Glory Days

I found my Game Boy the other day and started to play some games that I had. One of which was Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball.

I started to play and saw the date was 1997, so I went to check the Braves roster and was amazed. On there was every one of my childhood baseball idols.

Now, for a disclaimer, my childhood was recent, as the only manager of the Braves I ever knew was Bobby Cox. So my sample size is smaller, though I'm sure the Hank Aaron and Dale Murphy days were wonderful, as were the Phil Niekro years.

That being said, here's the roster:

Kenny Lofton at CF
Michael Tucker at RF
Chipper Jones at 3B
Fred McGriff at 1B
Ryan Klesko at LF
Javy Lopez at C

Mark Lemke at 2B

Jeff Blauser at SS

that was the starting lineup
with the pitcher hitting 9th.
And here was the rotation:

John Smoltz

Greg Maddux

Tom Glavine

Denny Neagle

Terrell Wade

and closing was Mark Wohlers.

I immediately put it in and started to play. (I lost the directions and don't remember the buttons, so I gave up 11 runs in the first inning, but that's beside the point, haha.) Playing with these greats flashed me back to a wonderful childhood.

One where I had a Ryan Klesko poster. One where we bought a Greg Maddux baseball that showed where to put your fingers to throw different pitches. One where my grandpa taught me how to throw Greg Maddux's "mystery ball," the one he threw and never knew which way it was going, yet still had impeccable command. One where I idolized Chipper Jones so much that even as a senior in college I was so jealous I was speechless when my roommate's girlfriend went to a Mets-Braves game in NY and came back saying Chipper talked with her and her family while he was in the on-deck circle. One where I learned what contacts were because we watched so many games and I wondered why Kenny Lofton was always blinking so much. One where I felt okay to wear glasses becasue I saw Greg Maddux wearing them in the dugout,
I can only encourage you all to reminisce your baseball youth in some way, because I haven't been that happy since the Braves made it back to the playoffs and I went to a Divisional game at Turner.

Party at the Ted!

Cole Hamels decided to crash the party planned at the Ted.

There was a birthday party for my friend and roommate Nat planned for Sunday April 10 at Turner Field. As Braves fans, we reluctantly invited the Phillies team, knowing that they have recently decided to be good, in part, I think, to hide the fact that they were the first professional team to reach 10,000 losses. Regardless, we wanted to see some baseball, and there has to be two teams playing each other for that to happen.



Here's me and my girlfriend, Amy, at the pre-party.

Little did we know that Cole Hamels had another plan. Hamels showed up dealing that fine April day, where temperatures almost reached 90 degrees. He pitched seven shutout innings only allowing four hits. He struck out eight and only walked one batter. It was hard to watch. But you have to give credit to a pitcher who is dealing like that. The Braves lost 3-0, but I got a free Tumbler cup thanks to a giveaway during the game. Holla section 402!
(On a side note, there are no bad seats at Turner Field, even being at the top all the levels we saw an amazing game.)

Anyway, I got to thinking about how when the Braves meet good pitchers (and it hurts me to call Hamels that, he's only had one good year, plus one solid playoff run) they do it in style.

On April 13, yes, just three days later, they faced the Marlins' Josh Johnson. Johnson took a no-hitter into the 8th inning, before Freddie Freeman doubled off of him. The Marlins took him out (Freeman wouldn't score) and his line looked like this: 7.1 innings, 1 hit, 3 walks, 9 K's. Chipper homered in the ninth to avoid another shutout, but it was still a 5-1 loss, and the Braves only had 2 hits.

Surprisingly, that wasn't the first time this year that the Braves have been two-hit. They faced the winless Brewers on April 5 and met an in the zone Yovani Gallardo. Gallardo threw a 2-hit shutout against the Braves, walking two and striking out two. He also scored a run, the only run in the 1-0 game.

A lot of times in baseball you will hear of a team's offense not "clicking" or going through a "drought."
I sometimes think that the Braves have an on-off switch somewhere that they occasionally forget to switch on.

Here are a few historic feats, of which the Braves contributed to the wrong side:

Randy Johnson's perfect game. The 6'10" lefty was by no means a bad pitcher, winning 5 Cy Young Awards and winning over 300 games (303). And on May 18, 2004, he dominated the Atlanta hitters en route to baseball's 17th perfect game. The 2-0 game saw competing complete games, with Mike Hampton going 9 innings and giving up only two runs on eight hits while striking out five. However, Johnson fanned 13 to leave with a line of 9.0 innings, 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, and 13 Ks.

Ubaldo Jimenez threw the first no-hitter in Rockies' history...against the Braves. On April 17, 2010, Jimenez pitched a gem and left with a 4-0 win and a no-no. He walked six, but seemed to always be in control. He ended the night with a line of 9.0 innings, 0 hits, 0 runs, 6 walks, and 7 K's.

