Braves Post - Meet some new, strange faces

[War Machine Dawg]

Than all of those but Sabathia and Smoltz. Burnett's had nearly as many injuries as Sheets in his career. Dempster has only had 1 good season as a starter. Lowe is "only" 35, so he should have several good years left with the way most pitchers are going now. And I still think we wind up signing a LF. If Frank Wren weren't a complete moron, we'd be the team to beat in the East right now.

 

[SoxFan343]

Smoltz and Sheets might not pitch until July, Burnett is only healthy in contract seasons, and Dempster had one good season where he only pitched well at home. What's Dempster's career ERA? 4.75?

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[ArrowDawg]

.....to see it, but I always knew the great times wouldn't last. Unlike what some people think, I'm still a committed Braves fan. I just don't follow them religiously like I used to. I just feel a little more disconnected now because of the change in guard, and the poor management of the franchise lately. They're not contenders anymore, and they don't seem to be doing anything to change that.

 

[Ol Blue.sixpack]

"You don't need stats to tell you that someone looked bad".

Especially when those stats contradict your arguement and prove that you were wrong.

The fact that he went on the disabled list a couple of days after the start prove me right. And the fact that they shut him down shortly after that until today, makes it a slam dunk that something was wrong with him that night. I don't care what his stats said. You are either ignorant or like to argue. But you really need to pay better attention if you are going to discuss sports.

 

[Ol Blue.sixpack]

I WAS talking about Brian Barton the outfielder. He did play middle infield at college when he was at Miami. He also is in a crowded outfield and has some ability- in particular speed.

You're talking about the white dude who the Cardinals got from the D-backs a couple of years ago.

I'm talking about the dude with dreadlocks. While there may not be talk about it now, I wouldn't be surprised if the Cardinals give him a look there, because he's not going to take over for Ludwick, Ankiel, and Shumaker and maybe Colby Rasmus. Heck, it's not more far fetched than Shumaker being the second baseman.

And reading that article, it seems to me that Duncan is more concerned about his youth than anything. And while his slider may not have been Steve Carlton-esque, he still stepped up and got the job done, like I said he would. I have no reason at this point to believe that he won't get better.

And aGAIN you're putting words into my mouth. I didn't say that his slider was major league ready, I said that he was the best option for the closer job, and I was right.

Edit for clarification: I am NOT saying that Brian BarTON the outfielder WILL BE the Cardinals second baseman and will hit .424 for them. I AM saying that it is a POSSIBILITY since some people on this board like to make up things to try to "win" their arguement and I can see them coming back in May and saying something to the effect "Well, you said that Brian Barton will be the second baseman".

I know who you were talking about. That's why I corrected you. Barton will be in Triple A this year. That's where he needed to be last year, but he had to be on the big league roster because he was a rule 5. As for Perez, I'm shaking my head about how %#!*+!@ hard-headed you are. It's like you are arguing with Dave %#!*+!@ Duncan. I mean he says - HE NEEDS ANOTHER PITCH. What part of he's not ready to close don't you understand? Are you Peaches twin brother?

 

[Todd4State]

He pitched in THREE <17'n> GAMES!!!! And it wasn't even the SAME INJURY!!!!!

And since you know so much about pitching mechanics, what was wrong with his mechanics?

aGAIN you don't care what the stats say because if you're hurt you're not going to put up numbers like that. You're velocity is not going to be where it was- and that's not a stat, how do you explain that since you don't like stats? How do you explain the fact that his control wasn't off?

 

[Frances Drebin]

...Sabathia is fat and has gotten his big contract. He's due to break down. And he's not going to be as dominant in the AL, and particularly in the AL East. Sheets is outstanding when healthy, which isn't going to be this year. Dempster sucks, last year notwithstanding. Burnett is an injury risk and wildly inconsistent. Smoltz has been injured more often than not and is on the wrong side of 40. You know what you're getting with Lowe...he's going to throw 200 innings, he's going to stabilize the top of the rotation, and he's probably going have an ERA down near 3.5. The number of innings is probably the biggest thing for the Braves given that their bullpen is going to suck. Someone needs to eat innings.

Lowe is an outstanding pickup for Atlanta. It may not make much of a difference since he can't pitch every day.

 

[Todd4State]

aGAIN I'm not arguing that he doesn't need to work on his slider, but he's the Cardinals best choice to be the closer.

He's a young player, and Duncan and LaRussa are going to protect him as much as possible, and rightfully so. They also don't want him to get a big head. But when all is said and done, he will probably be the Cardinals closer.

One thing you need to understand about pro baseball- the coaches are not going to tell the media everything.