The Braves Are Back on Top of the N.L. EAST!!!

After what has seemed like the longest week ever the Braves have finally wrapped up the N.L. East division title.

With all this in mind I thought I would put together what I consider to be my playoff roster for Atlanta.

2013 Braves Post Season Roster

Pitchers

Rotation:
1) Kris Medlen     14-12 3.24 ERA 150 K's

-Kris is my number 1 because he is the only one with playoff experience; if you call that one shame of a playoff game last year a playoff game

2) Mike Minor      13-7 3.19 ERA 169 K's

-Some of his starts lately haven't been up to snuff, but at any moment Mike can turn it around


3) Julio Teheran     13-8 3.09 ERA 167 K's

-The rookie, it will serve him well to watch two games from the bench and watch the opponent battle against the more veteran Medlen and Minor

Relievers:
Craig Kimbrel        49 Saves 1.50 ERA

-Was this in doubt? Ever? MLB leader in saves? See you in the Ninth

David Carpenter

-Powerful righty to set up Kimbrel. Has worked great in the 8th

Scott Downs

-Need a veteran lefty. Maybe the best in season acquisition

Luis Avilan

Alex Wood


 Paul Maholm

-This is the most difficult one for me. Paul has been decent all year but with injuries and other young guys stepping in, he definitely lost his spot in the rotation. He isn't one of my 3 starters but I can't leave him off the roster all together. He is in the bullpen in case something happens to a starter , they need a fourth starter for some weird scheduling problem or he is needed to eat up some long innings.


Jordan Walden

Anthony Varvaro

Catchers:
Brian McCann .261 20 HR 57 RBI

Evan Gattis .233 20 HR 59 RBI

Gerald Laird .252 1 HR 13 RBI

Infielders:
Freddie Freeman .314 23 HR 105 RBI

Dan Uggla .181 22 HR 55 RBI

Andrelton Simmons .246 17 HR 57 RBI

Chris Johnson .329 11 HR 66 RBI

Paul Janish .184 2 RBI
-Will serve the same role he served all year. Late inning defensive replacement for C. Johnson

Elliot Johnson .203 2 HR 14 RBI (.250 5 RBI 7 SB w/ Braves)
-Great for late inning pinch running and to steal some bases if Simmons, Uggla, or C. Johnson are on 1st late in the game

Outfielders:
Justin Upton .260 26 HR 67 RBI

BJ Upton .186 9 HR 26 RBI
- I don't think he should but BJ will be the starter for Game 1. I think Freddie should keep with the platooning of Upton and Schafer depending on the opposing starting pitcher, but it's hard for the front office to sit $25 million.

Jason Heyward .251 13 HR 37 RBI

Jordan Schafer .251 3 HR 20 RBI
- Great pinch running to steal some bases and get into scoring position for the sluggers

Reed Johnson
-Reed is only making my playoff team because he got healthy at just the right time. Terdo is good and will make a big contribution next year but right now I would prefer to have a veteran righty coming off the bench.

Delta's Duck Cam

Delta Waterfowl is currently promoting one of the coolest things I've seen. They have placed a small concealed camera in the nest of a hen pintail, aka Pintail 004. The camera streams live 24/7 and catches everything that happens. Hopefully the hen will be able to hatch all her eggs. I can't stop watching this stream so check it out if you want to see the drama that unfolds on the prairies daily for all waterfowl.


http://www.deltawaterfowl.org/duckcam/


Also check out Delta Waterfowl's youtube page with highlights of past webcams. 004 even says hello to all her fans in this video. Check it out around the 30 second mark.



 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ne5yUFMYfs

Dream Set List

Dream Set List

On July 19^th I will be seeing the Dave Matthews Band for the tenth time, #11 on the following night, so I thought I would compile my “Dream Set List” that I hope to see on that Friday night in West Palm Beach. Of course I’d love for them to play all night, about 60 songs, and pull every rare song out of the hat, but I will be realistic and only pick 20 songs. Right now they are averaging 18 songs a night.

1)      Crush

2)      Write a Song

3)      If Only

4)      So Much to Say-> Anyone Seen the Bridge-> Too Much

5)      You & Me

6)      The Dreaming Tree

7)      Break Free

8)      Snow Outside

9)      The Idea of You

10)   Recently

11)   The Space Between

12)   Trouble

13)   Stay or Leave

14)   Mercy

15)   The Song That Jane Likes

16)   What You Are

17)   Halloween

18)   Grey Street

19)   Grace Is Gone

20)   Ants Marching

Evan Gattis' Legend Grows

Evan Gattis’ Legend Grows

Evan Gattis is doing very well in the Braves lineup and amongst fans. I’ve heard he his starting to be parodied like Chuck Norris and Tim Tebow. Whether he is starting or coming off the bench, Gattis has made a place for himself in the dugout. Gattis and his dramatics tend to remind me of the 2010 roster and Brooks Conrad.

