2012 Atlanta Braves: Chipper Walks on Gilded Splinters

I have a bad feeling about this.

beat those Philthies

2012: more of 2011, but with Tommy Hanson guest-starring as Captain Caveman

The ol' TINSTAAPP strikes again.

DavidOBrien – #Braves reliever Arodys Vizcaino has torn ligament, having surgery now and hope is he’ll be ready this time next year.

:-(

Gilded meniscuses

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones will have arthroscopic surgery Monday to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee.

Jones injured the knee Thursday when he slipped while stretching before batting practice. It also was just before his scheduled news conference, where he announced he was planning to retire after this season.

I'm just going to try to laugh my way through this season.

I don't remember ever having a baseball dream before in my life, but last night I dreamed Fredi was fired. No explanation, just "Braves Fire Manager" and then I woke up.

braves vs. braves prospects all-star team exhibition tonight at 7:05 eastern

free video stream will be here

Good pitching, anemic at the plate. Going to be a lot of that this season.

E: J Francisco 3 (3, throw 2, ground ball)

Yeah, he's really shittin' it up tonight. Two of those on one play.

reds otm

J. Francisco invited to ride the pine the rest of the night.

he shall be livan

I would say it's time for Fredi to scream and throw bats in the showers and call the team a bunch of lollygaggers, except I think he needs to be one of the ones screamed at too.

Chipper rushed his meniscus back into action starting tonight because LOL WE SUCK and Jordan Schafer decided to test it by dropping a bunt down 3rd to lead off the Astros'* 1st. Estimate percent chance Schafer gets one in the ear next time he comes up?

*actually Colt 45's tonight

i dunno -- can the braves really afford to put a runner on base?

:/

Murphy to join Braves' TV booth as analyst | braves.com: News
After spending two weeks being introduced to the broadcasting side of baseball during Spring Training, Dale Murphy said he was hoping to spend some more time behind the microphone this summer. Many Braves fans will be delighted to know Murphy will receive his wish. The two-time National League MVP will provide analysis during at least 14 Braves games this year. His first assignment with the Fox Sports South broadcast team will come on Sunday afternoon, when he calls the series finale against the Brewers with Joe Simpson and Chip Caray.

aaaaaghhh noooo, go raise some more kids or grandkids or something

I bet Dale is a big VORP and DIPS guy

he should be, since 398 homers isn't doing the trick for him

I was a bit panicky after an 0-4 start. The Braves don't suck, but my estimate of Chipper's future goes down every day. He's a defensive liability even compared to Juan Francisco, and my knees hurt just watching him run. Last night, him going from 1st to 3rd on a McCann single and then scoring on a sac fly looked a little like a Hostel sequel.

we should have a time-travel race pitting him vs 1973 Willie Mays.

Chipper can definitely still rake though.

Watching these guys pile up runs like this without Larry in the lineup is exciting.

And MIKE MINOR FUCK YEAHHH

BRANDON BEACHY FUCK YEAHHH

Also, lefty-lefty matchups not a problem against AZ, 9 for 15.

The biggest surprise is that the Braves have outscored every other team in baseball so far this season.

Jurrjens down to AAA

Tough but fair. Something's seriously wrong with him; not sure if it's mechanical or between his ears, and Hudson needs the roster spot.

thats weird.. jurrjens didnt last 4ip last night, but he got nickled and dimed to death by the dodgers. almost all the hits were of the cheap variety..

He's been way off his game since his injuries started piling up. 3-4 mph off his fastball, and decreased sinking movement that has cut his ground ball percentage on balls in play in half. He's got to relearn to pitch without the sinking fastball that he used to have, and Frank Wren's not going to let him do that in the majors.

Best way to get to the closer -- hit a line drive off his face.

line drives: they fly at u face

Granddad must feel ok -- he attempted a straight steal in the 6th.

Also, McCann came out after the 5th, no explanation yet.

^^^ strained intercostal, day to day

jurrrjjjens was decent in triple-a today -- 7 ip, 1 r, 4 h, 3 bb, 4 k -- but a) he didn't have to face the legendary brad eldred and b) i have no idea how hard he was throwing

wacky game

Wild

I, uh... that was cool.

A 5.25 runs/game offense is a nice surprise.

13 more runs, and career save #1 for Livan Hernandez.

I wondered what those words between Moyer and Chipper were about last night -- turns out the old man was barking at the old man about relaying signs.

http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2012_05_05_atlmlb_colmlb_1&mode=recap_away&c_id=atl

no one wants to get beaned by jamie moyer

http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3qibtM0YV1qzniimo1_500.jpg

wap!

