Game Thread in Exile: May 21, Braves at D-Backs
Boy, it's hot. Guess I'll stay indoors.
posted by Mac @ 5/21/2006 12:21:00 PM
32 Comments
Braves Journal
Langerhans has been destroyed!
5/21/2006
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32 Comments:
Is Bobby now old enough to collect Social Security?
Marcus Giles just isn't very good offensively anymore. I hope we don't overpay to keep him. In fact, I wouldn't mind trading him at the deadline.
Well, I seem to remember similar complaints about Furcal last year, and he went on to OPS .868 after the All-Star break. Everybody wanted to trade him then, too. Let's not jump the gun, huh?
Yeah, but Furcal's previous success wasn't the result of steroid use. I'm not jumping the gun. He can't catch up to a fastball anymore. And when he does, he can't drive it. Maybe he could fetch us some bullpen help, or a prospect or two, and at least Cox would be willing to bat his replacement (Prado or Pena) 8th, where someone with Marcus's production should be batting.
So we brought up Pena and DFA'ed Travis Smith. Eh.
In addition, Furcal was playing gold-glove defense as a shortstop, and when he did get on base, he was stealing bases. I also seem to recall everyone saying what a great base stealer Marcus is...well, that hasn't turned out to be the case, has it?
I would much rather trade Marcus this season than (a) risk overpaying him in the future, and (b) letting him walk for just a draft pick.
And yes, ububba, that Counsell call was terrible.
"Furcal's previous success wasn't the result of steroid use."
WTF is this supposed to mean? How do you know Marcus was using and Furcal wasn't?
"Furcal was playing Gold-Glove defense."
Marcus has had less errors than Furcal every year. One year, he had half as many. This year to date, he has a third as many. I don't understand this criticism. And yes, I know errors are an imperfect stat. So is every other defensive metric.
Really, I think it's too early to throw in the towel. As far as not catching up to fastballs, Mike Lowell says hi. I think Marcus will rebound.
Now watch him hit .240/.325/.335 the whole year...
I don't know that Marcus was using and Furcal wasn't. I always suspected Marcus and not Furcal, though. And Marcus's power has dropped off since testing began, whereas Furcal's hasn't.
And, if you're going to quote me, use the whole quote, or you're misrepresenting. I said Furcal played great D AS A SHORTSTOP. It's the more valuable defensive position. Of course he made more errors than Marcus; he gets a lot more opportunities. He also saves A LOT more baserunners and runs than Marcus does.
It wasn't meant as a criticism of Marcus. But it's a fact that a great-D-playing shortstop is better than a similarly slick fielding 2B. I was just pointing out the obvious flaws in your comparison of Marcus to Furcal.
FWIW, I think Marcus was probably juicing, too. But Furcal could have been as well, or neither of them, or Furcal and not Giles; there's really no way of knowing, as there are no positive tests, no conclusive studies on the effects of steroids on hitting, and no way of drawing conclusions about Marcus' power loss that don't involve confounding steroids and a shoulder injury. I just don't think you can throw statements around like that.
I would assume that more of Furcal's errors were throwing errors, and that his totals would have been a lot lower if he didn't have such a cannon arm and thus try to make more plays. But Marcus's defense has been perfectly fine. I don't see how it's relevant. I think the difference is probably negligible.
Not sure where I'm going with this. Only that I think Marcus is going to rebound, and that Furcal's hot second half should teach us to be more patient.
Well, luckily for me, I *do* think you can throw such statements around. At least on a fan forum like this, where it's basically everyone venting to everyone else. Of course, the fact that many Braves fans share my views on Marcus and no one has previously voiced such a concern about Furcal is probably worth noting, too. (This isn't a courtroom. You don't need to prove things with a preponderance of the evidence to feel confident in their truth.)
And you *actually* think the difference between a Gold Glove-caliber SS and a solid-to-above-average defensive 2B is negligible? Thank goodness you aren't assembling my team's roster.
