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Talking Chop

Spring Training Open Thread: Braves at Nats.

It's gonna be a weird game, as rain is expected. Tommy Hanson was supposed to start, but because of the rain he will pitch in a minor league game. In his place Scott Proctor will start, followed by Jesse Chavez, and then ??

Here is the lineup:

Nate McLouth, CF
Martin Prado, 2B
Chipper Jones, 3B
Matt Diaz, LF
Jason Heyward, RF
Omar Infante, SS
Eric Hinske, 1B
Clint Sammons, C
Joe Thurston, DH

...a real travel squad.

In another small roster move, Gregor Blanco was optioned to triple-A today.

Today's press notes have Kris Medlen starting tomorrow's game. Not sure why Tim Hudson wouldn't be starting.

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Comments

Tim Hudson pitching a minor league game.

Timmy boy is gonna be pitching a minor league game as opposed to facing the Phailies two games in a row right before the regular season. He wants to pitch this game the way he would pitch it in the regular season and didn’t want to do that against the Phailies. Credit for this info goes to the AJC. Can’t remember if it was DOB or Carroll Rogers but that’s where I read it.

Good idea

The Phillies will be taken completely off guard because they wont know what to expect from a guy theyve faced dozens of times already…

In all seriousness, it’s a good idea…I was just sayin…

Just saw over at MLBTR that Braves are making David Ross available for trade… Does that make sense to anyone?

The latest post over there has Cox and Wren debunking it. It doesn’t make sense to them either.

At least the guys actually making the decision are smart…

Yeah, Ross may be better than some other starting catchers out there, but he is really valuable to us. I would rather extend him than trade him.

However if I were Ross I’m not sure I would sign with us again for a chance to start somewhere. I would like it if he chose to stay if he enjoyed being a well liked and valuable contributor off the bench on a contending team. Whatever he does I think he has earned it.

Yeah.. I think Ross may be gone next year too… Maybe Wren could trade Manny Acosta to Baltimore for Matt Wieters!

Well said

I’ll hate to lose him, he seems like he could start for plenty of teams. He does seem to have acclimated well to the back up role, Glad we seem to be keeping him another year anyway.

No, no sense at all,

I feel confident with him behind the plate when Heap needs a day off, plus he has proven to be a good bat off the bench.

AJC said FW shot that down.

I love these kind of days where we get to see the backups start. We are going to see the big guys all year so seeing Infante at SS etc etc is kind of a nice spring novelty.

any radio feed?

Braves Radio Network is up today.
How did the first run score?

Nate got in on a Chipper sac fly

heyward out with shin splints

Anyone available to do play-by-play?
Buck Belue is the 2nd base Ump!!!!

Hilarious.

Proctor gave up a 3runHR to Zimmerman
Thank you,

Just saw the score and was wandering how the Nats got the 3 runs.

Just got here

but I can pick up the play by play.

Bases loaded now, Ian Desmond up.

God bless you

the silence has been deafening!

Hilarious moment earlier

You could hear a voice shouting coming through the feed of a random person, and Jim Powell says “Can they hear that at home? If you folks can hear it, that’s Buck Belue dressed up as an umpired out in right field calling out for a beer.”

No one else as amused

By Buck’s bellow?

I feel stupid, I can’t remember who Buck is.

Former UGA quarterback

Has that afternoon radio show on 680 the Fan, now. Buck and Kinkade.

now I remember

if he played left field or 3rd base for the Bulldogs in about ’79 or ’80, I heckled him at a Tenn game. There with a buddy from Atlanta, we were very drunk and Buck was not impressed with us.

He played some OF I think

That’s kind of funny.

A Georgia fan offered to introduce us to him after the game…we wisely declined and stumbled back to the dorms

I was able to tune in right about then, and was thinking that’s who he was referencing. My 91 year old grandfather couldn’t confirm it for me either (who? what?), so we were sorta in the same boat. I did chuckle.