Great job surviving the Beltran onslaught tonight.

One of the most fun things about watching the Braves offense is how hard they work opposing pitchers...they're like jockeys who go to the whip before the first pole. They had Wainwright at 79 pitches through three innings last night, and they just made Lance Lynn throw 36 pitches in the 3rd inning, and 96 through four innings. Heyward rode Lynn into the dirt, fouling off everything until Lynn gave him a meatball on the 12th pitch of the AB for a 3-run double.

http://blog.liberationbc.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/brooms.jpg

Braves offensive patience from 2010 through 2012 is like night and day and night again

Winless on Mondays, wtf.

Come on, Dempster, shit or get off the pot.

He wants to play for the Dodgers.

Yeah, I've been dipping into the blogs and rumor mill today.

*UPDATE 1:34 PM* According to Ken Rosenthal Dempster is holding the trade up because he would prefer the Cubs to continue to try to work out a deal to the Dodgers. If this is the case, there is a high probability that both the Dodgers and Braves will move on from Dempster and he will end up staying with the Cubs. The Dodgers don’t seem willing to give up the pieces that the Cubs want in return, and the Braves seem unwilling to wait more than a couple of additional days on Dempster.

Theo Epstein could come out of this looking really, really bad. All indications are he gave the Braves the impression that this was a done deal, and now there seems to be a very real chance that he ends up keeping Dempster, not getting a major piece to rebuild his team in Delgado, and making Frank Wren severely question him in future dealings. Every hour that goes by with Dempster not approving the deal is an hour closer to the Braves being forced to pursue other options and thus take the deal off the table.

I want to thank Dempster for not letting the Braves pull off such a short-sighted trade. If they deal Delgado it should be somebody under contract at least through next year or for a legitimate top-of-the-rotation type.

Still winless on Mondays btw.

that flippy-glove thing is surely worth its weight in WAR tho

First look at Trouble With the Curve -- Clint Eastwood as an aging Braves scout with vision problems. Also with Amy Adams, Justin Timberlake. http://afterthecut.com/2012/07/27/first-look-trouble-with-the-curve/

Sheeeeeeeeeeeets

He looks so good out there, so comfortable.

Medlen & Jurrjens trading rotation/bullpen spots, Medlen to start Tuesday. Simpson said tonight that Atl had the same idea to limit Medlen's IP this season coming off TJ surgery as WAS & Strasburg. (Unspoken: minus the drama and bullshit in Washington.) Instead of working him early and facing a tough decision to shut him down later in the season, they had Medlen work middle relief early and now comes the rotation spot and 120 or so IP for the season. Tactical advantage to Frank Wren, imo.

Also, of the NL playoff contenders, Atlanta has the fewest games against .500+ opponents the rest of the season.

@RealCJ10
Nice sweep by the Bravos! Couple guys went yicketty. Beating the Doc is no easy task. 5 and 0 on the twitta! How long will it last? Naptime!

Chipper is so perky on twitter.

that's so chipper

he's having a fine season in the games he's able to play

Monday curse broken!

Pretty good story from Ken Rosenthal about how the Braves got Ben Sheets.
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/atlanta-braves-pitcher-ben-sheets-great-under-the-radar-acquisition-080212

I would love to do some magic auto-replace so that every time Chip Caray tried to say the word "towering," it would come out "panty-moistening" or "taint-shivering" or something. Anything to break him from that word.

- Happy Chipper Jones Bobblehead Day!

- 6-man rotation: classic or dud?

- Caray usually repeats the paid attendance when the PA guy announces it late in the game. Last night it was announced during a lull in the action, 16,000 and change, and the booth mics picked it up. Caray doesn't announce the number, instead goes off on an ecstatic rant about how there are only 20 more opportunities to see a particular future Hall of Famer play here. #coolpointlessstorybro

Big game from Chipper, hope it doesn't overshadow what Medlen's doing too much. Dude's been dealing all year.

via Capitol Avenue Club,

Dan Uggla IFFB% by Season
2006 (FLA) – 6.8%
2007 – 9.6
2008 – 8
2009 – 9.8
2010 – 6.8
2011 (ATL) – 11.9
2012 – 18.9

BAN POPEYE ARMS

MEDLEN!!!!!!!

3 runs in 6 starts now, 28.1 consecutive scoreless, 38:5 K:BB as starter, and two pickoffs tonight. Absolute command of all his pitches.

