I get mail - you get answers!
(The mail is fake, but the answers are real)
I'm 36, hitting .419, my OBS is .471 and I'm leading the team in homeruns, RBIs, total bases, etc. Am I the leading candidate for MVP? - Chipper
If Brandon Webb wasn't dominating the league (8-0 so far), I would say yes. Right now, Webb is the MVP front-runner with Chase Utley and you following close behind. It will be a fascinating story if Webb continues to dominate, Utley continues to crush the ball and Chipper continues to challenge .400. Does a starting pitcher get the MVP over an everyday player? I tend to think no, but what Webb is doing right now is other-worldly.
WEBB? Are you crazy? Are you blind? Haven't you seen what Chipper is doing this year? He is carrying our team! We have no starting pitching, no bullpen, no clutch-hitting! You are an idiot! - Bobby
Alright, Cox. That is enough. YOU ARE OUT OF HERE!
Why is everybody hating on my bat flip? - Yunel
Because it is ridiculous! You are going to kill a catcher, umpire or on-deck hitter with that thing. What is going on there? It hits your back on the follow-through and then - WHOOSH - it caroms end over end terrifying everyone within 50 feet. I cannot believe you have not been called out or had a fastball under the chin for that thing.
Here is what I really don't understand - how did you get out of little league with that bat toss? At East Brainerd fields, if you didn't softly lay down your aluminum weapon, you were out. The umps in my league were Nazis about throwing the bat. Yunel, you would not have this problem if you had played for John Keene.
How much longer am I going to bat leadoff? - Kelly
Not much longer. Here are the sad facts - .325 OBS, 11 walks (18 K's), 3 SBs. For a leadoff man, I want you on base more than 1/3 of the time, I want you to put the ball in play and I want you to be a threat on the bases. Kelly - you are not. You are a #8 hitter right now. We all know who ought to be batting leadoff:
Brent Lillibridge.
Maybe not. My two picks are Yunel Escobar and Mark Kotsay, but I'm leaning towards Kotsay. His bat is red hot right now, he is a veteran who can take pitches and work the starter and he can steal a base now and then. Escobar has better numbers in all the major categories, but he is doing great in the #2 spot (getting great pitches with Chipper behind him) so I wouldn't fix something not broken.
Johnson as leadoff man? That is broken.
How long until Braves fans figure out that there is no way I'm resigning with Atlanta next year and turn on me? - Tex
First, Atlanta fans are not Yankees/Sox fans. We love our team, but most of us are pretty easy going. We lived with Andruw Jones for years without many boos. We aren't going to turn on you as long as you hit. Frankly, you could do a little more of that for my liking, but you do seem to be coming around.
As far as your future in Atlanta, it ain't going to happen. We aren't going to invest major money in one player, let alone a 1st baseman with really good, not great numbers. I like ya, Tex, but you aren't Pujols. You aren't David Wright. You are a really good player who is going to make a ton of money...from some other team. The Braves are no longer a big market team. They are on a fixed budget that won't be broken by you. I hope we get to the playoffs with you to justify dealing Saltamachia.
I've got some tenderness in my third toe - do you have a remedy or ointment of some sort for that? - Mike H.
Next.
Are you as bummed out as me that your recent Hall of Fame Foursome entry failed to start a good comment conversation? - John S.
Yes. Hall of Fame arguments are usually gold here. I'm afraid the nice weather outside and lack of Vols news is hurting SCSB readership. Your favorite blogger, however, remains undaunted!
Should I worry about my job security? - Jeff P.
Jeff Porter? Head Athletic Trainer? You think? What exactly are you doing? I have ZERO medical training, but I think I could keep the Braves healthier than you. Hampton, Smoltz, Glavine, Prado, Reyes, Carlyle, Moylan, Gonzalez, Soriano, HAMPTON!
(I actually have no idea if Jeff Porter is doing anything wrong. It is frustrating, however, to see injury after injury hurt the Braves. Sorry to blame you, Jeff. It is just...ouch, I just smashed my ring finger between the S and D keys. JEFF!!!)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
4 comments:
I actually think Chipper is the MVP right now. The 8-0 start for Webb certainly is startling...but lets be honest. Pitchers only win MVPs if they take the triple crown or if there just aren't any viable offensive candidates. I think Webb ends up with numbers similar to Beckett from last year. Good enough for Cy, but not MVP when there are guys raking like Chipper and Utley. Utley has shown a freakish amount of power early on but he ain't finishing the year with more than 35 home runs. Likewise, there is no way Chipper can sustain that sort of batting average. I think Chipper has the advantage right now, because Chipper hits have won more ball games. I have no statistic to back that up...but I still think its true.
As to the Hall of Fame foursome. I think Smoltz is a lock. What I don't get is this idea that certainly players should be "first ballot" and others shouldn't. He is a hall of fame player so put the guy on your ballot. Done. It doesn't matter if there are 5 other guys getting in that year.
The thing Webb has going for him is the pitiful NL West. With the Rockies no-showing April, the Padres inability to score runs, the Dodgers struggling and the Giants being a glorified AAA team, Webb is going to get tons of wins against lousy competition. I don't expect Chipper to stay around .400 all year (in fact, I'm just hoping he stays healthy), but if he does he wins the MVP. If not, I like Webb.
There is something about being 1st ballot simply because the writers have made it so. It is kind of odd.
I'll tell you what else is odd - Dale Murphy not being Hall. I know I'm beating a dead horse, but I feel obligated to mention it anytime there is a Braves/Cooperstown conversation.
I totally agree with the tossing the bat thing. I played for several of John Keene's Panthers teams (we wore the throwback green Philadelphia cap) and he really did stress that!
John Keene was probably the best coach I ever played for in any sport at any time in my athletic career.
Post a Comment