope Marteeeeen becomes our regular 3B when Chipper finally hangs it up.

If Tim Hudson is still injured, who would be the Opening Day starter?
-- Brent W., Kailua, Hawaii

Hopefully Huddy will be fine. If he's not, and JJ is healthy, my vote's for JJ.

2012 Braves Caravan calendar!

From the Braves...

Friday, January 27 – Charlotte, North Carolina and Spartanburg, South Carolina

Braves scheduled to participate include: Tommy Hanson, Jonny Venters, Tyler Pastornicky, Frank Wren, and Terry Pendleton

12:00–2:00 p.m.             Charlotte Power Lunch – Q & A and Autograph Signing
                                      Taco Mac 4625 Piedmont Row Dr. Bldg. E, Ste. 100, Charlotte, NC 28210

4:00–5:30 p.m.               Spartanburg Academy Sports + Outdoors Autograph Signing
                                      100 Peachwood Centre Drive, Spartanburg, SC 29301


Saturday, January 28 – Snellville, Georgia

Braves scheduled to participate include: Jair Jurrjens, Eric Hinske, Eric O’Flaherty, Terry Pendleton, and Brian Snitker

Community visits to be announced

4:00–6:00 p.m.             Snellville Academy Sports + Outdoors Autograph Signing
                                    1585 Scenic Hwy, Snellville, GA 30078


Sunday, January 29 – Fort Benning, Georgia, and Montgomery and Auburn, Alabama

Braves scheduled to participate include: Tim Hudson, David Ross, Eric Hinske, Tyler Pastornicky, and Scott Fletcher

9:30–10:30 a.m.              Visit with the Troops at Fort Benning

12:00 – 1:30pm *CST*   Montgomery Academy Sports + Outdoors Autograph Signing
                                       8610 Eastchase Pkwy, Montgomery, AL 36117

3:00 – 4:30pm *CST*     Auburn Academy Sports + Outdoors Autograph Signing
                                       2325 Bent Creek Road, Auburn, AL 36830


Monday, January 30 – Atlanta and McDonough, Georgia

Braves scheduled to participate include: Freddie Freeman, Michael Bourn, Eric O’Flaherty, Frank Wren, Carlos Tosca, and Braves alum Greg McMichael

Community visits to be announced

3:30 – 5:00 p.m.            McDonough Academy Sports + Outdoors Autograph Signing
                                     198 South Point Blvd., McDonough, GA 30253


Tuesday, January 31 – Macon, Georgia

Braves scheduled to participate include: Craig Kimbrel, Randall Delgado, and Eddie Perez

10:15–12:15                 Visit with Students at Northeast High School, Macon
                                     Visit to the Children’s Hospital at the Medical Center of
                                     Central Georgia (not open to media)

4:00–5:30 p.m.              Macon Academy Sports + Outdoors Autograph Signing
                                     1689 Eisenhower Pkwy, Macon GA 31206


Wednesday, February 1 – Fort Gordon, Georgia and Columbia, South Carolina

Braves scheduled to participate include: Jason Heyward, Julio Teheran, and Fredi Gonzalez

10:30 a.m.–12 p.m.     Visit with the Troops at Fort Gordon

3:30–5:00 p.m.            Columbia Academy Sports + Outdoors Autograph Signing
                                   730 Fashion Drive, Columbia, SC 29229


Thursday, February 2 – Birmingham, Alabama

Braves scheduled to participate include: Jair Jurrjens, Randall Delgado, Frank Wren, and Carlos Tosca

2:00–3:00 p.m. *CST*   Visit with students at Mountain Brook Junior High School

4:00-5:30 p.m.*CST*     Birmingham Academy Sports + Outdoors Autograph Signing
                                       310 Doug Baker Blvd., Birmingham, AL 35242


Friday, February 3 – Lilburn and Athens, Georgia

Braves scheduled to participate include: Matt Diaz, Brandon Beachy, Roger McDowell, Brian Snitker and Bruce Manno