Ian Desmond hits a ball up the middle, Prado knocks it down but can’t handle it, everyone safe, run scores.

Zimmerman up-not sure how many outs we have here

Strike 3 called on Zimmerman

Good fastball, at the knees. Adam Dunn up, with 2 outs, bases juiced.

From what I’m hearing, it sounds like Jesse Chavez hasn’t gotten a lot of help from the defense.

Is Chavez or Proctor pitching?

Up above it says Proctor, or did they take him out already?

Line drive to right by Dunn. 2 runs score. Throw goes into the third, safe, and Dunn takes second on the throw

not our best pitching staff or lineup today, huh?

Chavez has not been impressive

all ST, imo.

Noone has

radio feed?

6-0 Nationals right now.

6-1

Chipper sac’d McLouth in the first.

Jim Powell

“That hit by Dunn is the hardest hit ball this inning.”

Foul tip, caught, for strike 3 against Willingham. Inning over. 6-0, going to the third inning now.

Chavez had run the count full against him before getting the foul tip. I keep having to adjust my radio-lots of interference coming in today.

6-1 is the score.
Yes, sorry

6-1. Missed the Braves’ run since I wasn’t back from lunch yet.

Did anyone just watch that recap show on CBS that was just on??

is it on again? this looks like a recap.

Not sure

It was a good show, but I’m pissed because they showed the 2005 Arizona/Illinois game. Fuck

Single for McLouth off the lefty.

Scott Olsen= the lefty.

got a feeling Nate is getting it together just in time

You mean

It’s possible the panic around here was premature? ;)

I was panicing myself

0-2 the count on Prado after a foul back.

McLouth on the move

takes second, ball inside to Prado.

Prado hits a chopper out to second, moves McLouth over to third.

Not sure if that’s what Prado was going for, down 5, but it works.

Chipper up with one out.

Chipper knocks a fly to deep right, foul

Caught, and Nate comes in to score.

6-2, another RBI for Chipper.

I think this is FW talking to Powell now.

Saying that he doesn’t see a platoon situation in LF, strictly speaking-just a 4 man OF where all the guys will share playing time. Diaz may start over Heyward against some tougher lefties.

3-2 Diaz, ripped into right for a single. Brent Clevelen up. You know it’s a Spring Travel game when Clevelen is batting 5th for you.

Swinging-Brent Clevelen lines out to Rf, running grab by Taveras….?

Bottom third now-new pitcher is Mariano Gomez.

Yeah, none of our top pitchers today.

More cuts tomorrow, probably giving the guys one more look

You got that right!

Maybe Gomez will surprise us, or not?

FW saying

Jesse Chavez has really had some tough luck. broken bat singles, pop-ups taken by the wind, various other mistakes that might have been errors but were ruled as hits. So maybe he’s not been as bad as the box score would suggest.

Important thing to keep in mind from Spring Training

Performance matters, but spring training numbers are almost pointless. In a small sample in games involving a lot of minor leaguers, the eyes can serve better than the numbers.

I agree,

I’ve watched or listened to every ST game that Chavez has been in, and he’s had some bad luck, but also some bad pitching.

Pop up for out number 1-Adam Kennedy, I think, was the batter.

I missed something here, listening to FW

There was just a double play, turned niftily here by Prado and Infante, to end the third.

Think

Kennedy must have reached, and the pop-out was by Bernadina batting behind him. Don’t know who grounded into the DP.

Infante, Hinske, Sammons coming up now in the top of the 4th.

0-1 to Infante, foul ball.

2-hopper to Zimmerman, infante retired.

FW on Proctor

“Way ahead of schedule. What you look from guys returning from TJ surgery is how their arm holds up after an outing. He’s been able to keep on his schedule and continue throwing after appearing in a game. He should be cleared by the medical staff at the start of the season, so his roster spot will come down to a baseball decision.”

He's looked good in all his outings I have seen or heard up until today.

1-2 the count on Hinske now, I think.

