Braves1976 (04-13-2015)
No, we're acting like he's Tommy La Stella! :)
Seriously, get some new material because only idiots like broken records. You keep telling anyone that says anything about skipping a game that they'll still watch (even if they mean in person rather than not watching at all) and you throw out "Stop acting like [insert player name] is Mike Trout (or Babe Ruth)" like you never had an original thought in your life.
sturg33 (04-13-2015)
Really was hoping the nice start might cut some of the old whining off for at least a little bit (since the first week outcomes left nothing for the haters to do but eat crow) but if losing Graham and replacing him with Cody Martin and not playing Peterson a few times early on to see if this "soft platoon" mess really works out OK are the worst things that happen, I'd hope there are a whole bunch of folks ready to fall on their swords. IIRC, some of the folks bitching about Jace not being in the lineup are the same people who promised they weren't watching anymore.
Since the stated intent was to cut down on strikeouts and Peterson has K'd 5 times in 18 ABs to Callaspo's none in 13 (while hitting .538), what exactly is the problem?
Has there EVER been a statement and question a certain someone should absolutely never have made and asked publicly more than...
Kinda pathetic to see yourself as a message board knight in shining armor. How impotent does someone have to be in real life to resort to playing hero on a message board?
Prikichi (04-13-2015)
nsacpi (04-13-2015)
Braves1976 (04-13-2015)
Prikichi (04-13-2015)
Isn't denial a river somewhere?
"Yes, I did think Aldrich was good UNTIL I SAW HIM PLAY. "- thethe
Small sample and everything, but CJ and Callaspo are hitting while Jace isn't. CJ hasn't gotten a start since the 10th, and Callaspo just went 3-6 vs the Mets' RHed pitchers.
If you have a "soft platoon" this is exactly how you do it.
Problem with "losing Graham" was protecting lesser players. Why protect Jaime? Why protect 24 year old in A ball YEan Carlos Gil? Graham is literally pitching in the majors right now. We let a major league reliever go (who's don't quite well in his SSS) for nothing. Not to mention he's 25 so it's not like he's old. Twins may have just gotten their EOF or David Carpenter from us.
Stockholm, more densely populated than NYC - sturg
I think Graham's injury played heavily into the decision not to protect him. Right or wrong, he had experienced arm problems two straight years. Didn't help that he was a college reliever that took on a heavier innings load when he hit the pros. I thought the minor league staff mishandled him and should have left him in the bullpen.
And again I ask - does anybody really care other than those who just want to say "what if" in case it doesn't work out so they can talk about the "idiots" running the team?
We lost another EOF or Carpenter? How many of them have we consistently found and fixed?
Part of the reason we've always drafted so many SPs is that they won't all work out or have spots in our rotation, but they can be turned into very effective middle relievers - Hursh, Cabrera, Fulenchek, Grosser, etc. will be "the next" Cody Martin.
Has there EVER been a statement and question a certain someone should absolutely never have made and asked publicly more than...
Kinda pathetic to see yourself as a message board knight in shining armor. How impotent does someone have to be in real life to resort to playing hero on a message board?
I agree 100%. Braves in the past have used relievers as starters and starters as relievers to get them to work on certain things. I think the idea of making a reliever a starter IIRC is to have them hone their mechanics. I think with Graham what they were trying to do was maximize his trade value and it almost worked.
Stockholm, more densely populated than NYC - sturg
Just got completely lucky that they didn't lose Martin, too.
I don't want to hijack, but what you have just described is my biggest gripe with the entire Wren regime. Graham came out of college with lights-out potential closer stuff. So what do the Braves do? Try to convert him into a starter. I get the reasoning behind Martin's conversion because he's a command guy whose stuff isn't as electric as Graham's was. But there was no reason for Graham not to head back to the bullpen after his second season as a pro. I just hope the Braves' minor league instructional/player development approach is a bit more sensible moving forward.