10:30–11:30 a.m.         Visit with students at Hopkins Elementary School, Lilburn

4:00–5:30 p.m.             Athens Academy Sports + Outdoors Autograph Signing
                                    3505 Atlanta Highway, Athens GA 30606


Saturday, February 4 – Nashville, Tennessee

Braves scheduled to participate include: Mike Minor, Cory Gearrin, and Zane Smith

Community visits to be announced

1:30–3:00pm *CST*    Franklin Academy Sports + Outdoors Autograph Signing
                                    1915 Mallory Lane, Franklin, TN 37067


Monday, February 6 – Rome and Cumming, Georgia

Braves scheduled to participate include: Chipper Jones, Brian McCann, Dan Uggla, Frank Wren, and Fredi Gonzalez

Rome community visits to be announced

4:30–6:00pm               Cumming Academy Sports + Outdoors Autograph Signing
                                   320 Peachtree Pkwy., Cumming, GA  30041


Tuesday, February 7 – Greenville, South Carolina

Braves scheduled to participate include: Brandon Beachy, Julio Teheran, Eddie Perez, and Braves alum Johnny Estrada

1:30–3:00 p.m.               Visit with the students at Sevier Middle School, Greenville
4:00-5:30 p.m.                Greenville Academy Sports + Outdoors Autograph Signing
                                      59 Woodruff Industrial Lane, Greenville, SC 29607


Wednesday, February 8 – Atlanta, Georgia

Braves scheduled to participate include: Chipper Jones, Craig Kimbrel, Mike Minor, Roger McDowell, Bruce Manno and Braves alumni Javy Lopez

Community visits to be announced


Thursday, February 9 – Chattanooga and Knoxville

Braves scheduled to participate include: Jason Heyward, Freddie Freeman, Cory Gearrin, and Greg Walker

11:30–1:30pm                Chattanooga Power Lunch – Q & A and Autograph Signing
                                      Taco Mac 423 Market St., Chattanooga, TN 37402

4:00–5:30pm                  Knoxville Academy Sports + Outdoors Autograph Signing
                                      145 Moss Grove Blvd., Knoxville, TN  37922


Remember, this list is only expected Braves – more or less may actually attend! Which stops will you go to? I was planning to go to Snellville, but as it turns out I received tickets for Christmas for an event that's happening at the same time that afternoon. :( My cousin wants me to go to Athens with her – she wants her Beachy ball signed! We'll see...

Merry Christmas 2011 from the Braves

Video card link

1. Some of the boys can sing better than I expected! (Eddie!)

2. Did they record this on picture day in Spring Training? Rossy is beardless.

3. Kimmie's ears may, in fact, be on fire.

4. The inclusion of Brooksy and Moylo makes me sad.

5. Mike Minor may or may not have a hickey.

6. I'm pretty sure I would pay to hear Tommy Hanson sing - really sing - Jingle Bells. ;)


One week till Christmas! Hope your Holiday season is going well!

PS - This is blog post #1500. Insane.

2011 GIBBYs Results

MLB

Well-deserved, Kimmie. We're very excited about this result, and look forward to you closing out games in Atlanta for many years to come.

As for the other Braves nominees, condolences. I'm especially upset one of our boys didn't win Setup Man of the Year, and all I can figure is David Robertson had 1. Pinstripes, 2. 100 Ks, and 3. Socks Up Power. Hmmph. (Seriously, only 8.9% of the vote went to EO? Did they not see his 0.98 ERA over 78 appearances? SERIOUSLY?!) (Now I feel bad for voting for Jonny over EO. Sorry, I love you both.)

But back to Kimbrel - DOB also retweeted a link to a video of Kimmie being honored in his hometown. I love his hair right now!



That's pretty great. :)

Non-Tender Non-Tender

Last week I discussed how I feel about Moylo's potential non-tender. I had been wondering if the Braves would non-tender any other players, and while I didn't anticipate Brooksy's release, I'm not really surprised. :(

Does this open the door for DeRo to return? (Please say yes, Braves.)

