GDT 4/24 Atlanta (8-7) @ Philadelphia (5-11) 7:05 pm (ET)

Yes. Feeling crappy is normal and expected. But you don't bring it on the field and have mopey at-bats and play half-ass defense.
 
Julio3000 said:
I know that Stults had a lot of positive things to say about AJ after his start the other night. On the other hand, to my untrained eye, Bethancourt has looked like a better receiver. Deck chairs on the Titanic, I guess.

I said in ST that I wasn't worried worried about the bullpen, but that was before the Kimbrel deal, obviously. Moving everyone up a notch has obviously exposed some weaknesses . . . not to mention the fact that the starters have been struggling to go beyond 5.
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Losing Kimbrel and Simmons really changed things. Plus none of the guys who we thought might work out actually earned a spot. Vizcaino with the stanozolololol, Outman not living up to his namesake and Russel being horrible to the point that they just told him to git... etc.
 
I haven't watched as much of the games this season, but I really haven't noticed Freddie's body language issues. He seems like he always is to me. As for his hitting, it seems like his biggest issue right now is that he's just not hitting into much luck. K% is up and BB% is down, but it's so early that a couple more walks and a couple less K's and the ratio is right where it usually is. The good news is that he's hitting more line drives/fly balls and hitting more HR's.
 
weso1 said:
Losing Kimbrel and Simmons really changed things. Plus none of the guys who we thought might work out actually earned a spot. Vizcaino with the stanozolololol, Outman not living up to his namesake and Russel being horrible to the point that they just told him to git... etc.
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We need to look on the bright side more around here. Grilli has been great. Martin has been a breath of fresh air. Avilan has rebounded nicely from a disastrous 2014. I have a feeling we'll be happy with Cornely and/or Kohn. Also Donnie Veal is pitching well in AAA. And I think Thomas can pitch at the major league level. I think the team as a whole will be no better than palatable. But the pen is an area where I think some long-term solutions will be found. And I haven't even mentioned guys who are starting in the minors but figure to be in the pen at the major league level. Banuelos for example. Now if only Fredi can figure out how to use these guys without breaking them down.
 
nsacpi said:
We need to look on the bright side more around here. Grilli has been great. Martin has been a breath of fresh air. Avilan has rebounded nicely from a disastrous 2014. I have a feeling we'll be happy with Cornely and/or Kohn. Also Donnie Veal is pitching well in AAA. And I think Thomas can pitch at the major league level. I think the team as a whole will be no better than palatable. But the pen is an area where I think some long-term solutions will be found. And I haven't even mentioned guys who are starting in the minors but figure to be in the pen at the major league level. Banuelos for example. Now if only Fredi can figure out how to use these guys without breaking them down.
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I agree with that. We'll find some guys for the pen and next year if Simmons can come back that will be a huge improvement. Plus I expect the back end of the rotation to improve by the end of the year.

And then there are the 2 speedsters who could potentially make an impact for us next season.

So it is nice to know that for some of our issues there are some potential fixes on the way soon.

It's just this year would be more enjoyable for me to watch if Fredi would just play the young guys. I just have no interest watching the statue Callaspo trying to move to his left or right to field a groundball. Plus he can't hit. Only reason he's on the team is because he got a bad contract.
 
chop2chip said:
the guy we got for him is doing well in AAA, FWIW. Averaging over a K/9
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Looked good in ST, too. I think MFII's point above is a good one, and worth considering as we move on. My issue with Varvaro was not that I minded trading him for Kurcz. Kurcz is younger and will possibly be an effective major-league reliever relatively soon. It was with the valuation of Varvaro by some folks around here.

I wouldn't be surprised to see a regular shuttle from Gwinnett this year for the bullpen guys, both to assess the talent we have and maybe to save some arms from overuse.
 
Julio3000 said:
Looked good in ST, too. I think MFII's point above is a good one, and worth considering as we move on. My issue with Varvaro was not that I minded trading him for Kurcz. Kurcz is younger and will possibly be an effective major-league reliever relatively soon. It was with the valuation of Varvaro by some folks around here.

I wouldn't be surprised to see a regular shuttle from Gwinnett this year for the bullpen guys, both to assess the talent we have and maybe to save some arms from overuse.
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I agree. There is a strong tendency to to undervalue the outflows and overvalue the inflows. Objectivity is a silly thing.

But I still agree with the process. Relievers the quality of Varvaro only make sense in their pre-arbitration years. He had just about used those years up, so it made sense to move him for a guy that has similar upside that hasn't started the arbitration process yet. But what we are experiencing is the downside to trades like that, even if that downside was expected.
 
Other teams, the Orioles for example, have made very effective use of the shuttle in recent years. Time we got with the program. But we do have to plan a bit with the guys who are out of options.
Julio3000 said:
Looked good in ST, too. I think MFII's point above is a good one, and worth considering as we move on. My issue with Varvaro was not that I minded trading him for Kurcz. Kurcz is younger and will possibly be an effective major-league reliever relatively soon. It was with the valuation of Varvaro by some folks around here.

I wouldn't be surprised to see a regular shuttle from Gwinnett this year for the bullpen guys, both to assess the talent we have and maybe to save some arms from overuse.
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I know it's early and things could(likely will) change once it warms up but the team slashed line compared to a year ago is pretty telling

2014
241/305/360 - 665

2015
232/300/372 - 672

And yes there are more teams worse then the Braves at this point then there was at the end of last year. But I can easily see this team's slash line being worse then last years.
 
But our weak contact rate will be much improved.
thewupk said:
I know it's early and things could(likely will) change once it warms up but the team slashed line compared to a year ago is pretty telling

2014

241/305/360 - 665

2015

232/300/372 - 672

And yes there are more teams worse then the Braves at this point then there was at the end of last year. But I can easily see this team's slash line being worse then last years.
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nsacpi said:
Huge.
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aaronharang.jpg
 
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