As I review these dates, it seems to me that the Braves just take a while to warm their bats up. And by June all the cobwebs are out, but even so, that is two month's worth of potential games where there is little to no hitting going on. Hopefully, the Braves can get comfortable at the plate and give some more run support for their pitchers and get back to winning.

And for those of you who worried about the ruined party, we fixed that with a trip to The Vortex Bar & Grill in Atlanta, Georgia. I ate away my sorrow by attacking their Double Bypass Burger.

DOUBLE BYPASS BURGER
Twice as big as the Coronary Bypass! Topped with
two fried eggs, six slices of American cheese, and
eight slices of bacon, all served between the two
grilled cheese sandwiches that we use in place of

the regular hamburger buns.  14.95



I like fries on my burger



Here's the final product and it was delicious

Mark

all images are mine, except the Randy Johnson one, which I google searched

Braves through the first week

You have to put the bat on the ball.

That in itself explains the Braves first week and change. The pitching looks good and there have been flashes of brilliance on the offensive side of the ball, but overall they just haven't hit the ball well.

Here's a quick look at the Braves after their first 11 games:

They are 5-6 in 4th place, 2.5 games out of first place. However, it isn't because of lackluster pitching.

Derek Lowe: Lowe has a 1-2 record, but an ERA of 1.45. He has a 3:1 strikeout to walk ratio but has lacked run support.

Tim Hudson: Timmy has a 2-0 record and an ERA of 1.84. He has a 7:1 strikeout to walk ratio.

Tommy Hanson: Hanson has struggled to start the season, but he threw a shutout tonight and has look progressively better after each start.

Bullpen: The bullpen, with the exception of a collapse against Philadelphia, has been phenomenal. Johnny Venters has been nearly untouchable and Craig Kimbrel in his debut as closer is 3-3 in save opportunities. He also struck out 5 of the first 6 batters he faced.

The hitting has been the problem for Atlanta. Other than an 11-2 victory over Washington, a 6-3 win over the Phillies, and tonight's 5-0 win over the Marlins, the Braves have averaged 1.86 runs per game.

Brian McCann is hitting an impressive .350 and Chipper has a .308 average, but no one else on the team is hitting over .300.  Martin Prado is hitting .298 after a slow start (0-9), but not much else was clicking.

Jason Heyward has a team leading 3 HR and has an OPS of 1.065.

Martin is also doing a great job of adjusting to left field and occasionally playing third when Chipper needs a rest. He is not a fielding liability out there and has actually made some great plays.

Dan Uggla and Freddie Freeman are hitting .167 and .194 respectively, but Freeman is getting good contact on the ball and Uggla when he has hit it, has hit it far (2 HR).

I expect the Braves to finish strong on their stay at home with two more against the Marlins and a three-game series against the Mets. They then head out West to play the Giants, Padres and Dodgers, where things could get a bit tough.

The season is early and there is nothing to worry about. Look for Jair Jurrjens to come back from his injury here in the next week or so and for the bats to wake up.

Mark

UT v. South Carolina Live Blog 4/8

Click here for the UT vs. South Carolina liveblog.

Opening Day

Opening Day is one of the best starts of all the sports.  Not just because baseball has begun, but there is so much more tied in. It is more than just finally getting to see your team play and to get a glimpse on the chances that they win more than they lose.
Opening Day signals the beginning of Spring. Finally the blustery winds and cold weather are behind us, now we're only a few short months from the heat of summer and until we arrive there we get to watch flowers bloom and trees regain their leaves.
Opening Day is about a craving for hot dogs and peanuts, when you realize that your glove needs more working in and you need to buy more sunflower seeds.
Opening Day signals that America's Favorite Pastime has begun and that alone is reason enough to celebrate. And even if you aren't a huge fan, baseball allows for a constant sport until football starts back way in August.
Opening Day causes us to reboot the computer and check our fantasy lineups, to scour the internet finding out if our first baseman is starting or not because he is notoriously bad against lefties.
Opening Day is perfect.

It was Bobby's last season. And rightfully so they went to the postseason.

I have luckily been able to attend this wonderful day twice in the last two years. I spent the opening of the 2010 season at Turner Field watching the Braves open against the Cubs, and this year I went to Progressive Field to watch the Indians take on the White Sox.


The atmosphere is hard to describe, but it is phenomenal. Often they are sell-out crowds and they are buzzing. When I was in Atlanta, it was Bobby Cox's last year of managing the Braves. Everyone knew it was and they came out in abundance, to add on to that it was the 'rookie phenom' Jason Heyward's first career start in the big league.

I watched Jason Heyward hit one out of the park on the first swing of his major league career. The crowd went absolutely crazy. Then I saw Brian McCann go deep. Opening Day is just phenomenal.

Watching your favorite player on your favorite team of your favorite sport hit a homerun is a great feeling.

I encourage you all to go to an Opening Day if you ever get the chance!

Mark