All about the Braves and baseball events.

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Updated Rosters for MLB-Japan All-Star Series

PITCHERS (ERA W-L S SO)

Bronson Arroyo CIN 3.29 14-11 0 184
Erik Bedard BAL 3.76 15-11 0 171
Chris Capuano MIL 4.03 11-12 0 174
Brian Fuentes COL 3.44 3-4 30 73
Clay Hensley SD 3.71 11-12 0 122
Ray King LHP 4.43 1-4 1 23
John Lackey LAA 3.56 13-11 0 190
John Maine NYM 3.60 6-5 0 71
Mike Myers NYY 3.23 1-2 0 22
Joe Nathan MIN 1.58 7-0 36 95
Scot Shields LAA 2.87 7-7 2 84
Chris Young SD 3.46 11-5 0 164

Takahiro Mahara Fukuoka Softbank Hawks (0-4 29 62 1.65)
Kazuo Fukumori Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (0-3 21 55 2.17)
Hiroyuki Kobayashi Chiba Lotte Marines (10-7 0 120 2.78)
Katsuhiro Nagakawa Hiroshima Toyo Carp (5-6 27 86 1.66)
Tetsuya Utsumi Yomiuri Giants (12-13 0 179 2.78)
Tsuyoshi Wada Fukuoka Softbank Hawks (14-6 0 136 2.98)
Kei Igawa Hanshin Tigers (14-9 0 194 2.97)
Darvish Yu Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (12-5 0 115 2.89)
Tomoya Yagi Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (12-8 0 108 2.48)
Hideaki Wakui Seibu Lions (12-8 0 136 3.24)
Kouji Mitsui Seibu Lions (4-1 1 42 1.73)
Hisashi Ogura Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (6-7 4 51 2.18)


PLAYERS (AVG HR RBI SB)

Kenji Johjima C SEA (.291 18 76 3)
Joe Mauer C MIN (.347 13 84 8)
Brian Schneider C WSH (.256 4 55 2)
Ryan Howard 1B PHI (.313 58 149 0)
Lyle Overbay 1B TOR (.312 22 92 5)
Chase Utley 2B PHI (.309 32 102 15)
Tadahito Iguchi 2B CWS (.281 18 67 11)
Rafael Furcal SS LAD (.300 15 63 37)
Jose Reyes SS NYM (.300 19 81 64)
David Wright 3B NYM (.311 26 116 20)
Jermaine Dye OF CWS (.315 4 120 7)
Chone Figgins OF/INF LAA (.267 9 62 52)
Bill Hall OF/INF MIL (.270 35 85 8)
Andruw Jones OF ATL (.262 41 129 4)
Jacque Jones OF CHC (.285 27 81 9)

CATCHERS
Shinnosuke Abe Yomiuri Giants (.294 10 56 0)
Tomoya Satozaki Chiba Lotte Marines (.264 17 56 2)
Takeshi Hidaka Orix Buffaloes (.240 1 29 3)
INFIELDERS
Michihiro Ogasawara Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (.313 32 100 4)
Atsushi Fujimoto Hanshin Tigers (.237 3 30 3)
Munenori Kawasaki Fukuoka Softbank Hawks (.312 3 27 24)
Shuichi Murata Yokohama Bay Stars (.266 34 114 1)
Tomohiro Nioka Yomiuri Giants (.289 25 79 0)
Kazuya Fukuura Chiba Lotte Marines (.312 4 52 0)
Yousuke Takasu Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (.300 1 38 10)
Takahiro Arai Hiroshima Toyo Carp (.299 25 100 1)
OUTFIELDERS
Norichika Aoki Tokyo Yakult Swallows (.321 13 62 41)
Yuuki Yoshimura Yokohama Bay Stars (.311 26 6 5)
Teppei Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (.303 2 29 10)
Naoyuki Omura Fukuoka Softbank Hawks (.294 6 60 22)

First game is November 2nd! I'll be on top of all the coverage!

Saturday, October 28, 2006

Cardinals win World Series, and Everyone's Favorite Little Guy MVP

Boy, I was SO wrong. The Tigers hardly scored anything. And on top of that, they committed 8 errors in the Series. Five of them were committed by the pitchers, a new and dubious record. :(

Congrats to the Cards, who rebounded from their tough season finish to slam the Padres and squeak past the Mets and then kick Tiger fanny. Look for naysayers to paint the Cardinals, with their 83-78 record, as the "worst World Series Champions." One could call them the worst World Series Champions nine ways to Sunday, but it doesn't take the "World Series Champions" out. If you go through three rounds of playoffs and come out on top, you're damn good.

But it was almost a forgone conclusion who would win the World Series MVP after Game 4, as the sportswriters in general had a public orgy writing about the diminutive, but oh so gritty, Cardinals shortstop David Eckstein. The great guys at Fire Joe Morgan can parody it better than I ever could.

Not to say he didn't deserve it. He did. But come on, we all saw it coming. ;)

Congratulations, St. Louis, your 10th World Series title was well-earned. But everyone else will be gunning for you! ;)

EDIT: I just realized something!! This means the media won't harp on the Case of the Pine-Tarred Hand! WHOO!!