Moylo, don't go anywhere. We want you back. This is one of the few times I wish the Braves would listen to fans.

Love Me Tenders

When I was in Chicago last year, my Chicago bestie Jen insisted that we not eat Wrigley hot dogs. "They're nasty," she said as she took me to Portillo's. At the game, we split some Love Me Tenders, the official chicken of the Cubs. Do we have an official chicken of the Braves? No? Well, I'll keep loving on these, then.

I'd heard about LMTs before (hey, my initials... funny), when blog reader Jennifer H. told me about all "her" Cubs wearing Love Me Tenders tees under their uniforms a few years ago. Hilarious, right? I love it when they wear fun stuff under their unis, and I love it when friends send me pictures...

Here's DeRo (❤) in a LMT tee!

I tweeted at the time about how I wish I could have one of these tees, and over a year later, I got a DM from the Love Me Tenders account. Do I still want a shirt?

Um, yes. Please. Thank you!

They sent me four. FOUR! I kept the medium (which is a little snug - I usually wear a unisex large) because it matches DeRo's shirt and the navy extra large because it was so adorable. Sent the large to Pam and the small to Jen. Here's Jen modeling hers, and all four shirts! (Sorry about our awful cameraphone quality!)

Thanks for modeling, Jen! By the way, she's an actress. Hire her, Chicago!

Thank you!!

I am in love with these shirts. If the Braves ever have an official meat I'll share as soon as I hear about it. ;)

More info on Love Me Tenders on their website and through their Facebook and Twitter accounts. They really are delicious!

Thank you, Love Me Tenders!!

New Bullpen Guy! Yay!

Zimbio ~ ST 2011

Won't lie, I'd only heard Robert Fish's name. I don't know anything about him. But I looked him up, and hey! He's cute! With Sherrill gone, will he be the new bullpen FABF? (Will he be in our Atlanta 'pen or will he be in Gwinnett?)

MLB article ~ AJC article

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More links from this week...

• John Rocker Still Trying to Clear Name ~ *sigh*
  
  
• Beachy Gives Back ~ Granted, I'm fighting a cold and skimmed this right before a nap, but I'm not really sure how he's currently giving back? I thought this was going to be a charity article.
  
  
• Planning on being in New York in January? You can have dinner with Craig Kimbrel and other 2011 major award winners at the BBWAA dinner... for a cool $225 per seat. If one has the money, it would really be awesome to see Kimmie officially accept his ROY award. :)
  
  
• Bowman's Blog ~ Nate talks about his time in Atlanta.
  
  
• AJC.com ~ Awesome Q&A with Fredi during the Winter Meetings. I hate that "fans" give him such a hard time, online and in person. If they could do it better, why don't they have his job? ;)

DO NOT LIKE.

From Bowman on braves.com:

The Braves will almost certainly not tender Peter Moylan a contract by Monday. But Wren said he has already had discussions with Moylan's agent, Adam Katz, about the possibility of the Australian reliever returning once he begins throwing and proves that his surgically repaired right shoulder is sound.

Moylan made just seven appearances this year before he needed to undergo back surgery to repair a ruptured disc. After he returned to the Atlanta bullpen in September, he made just six more appearances before needing to undergo shoulder surgery.

While Moylan is hoping to be ready to pitch early next season, there is certainly a chance he could miss much of the season's first half.

"There's still some unknown about his health status," Wren said. "We probably won't know more until he starts throwing and we get deeper into the rehab process."

Okay. I get it. He's had 3 back surgeries. He's had Tommy John. He just had his shoulder zapped. Wren is 100% business-minded (which is why I have never wanted to be a baseball exec) and he might see a health liability there for a 30-something reliever.

From a fan perspective... if you're a fan and you want Moylo off the team, I don't think we can be friends anymore. There's more than on-field contributions to take into account. He's great with the fans, the rest of the players talk about how fun he is in the clubhouse, and honestly, he's a good pitcher. The negatives don't outweigh the positives, in my opinion.

