When Jason Heyward burst on to the Atlanta Braves baseball radar fans were treated to a 3 run homer and dreams of a new power hitter. Little by little though that dream faded and Heyward struggled mightily.
Heyward was just 20 years old at the time. He came from Henry County High School just a few miles south of Turner Stadium. He was part of the East Cobb Baseball Program. He was the hometown boy made good. He was compared to Hank Aaron on a multitude of levels. The fans were all over him from the moment he put on a Braves uniform. The expectations were massive and growing. It was a lot to take in. Read more... (530 words, 1 image, estimated 2:07 mins reading time)
The rumors have flow fast and furious. The trade scenarios have been numerous. It looks like though, in the end, the Braves will be standing pat.
Martin Prado, the subject of about a million trade rumors and scenarios, has now signed a new deal with the Braves for 1 year and a little over 4 million dollars. That puts an end to any and all trade rumors and scenarios that have been talked about for weeks now regarding Prado. He is officially with the Braves for another year. Read more... (291 words, 1 image, estimated 1:10 mins reading time)
The MLB trade market stove was keeping warm over the last few days with several trades, moves, contract extensions and more. The free agent market kept things simmering as more teams and players cemented their plans for 2012.
It was being reported that the White Sox and lefty John Danks had come to a 5 year contract extension worth $65 million.
The Cardinals solidified their lineup by adding Carlos Beltran to the team with a reported 2 year deal.
The Nationals won the Gio Gonzalez sweepstakes and set their sights on 2012 by shoring up their rotation considerably but giving up 4 prospects to do it. The Nationals also reportedly have a 1 year deal with infielder/outfielder Mark DeRosa pending a physical. Read more... (239 words, 1 image, estimated 57 secs reading time)
The Braves are killing me slowly. The torture of a bipolar existence that in the end leads to death of dreams and the slow realization that another post season has passed me by. It’s like the slow drip of a leaky faucet or the tick tock of the clock as the hours and days pass by counting down to the end of the regular season as I watch the team I love slowly, inexorably keep killing me slowly. Read more... (503 words, 1 image, estimated 2:01 mins reading time)
For Red Sox and Rays fans, okay Red Sox fans, this weekend is HUGE. Not just a little huge. Not just maybe huge. It is HUGE and that might not cover it.
The Red Sox and Rays face off this weekend in what could determine which team ends up in the post season as the wildcard. As it stands right now, the Red Sox are only 3 games ahead of the Rays for the wildcard spot in the American League. The Rays have been keeping it close and inching closer all week. In fact, the series started yesterday and the Rays won. This series will determine the postseason. It’s just that simple. The Red Sox have lost 2 in a row. They are 2-8 over their last 10 games. The Rays on the other hand are 7-3 over their last 10. Momentum is certainly in the Rays favor, but the Red Sox cannot be counted out. This is going to be a great series. Read more... (407 words, 1 image, estimated 1:38 mins reading time)
There are not a lot of big games on tap for the weekend, but as always there are 1 or 2 series that could have post season implications.
The first is Yankees vs Angels and the magic number in this series is 2.5. The Yankees are currently 2.5 ahead of the Red Sox in the AL East and the Angels are now 2.5 games back of the Rangers in the AL West. These are the only 2 divisions that at this late date could have a change between number 1 and number 2. The Red Sox have the wildcard spot at 7 games ahead of the Angels. These games could have an impact in both divisions depending on the outcome. The Rangers and Red Sox get much easier opponents in the A’s and the Rays respectively for the weekend. Read more... (340 words, 1 image, estimated 1:22 mins reading time)
There was one thing that the recent Braves/Phillies showed me – and that was that the Braves have no answer for the Phillies top 3 pitchers. As a Braves fan, this is a very distressing realization.
While the Braves have played well this year, they are currently 84-60 on the season and a 90 win season is not out of the question. By most teams standards, that’s a really good season. It’s a good season for the Braves and they will make the playoffs, all things staying equal. But once they get there, the hopes of getting much past the first 3 games are really dwindling at this point. Read more... (537 words, 1 image, estimated 2:09 mins reading time)
In one of the biggest series of the season, so far, the Braves and Phillies face off in an NL East matchup. Unfortunately for the Braves, it was not a good start at all.
The Braves were blanked by Cliff Lee and the Phillies to the tune of 9-0 in the first game of the series. Adding insult to injury, the Braves had a total of 5 hits for the game.
Derek Lowe didn’t have a good game at all giving up 8 hits, 7 runs with 5 earned, 4 walks and 4 strikeouts. Not a good game at all. Linebrink and Vizcaino both gave up runs in relief for the Braves. Overall, it was not a good night for the Braves pitchers. Read more... (227 words, 1 image, estimated 54 secs reading time)
My favorite baseball team is still bipolar. They still win and lose, win and lose. They still lose to teams they shouldn’t. But when they win, they do it with a blast, or two.
The Braves love the long ball. They regularly hit them to win games. They regularly hit them to help win games. They hit them with the middle of the lineup and the expected players, Chipper Jones and Brian McCann and they hit them with those you would least expect, Derek Lowe. Read more... (476 words, 1 image, estimated 1:54 mins reading time)
The Braves continue to do what they have done for most of the 2nd half, win games. For a long time, they were unable to make up any ground on the Phillies, but of late they have been slowly creeping closer.
At the current time, the Braves are just 6 games back of the Phillies. They have gone 8-2 over their last 10 games. They have been putting together multi-game win streaks. The bats have woken up for the team as a whole and they are winning games, lots of games. Read more... (270 words, 1 image, estimated 1:05 mins reading time)