Friday, October 27, 2006

Nippon Professional vs. Major League: Choose Your Warriors

This is it, folks, the day is approaching where Major League All-Stars will travel to Japan and take on the Nippon Professional All-Stars, an exhibition series that I'm looking forward to very much. I enjoyed keeping track of it back in 2004 and I plan to keep track of it again. :) The MLB All-Stars will play the Yomiuri Giants on Nov. 2, then play the NPB All-Stars Nov. 3-8.

(!) denotes All-Stars during regular season.
(W-L, ERA, SV, K) for pitchers
(AVG, HR, RBI) for batters

The NPB All-Stars:

Pitchers:

Yu Darvish, Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters (12-9, 2.85, 115)
Kazuo Fukumori, Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (!) (0-3, 2.17, 21, 55)
Kei Igawa, Hanshin Tigers (14-9, 2.97, 194)
Hiroyuki Kobayashi, Chiba Lotte Marines (10-7, 2.78, 120)
Takahiro Mahara, Fukuoka Softbank Hawks (!) (0-4, 1.65, 29, 62
Koji Mitsui, Seibu Lions (4-1, 1, 1.73, 42)
Katsuhira Nagakawa, Hiroshima Toyo Carp (!) (5-6, 1.66, 27, 86)
Hisashi Ogura, Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (6-7 2.18, 4, 51)
Tetsuya Utsumi, Yomiuri Giants (!) (12-13, 2.78, 179)
Tsuyoshi Wada, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (14-6, 2.98, 136)
Hidekai Wakui, Seibu Lions (12-8, 3.24, 136)
Tomoya Yagi, Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters (!) (12-8, 2.48, 108)

Catchers:
Shinnosuke Abe, Yomiuri Giants (!) (.291, 10, 56)
Takeshi Hidaka, Orix Buffaloes (!) (.240, 1, 29)
Tomoya Satozaki, Chiba Lotte Marines (!) (.264, 17, 56)

Infielders:
Takahiro Arai, Hiroshima Toyo Carp (.299, 25, 100)
Atsushi Fujimoto, Hanshin Tigers (!) (.237, 3, 30)
Kazuya Fukuura, Chiba Lotte Marines (!) (.312, 4, 52)
Munenori Kawasaki, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (!) (.312, 3, 27)
Shuichi Murata, Yokohama BayStars (!) (.266, 34, 114)
Tomohiro Nioka, Yomiuri Giants (!) (.289, 25, 79)
Michihiro Ogasawara, Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters (!) (.313, 32, 100)
Yosuke Takasu, Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (.300, 1, 38)

Outfielders:
Norichika Aoki, Tokyo Yakult Swallows (!) (.321, 13, 62)
Naoyuki Omura, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (!) (.294, 6, 60)
Teppi Tsuchiya, Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (.303, 2, 29)
Yuki Yoshimura, Yokohama BayStars (.311, 26, 66)

The MLB All-Stars:

Pitchers:
Bronson Arroyo, Cincinnati Reds (!) (14-11, 3.29, 184)
Erik Bedard, Baltimore Orioles (15-11, 3.76, 171)
Chris Capuano, Milwaukee Brewers (!) (11-12, 4.03, 174)
Brian Fuentes, Colorado Rockies (3-4, 3.44, 30, 73)
Clay Hensley, San Diego Padres (11-12, 3.71, 122)
Ray King, Colorado Rockies (1-4, 4.43, 1, 23)
John Lackey, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (13-11, 3.56, 190)
John Maine, New York Mets (6-5, 3.60, 71)
Mike Myers, New York Yankees (1-2, 3.23, 22)
Joe Nathan, Minnesota Twins (7-0, 1.58, 36, 95)
Scot Shields, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (7-7, 2,87, 2 84)
Chris Young, San Diego Padres (11-5, 3.46, 164)

Catchers:
Kenji Johjima, Seattle Mariners (.291, 18, 76)
Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins (!) (.347, 13, 84)
Brian Schneider, Washington Nationals (.256, 4, 55)

Infielders:
Rafael Furcal, Los Angeles Dodgers (.300, 15, 63)
Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies (!) (.313, 58, 149)
Tadahito Iguchi, Chicago White Sox (.281, 18, 67)
Lyle Overbay, Toronto Blue Jays (.312, 22, 92)
Jose Reyes, New York Mets (!) (.300, 19, 81)
Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies (!) (.309, 32, 102)
David Wright, New York Mets (!) (.311, 26, 116)

Outfielders:
Jermaine Dye, Chicago White Sox (!) (.315, 44, 120)
Chone Figgins, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (.267, 9, 62
Bill Hall, Milwaukee Brewers (.270, 35, 85)
Andruw Jones, Atlanta Braves (!) (.262, 41, 129)

It's going to be one hell of a six-game series. :D MLB has a lot of slugging and the NPB has the pitching. They say good pitching beats good hitting. But I still say the MLB takes the series four games to two and beats Yomiuri. The Giants may be Japan's most popular team, but they were in shambles in 2006, going 65-79 and finishing 23 1/2 games behind the Chunichi Dragons.