I understand wanting to pay him less, considering he earned $2MM in 2011 while appearing in only 13 games. 8.1 innings. That's $246,913.58 per inning, or $153,846.15 per appearance. For regular people, that's a lot of money. I'd like to make $153K per appearance at work. ;)

So, here are Lauren's Hopes Regarding the Situation:

• I hope Moylo recovers and is stronger than ever. 
• I hope he never needs another surgery.
• I hope, if the Braves do non-tender him, they bring him back as soon as possible.
• I hope he's okay with taking a smaller salary to stay a Brave.

I don't think I can take many more Winter Meetings talks. They're not fun for me at all. (Yes, I unfollowed everyone on Twitter who is shouting we should trade Jonny Venters.)

ETA:

tweet link

Awesome. Prove them wrong.

Random PS -- I get a lot of searches for "Braves Love Tumblr". It's not called Braves Love, for one thing. It's called Love My Bravos. It's just a silly thing. I'd also like to pimp our new Tumblr, Maxamillion Milkshake. It's mostly pictures of my cousin's dog being awesome in our apartment.

Weird Auctions

No Braves news from the Winter Meetings yet, but the Braves Caravan schedule will be released soon. (Cities and dates, not players yet.)

Unrelated to those things, MLB sends some weird emails. No, I don't need any more Braves gear right now. I have an entire drawer dedicated to Braves shirts, two jerseys in the closet, two fleeces. I don't need any of the things below - look how crazy.

Game-used Baseball from Chipper Jones' 2,500th Hit Game (4/8/11)
auction link

Game-used Baseball from Chipper Jones' 1,500th RBI Game (4/13/11)
auction link

Game-used Baseball from Craig Kimbrel's 39th Save of 2011 Game
(Breaks NL Rookie record for saves) (8/21/11)
auction link

Game-used Baseball from Julio Teheran's 1st Win Game (9/8/11)
auction link

Ball 1: $75. One bid as of 1pm on 12.6.11. Oh, and notice it doesn't say it's Chipper's 2500th hit - it appears to just be a ball used in the game.

Ball 2: $75. No bids as of 1pm on 12.6.11. Also doesn't say it's Chipper's actual 1500th RBI ball.

Ball 3: $75. One bid as of 1pm on 12.6.11. I may not know / remember all the baseball stats in the world, but I do remember that Neftali Feliz set the rookie saves record in 2010 with 40 saves. Therefore, Craig Kimbrel would have broken said record with save #41. Not #39.

Ball 4: $75. One bid as of 1pm on 12.6.11. Did Teheran actually throw this ball? Or did Cristhian? Or EO. Or Anthony Varvaro. We don't know! Four pitchers ran out that day. Who knows?


This post is not to discourage you from bidding on these baseballs. I try not to be so skeptical, but I have a lot of questions about these auctions. (Clearly.) :)

Happy Birthday Moylo, etc.

2011 home opener, one of my fave pics of Moylo

Thanks for the heads up, bud. :D
Moylo's tweet

Hope it's a wonderful day! Or...was. Since you already had your bday in Australia. You know. Also, Moylo. Did you know you share your bday with Britney Spears? You probably did, but my twitter feed is somehow full of more Britney bday news than your birthday, and that makes me sad.

More Braves stuff:

The Braves are asking for captions for this picture of Beardy Rossy. It pretty much has me speechless.

Go caption here.

There's a 10-minute interview with Kimmie here. Sometimes, when I see these interviews I want them to...I don't know, break out the Running Man or something. The well-rehearsed answers are safe, of course, but I prefer more candor.




This one's from last season, but I LOVE the backpack hanging in his locker. I especially love that he got the pink one. :)




And I'm sure you all saw this on Braves.com, but Mac taking all the blame? No. No no no. There is plenty of offensive blame to go around, man. You're great. Next year will be fine. :)