McCann's August: .194 BA, 1 run, 2 RBI, 0 extra base hits.

hahahaha daaaaang

wau

Every 5th/6th day I'm just going to pop in here and say MEDLEN!!!!!! again.

@AmyKNelson
Mets just ran a short video of Chipper Jones. With about 5 people here, think 2 were booing, 2 were clapping. Heard one Larry. #enthralling

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvLikiVraHE

Aw, we lost our shot at 3 consecutive 1-0 wins. (Only happened twice before - 1909, 1917.)

Just call it now, radar looks wet until 11 p.m.

These guys aren't just shitting the bed, they are testing the bed's shit-holding capacity.

Medlen holy shit

I know, right? That's a tough no-decision if Atl. manages to pull this out.

I don't think I'm being too much of a stan in saying he's the best starter in the game right now.

17 Ks and the win, wheee. Bats are still in drydock, but I'll take it. Braves have won 20 straight Medlen starts...MLB record is 22 I think.

fuckin A, that dude is singlehandedly keeping my in 7th place in FBB.

patient, patient, patient -- pushed Gio G. to 50 pitches in 2 innings.

Wow

^____^

Medlen's human after all, but a nice walk-off from Freddie. And the Nats are losing in the 9th, and the Braves won Medlen's 22nd consecutive start, and everybody in the clubhouse managed to spray champagne in Chipper's eyes.

Medlen gets that record, which means he's real good and the bullpen is better than real good. OK, whatever.

So, 3 games left. I don't expect them to catch the Walgreens for the division.

Season: 93-66, .585 winning percentage. 694 runs, 7.46 per game.
September: 19-8, .703 winning percentage. 3.55 runs per game.

Obviously these guys need to start showing up on offense or the postseason's going to be real short again. Bourn looked good today with a week off to nurse the thumb, but Prado and Simmons, maybe Uggla, are the only other spots in the lineup hitting consistently right now.

Playing all six games of the final homestand so the fans could get their cellphone pictures* completely gassed Chipper. Wouldn't be surprised to see him sit the entire Pittsburgh series. Both catchers are hurt, though Ross is playing through his oblique strain better than McCann is handling the knee and shoulder.

Pitching's in good shape except for O'Flaherty's back. As long as they don't have to go to Tommy Hanson.

*Attendance at the Marlins series was just over 50% capacity all 3 games, a little depressing to see.

Can you spot the ridiculous math error in the above post?

Anyway, it's Halloween at the Medlen household:
http://cdn0.sbnation.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/2386799/medshalloween2.0_standard_709.0.jpg
http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/1663389/MedsHalloween_medium.jpg

Chipper Jones ‏@RealCJ10

What a crock of crap! Oswald killed Kennedy? Seriously? Sorry, but I'm watching JFK. It's almost laughable what they want us to believe.

Chipper Jones ‏@RealCJ10
Read the Warren Commission Report. I have. It's a crock. No way Kennedy's head moves back and to the left, if shot from the back.

Chipper Jones ‏@RealCJ10
JFK is on REELZ. Zapruder footage is coming on soon. Check it out. Oswald is behind JFK and to the right. No way he fired the kill shot.

lar - ry

Chipper should start a tea party talk radio show with Schilling.

hahaha, Chipper steps blinking into the world. Within a year or two, he'll say something so stupid he retreats back to the game and start his 2nd career as a hitting coach.

Chipper Jones (@RealCJ10)
So the FBI comes out and confirms that Sandy Hook was a hoax! Where is the outrage? What else are we being lied to about? Waco? JFK? Pfff...

http://deadspin.com/chipper-jones-is-now-a-sandy-hook-truther-1684338661

^^I missed this post at the time--never knew anything about this story until I just read a HOF column by Posnanski. So should Jones be viewed as Schilling is now?

@RealCJ10
It was irresponsible of me to do that and will not happen again. Please accept my heartfelt apology to those who were hurt or offended.

I don't think we will ever see that from the Cheese Curt.

True enough, but just the idea that he would entertain the idea that Newtown was faked is pretty creepy.

like 2 out of every 3 chipper jones tweets is a picture of him with a deer he killed

Didn't know that about him either. In any event, Jones is going in, and I think Schilling ought to too.

I do not doubt he will get in on the first ballot.

Jones, absolutely. Which circles back to my original question: how is a Sandy Hook conspiracy theory appreciably less reckless than some of Schilling's statements (with or without apology)? I know I've tried to negotiate the murky gray area when it comes to PEDs, but this is off-field stuff that absolutely has no bearing on the game itself.

lotta ballplayers are kinda stoopid