Through two months of the season, Gattis is hitting .256 with 10 homeruns, 29 RBIs, and a .307 OBP. Brooks was hitting .236 with 3 homeruns, 9 RBIs, and a .290 OBP during the first two months in 2010; however his walk off grand slam on May 20^th against the Reds may go down as the greatest walk off in Braves history.

Brooks and the 2010 team always had a flare for the dramatic and seemed to come through when it mattered most. I am of course only speaking offensively. Let’s not discuss the errors late in the season.

Brooks had eight homeruns in 2010, all in Braves wins while hitting .319. Gattis tends to follow suit. Nine of Gattis’ ten homeruns have been in Braves victories while hitting .310.

In his career, Brooks has hit two game tying, seven go ahead, and one walk off homerun. And Gattis, in his two month career, has hit one tying and six go ahead homeruns.

Finally, as a pinch hitter in 2010, Brooks had 13 hits, 4 doubles, 3 HRs, 12 RBIs, with a .224 BA while Gattis has 5 hits, 1 double, 3 HRs, 8 RBIs, and a .714 BA in seven plate appearances.

Goodbye to The Office

The Office ends on the 16th and I am going to very much miss it. I have never watched a show, cared about the characters, or become attached to them like I have with The Office. I have watched it since the first episode and hate to see it go. Regardless of the cast changes and people coming and going, it will always be my favorite show that I will watch over and over.

Here is the farewell video The Office put out earlier today. Their editors really now what they are doing this season and this video will tug at your heart. It's refreshing to see actors who aren't out to make money, but just love working together.

2013 Survival Guide

Wanee Music Festival to me is the beginning of music festival season which runs from April to October. With music festival season just getting under way, I’ve decided to put together a survival guide for music festivals both camping and non-camping.

Essentials:

NUMBER 1: DON’T FORGET YOUR TICKETS/ BRACELETS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NUMBER 2: BRING A GOOD MOOD! (Your experience will only be as good as you want it to be)

NUMBER 3: Friends (you can go alone but it’s much better with friends)

Toothbrush/ paste

Clothes

Shoes/ sandals

Pillow

Tent

Shade (tarps, canopy, tapestries, pop-up awnings)

Cooler (don’t buy ice at the festival it’s overpriced, get it before hand and keep the lid closed. Consider dry ice as well)

Foods (take some snacks; make sandwiches to keep in the cooler)

Camelbak (you’re going to need water and it gets old carrying a water bottle all the time)

Bug spray

Sunscreen

Head band/ bandana

Water (depending on the time of year I suggest 1 case of water per person per 2 days)

Chairs (to use around the camp)

Radio/ cd player/ ipod player

Jumper cables (you will be the Belle of the Ball if you have these and help people out)

If You Want to be More Comfortable:

Gas powered stove top/ grill

 Food (raw or frozen food like burgers, hot dogs, sausage, bacon)

Blow up mattress/ hammocks/ cots

Beer/ liquor

Sleeping bag/ blankets

Corn hole, ring toss, bocce ball (any type of game)

Full body/ hair wash (for those water bottle showers)

Glow sticks

Sandwich bags to keep stuff dry (cell phones, cameras, money, wallets)

Cell phone charger

Hammer & stakes to hold down tarps & tents

Remember to be flexible. You’ll run into a lot of different types of people and you’ll have all different types of weather. If it rains adapt, if it’s hot, just relax and try to stay cool, if it’s muddy enjoy it. Don’t be embarrassed, you will never see these people again in your life so have the time of your life.

This is a short list of what I think it takes to survive a music festival. The last thing I want to say is for the love of god put down the phones. I know everybody wants pictures of the shows they go to. I’m just as guilty as anyone else, but take your picture and then put the phone/ camera back in your pocket. If I wanted to record/ take pictures of bands all I would do is Google the bands not spend hundreds of dollars on a ticket to see them in person. It’s so frustrating to me to see all these people with their faces buried in their phones instead of meeting new people and enjoying the great music.