And, once again, I don't see why FURCAL's second half should teach us to be more patient with GILES. They're two completely different players, one's history having absolutely no bearing on the other's. If Marcus had gotten off to a similar start last year and finished strong, you might have a strong point there. But he didn't, and I don't think you do.
Oh, well, at least we aren't being completely and embarrassingly dominated by Juan Cruz.
No, I don't think the difference is negligible. I think Furcal makes too many careless mistakes to be considered Gold Glove-caliber. He was always maddening to me on defense because there was so much raw talent and yet so many foul-ups.
If I can't look at Furcal last year and conclude that sometimes players (in general) turn around and make it worthwhile to be patient with them, how can you conclude that after 3 years of 800+ OPSing, Marcus has definitely fallen off a cliff from which there is no return and we should cut our losses while we can? I just don't see it.
I thought I had managed to jinx Cruz. Apparently, he's too good for that.
I remember being excited when we signed Pratt. I now dread every game in which he plays. I suppose I hadn't realized how far he'd fallen--and how many years he'd aged--from his days with the Mets years ago.
How did the D-backs get Cruz again? I thought we traded him to Oakland.
Well, Furcal was absolutely the best defensive SS in baseball, last season, precisely because he cut down on those poor throws.
And again, even if I'm wrong about Marcus, that has nothing to do with Furcal last year. When Furcal struggled last year, he was swinging for the fences (similar to Marcus, I think), and popping everything up. He still made pretty consistent contact, though.
Marcus, however cannot hit a halfway-decent fastball this year. And, like I said, he's not driving anything. And he's striking out WAY more than Furcal did.
Maybe you're right and he'll start hitting again, and his OPS will be back up where it was the past 3 seasons. I, for one, think he looks much worse at the plate than he ever has before and, based on his swings, am quite skeptical as to his ability to bounce back this season.
From the notes on the official website, it sounds like they may have to DL him. It swelled up and got really stiff over night and he can't move it. Not too surprising, I guess. I'm just glad he didn't break anything.
All right, Stu, time will tell, and we'll just agree to disagree.
Hudson's really battled for us today. Starting to earn that salary, methinks.
Also, Green really helped us out by swinging at that 3-0 sinker.
That was pretty terrible by Langerhans there. Effectively killed that rally by swinging at a ball that was never near the strike zone. I'm nervous about having only 2 runs.
Start them again, Frenchy thrown out stealing. Still at 0%, right?
I didn't realize Huddy's strike-ball ratio was so pedestrian today. Right now, it sits at 54-49.
Let's get some Reitsma Room. We need at least 4 runs here.
If Billy Wagner and Mariano Rivera merit "Enter Sandman," Chris Reitsma should enter the field to "Give It Away." Seeing him warming up now makes me physically ill.
These players today... You know what bothers me? They don't even think triple. Andruw just jogged to second. Now, I'm not saying he could have had a triple there -- but he might have. And I'm not picking on Andruw, because they all do it.
By the way, I think that the WordPress blog will be ready tomorrow.
I'll be right back to watch Reitsma. I just have to put these scissors where I can't get at them.
*$#%#^%&#**#^%%^$$##$!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Holy cow, a pitching change? Could Bobby be learning?
Reitsma is the leading cause of diarrhea in a six-state area of the Southeast.
Are fans on the road cheering Reitsma entering a game yet? I was in D.C. for that Braves/Nats series in early September last year and, even though he was no longer closing, they were popping for Kolb being brought in like he was Charlie Sheen at the end of "Major League."
Can someone tell me if we can get p travis smith from the memphis redbirds. All the braves have to do is move John Smoltz to the bullpen. Use smoltz as your closer, Ken Ray as your setup man. Lance Cormier and Oscar Villareal can eat up some innings and recall Chuck James. Have Hudson, James, Smith, Ramirez and Sosa round up the starting five. Send Paronto to the minors.
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