Fly ball, deep right, but Taveras tracks it down, Hinske retired. Here’s Sammons.

Sammons just missed a HR on a foul ball earlier

As close as a Chipper miss against Philly earlier this week.

0-1 to Sammons.

Pop to short right, Sammons was retired.

Going to the bottom of the 4th.

Hey guys

in and out on this comment:
DOB said Heyward was scratched with “shin splints” and goes on for like 20 minutes about it. Is it actually just the rain and a day off for Heyward?

Talk to everyone later

I bet he plays tomorrow.
Just before the break

FW started to say that Jo-Jo has a really good chance to make the team as a member of the bullpen. They were talking about Venters for a moment, and how he has only one pitch, and can be effective with that hard sinker, but he still he needs to develop it a bit more.

Taveras

Chopper over Chipper’s head. Diaz cuts it off to hold Taveras to a single.

Gomez still in, by the way. 0-2 now to Nyjer Morgan.

What are shin splints?

It sounds familiar, but just not sure.

they hurt, don’t know what they are really, had them in high school during soccer season, bottom line, they hurt

Lol

line drive to left center-Infante fakes Taveras into sliding into second base, so he doesn’t take third. Runners 1st and second.

Ian Desmond just scoots it past Infante’s glove into center. Taveras scores from second, Zimmerman up. Still no outs.

Is Kimbrel ready?

That’s 7-2 now your score.

Looking forward to our starting pitchers, this is getting ugly

Double steal, now

Morgan safe at third, and Desmond down to second.

FW on Heyward's shin splints

Nothing to worry about. A bit of inflammation, he’s probably just going to take a couple of days off and nip this in the bud. He should be better with just a couple days’ rest. There was a hard surface he was running on or something that inflamed the muscles.

Gomez is having another bad outing.

Oh well, don’t think we will be having to see him in the BP this year anyway.

Ground out to Infante

Run scores, out at first.

Wagner, Saito, Moylan, O’Flaherty, Medlen, Jo-Jo?, Kimbrel?

I picture Kimbrel coming up later in the year, probably Proctor or Chavez to start the season.

Ground out to first, Hinske takes it himself, 2 outs, runner scores from third.

9-2 now, bases empty.

FW on Schafer

A bit of a nerve problem in the wrist after coming off of surgery. Says he’s going fine, he just needs to get comfortable with his swing. No long term worries for Schafer, though, but there’s still no certainty exactly when he’ll be 100% and ready to play.

That wrist is sounding like it was pretty screwed up. Wren has stood by him thru it all. Schafer, Heyward, Cabrera will be a decent outfield in a year or so.

Single to left now. Gomez also had a bit of bad luck this inning, balls just past his glove and some groundouts for RBIs

He still wasn't very sharp, though.
Looping Liner to Left (love the alliteration)

Matt Diaz squeezes it, ends the inning.

9-2, going to the 5th.

Typical ST game,

having to seperate the men from the boys, gets ugly sometimes.

Lost the play by play momentarily

My radio was picking up some nasty interference.

Still coming in

Whatever it is, it’s drowning out the announcers. I’m calling it quits for this game.

Was a little bit of rain and a weather system in Atlanta earlier, I bet that’s what’s drowning out the radio signal.

Have a good day, all.

Thanks for the PBP.
Thanks for a few innings

doesn’t sound worth trying much more

I thought you had heard enough and left,

couldn’t blame you, having to type all of the Nats runs, and our pitching and errors. Thanks for hangin’ in.

I guess you can't really blame us for losing 9-2

A long road game with lots of rain in the forecast. Even the guys fighting for a roster spot probably don’t even wanna be there.

What's that, the top of the fifth you say?

Let’s hope this is the last L to the Nats this year, then.
 
Heyward doesn’t get shin splints. Shin splints get Heyward.

Im not sure

i believe all of this “Bad Luck” stuff with Chavez. Bad luck is every now and then he has bad luck basically every outing.

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