El Oso Blanco

Evan Gattis. We’ve all heard his name in the Braves organization for a couple of years now and this season he is making a name for himself in the MLB. Gattis currently leads MLB Rookies in home runs and RBIs, six and fourteen respectively, and is third in SLG % at .556. While all these numbers are great and are helping the Braves to this fast start, it is his life story that is getting so much coverage. It seems like you can’t sit though one inning of a Braves game without Chip or Joe saying something about what a great story it is or how he has come so far. Forbes.com even named Evan Gattis the, “Best Story in Baseball’s Early Season.”

Gattis was a highly sought after high school baseball prospect that was committed to Texas A&M but never showed up to school. He struggled with depression as well as alcohol and drug problems, marijuana. He served a short stint in rehab and then moved to Colorado to work as a ski lift operator, a cart boy at a golf course, and as a janitor. He also sought out different types of spiritual guidance which lead him back to baseball. He went on to be drafted by the Braves after one season at a community college and the rest is history.

His perseverance is a great story and I am rooting for the guy to succeed. People need to hear about how he worked hard to straighten out his life and find his true love again, baseball. However, the way this is being portrayed is outrageous. He wasn’t addicted to hardcore drugs and alcohol like Josh Hamilton. He didn’t fight some terrible disease as a child or even battle cancer like Jon Lester. Gattis just went through what a majority of 18 year olds go through. Depression is a common thing for 18 years olds graduating high school. Moving onto college is a big step in a young person’s life and I know I was depressed during that whole first semester at college.

Good for him to get help with the weed and alcohol problems he thought he was developing. Lots of people have these problems and never do anything about them so I cannot knock him for bettering himself at all.

I find it fun how people talk about his past jobs so much. It’s like they have never worked meaningless, minimum wage jobs before in their lives. Who hasn’t worked jobs like that before? I know I have. That’s the only kind of work I can find. I’ve worked at a golf course; I’ve farmed in a radioactive soil plot; I’ve cleaned ballpark bathrooms. I know plenty of people who have moved to Colorado just to work at ski lodges so what is so bad about that job? Sounds like fun to me. Sounds like Gattis was just living the young man’s dream life. Granted I don’t know how serious his alcohol and drug problems were, everything else sounds like he was just enjoying life to me. Everybody at some point in their lives has worked a meaningless job just waiting for their opportunity to do what they truly love.

Gattis is getting his shot to do what he loves at 25 and good for him, but there are plenty of other people his age and older that have not gotten they’re shot yet and you never hear about them. All I want is for all these TV announcers and writers to put Gattis’ story into perspective. He has overcome some hurdles, but they are not anything more than the normal 25 year old college student goes through.

References:

http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/sortable_rookie.jsp?c_id=mlb

http://www.forbes.com/sites/monteburke/2013/04/13/atlanta-braves-catcher-evan-gattis-is-the-best-story-in-baseballs-early-season/

Why Macon Needs Baseball- Part One

Have you ever heard of Luther Williams Field in Macon, GA? Probably not, unless you are from the Middle Georgia area. Luther Williams is a minor league stadium in the heart of downtown Macon, GA that was built in 1929. Luther Williams seats 3,500 spectators and is the second oldest minor league stadium in the country, though it is not currently in use by any teams.

Many summer league and independent league teams have called it home over the last decade including the Macon Music and the Macon Pinetoppers, but the last minor league team to call it home was the Macon Braves. The Braves were the Single-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and operated in Macon from 1991-2002 then they moved to Rome, GA.

Luther Williams has seen many famous and Hall of Fame baseball players play on its field including Pete Rose, Ty Cobb, and Braves greats such as Chipper Jones and Andruw Jones. The stadium has also played the part in a few movies including “The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings” (1976), “Trouble with the Curve” (2012), and “42” (2013).

Reed Johnson is the only player on the Atlanta Braves roster that played in Luther Williams back in 2000 for the Hagerstown Suns (TOR). However, almost every coach has either played or coached in Macon. Current pitching coach, Roger McDowell squared off against the Macon Peaches (DET) as a player for the Shelby Mets (NYM) in 1982. Braves’ manager Fredi Gonzalez played against the Macon Pirates (PIT) during the 1983-1984 seasons as a member of the Greensboro Hornets (NYY). Carlos Tosca, Braves current bench coach since 2010, was his manager at the time.  Scott Fletcher, Braves assistant hitting coach since 2012, was the Charleston River Dogs (TB) manager in 1997. Brian Snitker, 3^rd base coach since 2007, began his coaching career in the Braves minor league system, but later went on to manage at every level of the organization including the Macon Braves in 1992, 1997-1998.

