December 2009
Moving!
Moving to www.fewproudbrave.wordpress.com !
Same everything, just different layout. Maybe new writers. Who knows, anything is possible on WordPress!
Braves Blog of the Week: “Toma(T)alk”
When I started this blog however many months ago, I had a goal, a vision, a dream. That goal/vision/dream was to create an engaging community of intelligent Braves fans. It’s slipped the past couple of weeks, but no biggy. I want to introduce a new series on “The Few, The Proud, The Braves” called, “Braves Blog of the Week”or fortnight depending on how busy I am. I’m going to start with “Toma(T)alk”.
The author is “an Atlanta native and overly-obsessed baseball fan,” and in his spare time likes fantasy baseball, reading baseball books and re-watching “Field of Dreams.”
which is a northwest suburb of Atlanta, and I immediately took to all
of my hometown teams.
Who is your favorite Brave of all time?
Who is your favorite current Brave?
he made his debut. Plus, the guy’s just so goofy and lighthearted that
it’s difficult to find anything to dislike. I also appreciate that he
grows a beard about as well as I do, and yet he still wears it more
often than not.
When was your first baseball game? Did anything special happen? Who Took you?
was at Fulton County Stadium, and I’m sure my Dad took me, but that’s
about as positive I can be. That’s probably attributable to the rather
forgetful decade the Braves had in the 80′s as a whole.
What inspired you to create a Braves blog?
I tend to be a bit long-winded to merely reply to other people’s blogs
so I figured I’d make my own blog where I could be as long-winded as I
felt like.
How does the Braves’ future look? (2009 and beyond)
get excited when you see a rookie like Tommy Hanson come up and do so
well without being fully mature yet. Having guys like Jason Heyward, Freddie Freeman, Cody Johnson,
and Julio Teheran in the minors gives me even more encouragement. So
long as the Braves develop these guys to their potential, the team has
a bright future. I was happy to see the Braves essentially pull off
the bandages this year letting Smoltz walk, cutting Glavine, and
trading Francoeur. Many have given the front office a lot of grief in
recent years, but they’ve gone a long ways in transitioning this team
for the future.
What do you do when the Braves don’t play?
now. I also love to read just about anything non-fiction, and I love
to pretend to work out.
Fan or Fanatic?
guy, but I’m not someone who hoots and hollers a whole lot, and about
as crazy dressed as I get for a game is perhaps wearing a Braves
jersey. I also tend to get annoyed quickly at games when I see my
fellow Braves fans demonstrate a lot of ignorance about our team, the
opponent, or baseball in general.
It’s worth noting that by “fanatic,” I didn’t mean someone who is crazy at games, but rather a level of “fan-a-tism”
Braves biggest rival? (In your opinion)
Phillies are the team I get most ramped up about us playing. They’re
the defending champions and have been the most consistent team in the
N.L. East for the past 4 years. Since Atlanta
doesn’t have that traditional rival or geographic rival, our biggest
opponent should always be the team we’re chasing most frequently.
Who is worse? Jon Miller or Joe Morgan?
Do you have an Braves related goals?
around to autograph signings. Over the years the baseball got the
autographs of Glavine, Smoltz, Avery, Justice, Lemke, Blauser, Olson,
Chipper, and a few others….the guy I never got was Greg Maddux. I
suppose I would still want him to sign it, though I highly doubt that
chance will ever come.
Do you have a goal for your blog?
differently, give them a piece of information they’d never heard, or
just generally strike up a good debate, my only goal’s complete.
Coke or Pepsi?
Anyone who calls them self a Georgian must answer this
question Coke. Aside from geography (well, it’s not really “aside” as
the two are related, but) my dad’s worked for The Coca-Cola Company for
over 30 years and I worked there on and off over the course of 5
years. It’s safe to say that Pepsi is simply known as the “P” word in
our household.
Be sure to check out his blog @ http://tomatalk.mlblogs.com
And follow me on twitter @ http://twitter.com/Few_Proud_Brave
Oh and the Braves sign Takishe Saito (another name I have to memorize spelling, ARRGH!)
Go Braves!
That’s all for me, folks!
Braves sign Billy Wagner
The Atlanta Braves certainly made a splash in the free agent pool, breaking seemingly endless hours of consecutive boredom.
“The team reached preliminary agreement Tuesday with free-agent
left-hander Billy Wagner on a one-year, $7 million contract with a
vesting option for a second season, according to a major-league source.” – Ken Rosenthal
The $6.5 million vesting option is guaranteed if Wagner “finishes 50 games next season.”
Wagner will be coming off Tommy John surgery, which is no uncharted waters for the Braves, who have had pitchers Tim Hudson, Peter Moylan, Rafael Soriano, John Smoltz, Mike Gonzalez and others come off major surgery and still post very successful seasons.
Wagner had an amazingly incredible 2009 campaign. Although it was significantly shortened season, its was incredible; 1.02 WHIP, 1.72 ERA, and nearly 15 K’s for every 9 innings. Think about that, 15 K’s per 9 innings.
Bill James predicts Wagner’s 2010 line to be: 6 – 1, 2.18 ERA, 62 IP, and 75Ks
Which would be tremendous for the Braves.
The Braves lose their 20th round pick which will go to the Boston RedSox assuming the physical, to be executed on Wednesday, goes through.
If you ask me, this is a good deal. Wagner becomes the closer, Moylan takes Gonzo’s job. and perhaps O’Flarity moves into the 7th inning role. 7 million is a lot, I’d have thought somewhere around 5 with incentives would be
better… Wren must have a lot of confidence in him, and if Wren does,
then so do I!
Wagner is 15 saves short of of 400 saves and 40 saves away from becoming the all time leader among left handed pitchers in saves, passing Franco.
Also:
This mysterious Wren that works in mysterious ways is a good color on him.
GO BRAVES!
That’s All For Me, Folks!
A Fellow Lentz Lover
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