Recently, minor league stadiums are starting to look like Major League stadiums with big, beautiful brick walls, crazy concession stand food, and luxury suites. When I was in college it was preached that Minor League Baseball was supposed to be family friendly. The teams should want to attract families and “make mom happy.” Suites are unnecessary at minor league stadiums. There are plenty of other ways to welcome groups, show sponsors a great time, and provide top of the line services. Here are the changes I think Luther Williams needs:

1. An electronic scoreboard. Trust me from experience, while the manual score is fun and gives you that feeling of watching a game in the old days, certain improvements are just necessary.

2. Some kind of TV board to broadcast replays, lineups and stat lines.

3. Modern improvements to the press box. That catwalk is scary.

4.  A really good lawn maintenance guy. For the field being almost 100 years old it looks great, however, if a minor league team is going to be playing on the field it needs to look a lot better.

5.  Improved picnic area. This is where groups and sponsors can be shown the VIP treatment.

6. Basic updates to the locker rooms.

7. Basic updates to the offices. These are rough and definitely need A/C.

If you have other suggestions please make them. This is a topic I am very passionate about and I really want to see baseball in Macon again. I will continue with this topic later with more information on what happened and why the Braves left.

TO BE CONTINUED...

I'm Sorry Huddy!

So I completely jinxed Tim Hudson the other day. I jumped the gun on number 200 so this post is just an apology to him. Good luck today Hudson.

The Bulldog

Tim Hudson is on the verge of a huge career milestone as he takes the mound tonight against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Hudson is looking for career win number 200. As of right now Hudson has a career record of 199-104, a career ERA of 3.41 and 1,814 strikeouts. Hudson ranks third among all active pitchers in wins and winning percentage and eighth in strikeouts.

Winning % Active Leaders             Active Leaders in Wins

Roy Halladay	.662		Andy Pettitte	247
Jered Weaver	.658		Roy Halladay	200
Tim Hudson	.657		Tim Hudson	199
Justin Verlander	.656		CC Sabathia	193
CC Sabathia	.652		Mark Buehrle	175
			Derek Lowe	175

2013 marks Hudson’s 15^th season in MLB, six with the Oaklands A’s and nine with the Braves. Hudson was 92-39 with the A’s and is currently 107-65 with Atlanta. Hudson has earned six Opening Day starts (3 with the Braves and 3 with the A’s), is a three time All-Start (2000,’04,’10) and the 2010 NL Comeback Player of the Year. Hudson is so consistent that he has never had a losing record in any of his first 14 seasons and has only lost double digit games three times.

Tim Hudson played baseball at Auburn University from 1996-1997.  In 1997, Hudson went 15-2 with a 2.97 ERA, hit .396 from the plate, led the Tigers to the College World Series, and was named an All-American as well as the SEC Player of the Year. Hudson’s name can still be found near the top of most significant records, both pitching and hitting, in the Auburn baseball record book including number one in career average strikeouts per nine innings (11.89) and number two in both Hits (108)and RBIs (95) in a single season.

Hudson was not projected to play in the majors because of his bat but because he understood how to get batters out through accurate command of his split finger pitch and sinker. The A’s took Hudson in the 6^th round of the 1997 MLB draft. Time made the slow climb up through the minor leagues until finally earning his first start with the A’s on June 8^th, 1999 against the San Diego Padres. Hudson earned a no decision in five innings of work while allowing seven hits, four walks and three earned runs. However, the most impressive stat about his start was striking out eleven Padre batters. Hudson was one strikeout away from tying an 84-year-old record for most strikeouts in an American League debut set by Elmer Myers of the Philadelphia A’s in 1915. Hudson continued to pitch well and with help from the likes of Barry Zito, Mark Mulder, and Jason Isringhausen, they led the A’s to four consecutive ALDS appearances (2000-2003).

Hudson was then traded to the Atlanta Braves for a handful of minor leaguers to help strengthen the starting rotation. Hudson was the veteran in Oakland but made it to Atlanta in time to learn from true veterans like John Smoltz and Mike Hampton as well as see the growth of future stars like Brian McCann, Jeff Francoeur, and Adam LaRoche.

Since the first start in 1999 to today, Hudson is still as dominant as ever. Hudson has learned that you don’t have to strike out every batter. A fly ball or ground ball still goes in the scorebook as an out just the same as a K and with the 2013 season under way simple philosophies like this will be important to a young starting staff. With Hudson’s experience and the arm strength of young guns like Kris Medlen and Mike Minor, the Braves are poised to make a run at not only a Nation League Pennant, but a World Series Championship this season. 

References:

Baseball-reference.com

Baseballalmanac.com

Auburn Baseball Media Guide, http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/aub/sports/m-basebl/auto_pdf/2012-13/misc_non_event/13-fact-book.pdf