EDIT: Deleted a blank line in the NPB Pitchers list and organized and alphabetized MLB outfielders.

Monday, October 23, 2006

Now for a nugget from the Braves Mailbag

Does Jeff Francoeur's power make up for his lack of patience and gain him a break? If he gets off to a slow start next year, does he get sent down to learn patience?
-- Anonymous


When Francoeur hit .216 with 19 strikeouts and no walks in April, there were many wondering whether the Braves would send Francoeur back to the Minors [sic]. Some of the speculation was fueled by an erroneous comment made on ESPN.


No surprise, ESPN is goofy like that. Onward!

As the speculation mounted, I asked the appropriate parties, and they emphatically insisted they had no such intentions. At the time, there was at least justification to ask the question, but after Francoeur went on to hit 29 homers and collect 103 RBIs, there's obviously no reason for us to ever go down that avenue again.


Nope. Young homer-hitters don't grow on trees. And even if they did go down that route, who would replace Frenchy? Gregor Blanco? Hahahahaha!!!

...

Ahem. Moving on.

Instead, I think we should focus on just how much progress Francoeur made in his first full big-league season. During the season's first two months, he struck out 42 times and drew just three walks. During August and September, he struck out 45 times and drew 14 walks.


GASP! Call the newspapers!

Notice that he combines the months to make the walk total improvement better. That's fine. Frenchy did improve on getting walks. But do you know how many walks he had?

23.

So that means from April to the start of August, Francoeur drew NINE walks!

So which Francoeur will show up next season? The walk-almost-never or walk-a-little-more model? This is really nothing to crow about. If Francoeur had 14 walks every two months next season, he'd barely crack 40. That's an excellent improvement for him, but the Braves need more than that. Much more. Something in the range that Chipper Jones had last season (61). And that was when he was injured for a couple of months!

Obviously, there's still plenty of room for improvement.


What did I say?

But the important thing is that he's already starting to show plenty of it. In the first 94 games of Francoeur's career, he drew a total of 11 walks. In his final 29 games this season, he drew eight.


That does make it look better, but again, that's a very low walk amount for someone who hits more than 20 homers!

There's no doubt that Francoeur's current level of patience prevents him from being somebody who will hit .280. He hit that mark in just two of this past season's six months.


That's the meat of the way he gets on base too. If he doesn't learn to walk, he's screwed.

But if you take away his aggression, you also take away his potential to hit 30 homers and ability to come through in the clutch. He hit .319 with runners in scoring position this year.


I'm not much of a believer in clutch hitting, but I do recognize that you have to get hits with runners in scoring position, especially with two outs. You HAVE to. If Francoeur's batting average goes up with runners in scoring position, that's great.

During Dale Murphy's first two full big-league seasons, he compiled 914 at-bats and hit .247 with 44 homers, 136 RBIs, 212 strikeouts and 80 walks. He was just 23 years old in the second of those seasons (1979).


I have just one thing to say to that: Strikeout to Walk ratio.

Murphy's K/BB ratios in first three full seasons:

1978: 145/42 = 3.45
1979: 67/38 = 1.76
1980: 133/59 = 2.25

Francoeur's K/BB ratios so far:

2005: 58/11 = 5.27
2006: 132/23 = 5.74

Seems like ol' Murph's got a leg up on Frenchy, doesn't it?

Three seasons later, Murphy won the first of his consecutive National League MVP Awards.


I still think he should be in the Hall of Fame, but that's another subject.

It remains to be seen whether Francoeur will ever win an MVP award, but he's following a path similar to the one taken by a former winner.


I think I have just demonstrated that the only thing they have in common is that they have K/BB ratios over 2 in that stage of their careers. Francoeur needs to up his walk total drastically if he is going to have any real success in the major leagues, I am convinced of that.

In his first 908 career at-bats, Francoeur has hit .271 with 43 homers, 148 RBIs, 190 strikeouts and 34 walks.


With a K/BB ratio of 5.88.

Jeff, please, learn to draw a walk.
The Case of Kenny Rogers and the Pine-Tarred Hand

I have a simple question for this: Why would Rogers have pine tar on his hand for the whole world to see, especially during the World Series? Kenny Rogers isn't that stupid. Even Joe Niekro hid the sandpaper in his pockets when he got caught. There has got to be another explanation.

Maybe baseball fans have gotten cynical. No one can do amazing things anymore without cheating.

Friday, October 20, 2006

Welcome!

This blog my be called "Nothing but the Braves", but that won't stop me talking about baseball here, because I love baseball. And I have a lot to say. :)

The 2006 World Series, the St. Louis Cardinals against the Detroit Tigers, a rematch of 1934 and 1968, will be the biggest thing during the weekdays. I'd be willing to bet, however, that Georgia Tech vs. Clemson in college football on ESPN will clobber FOX in the ratings. I'm willing to say that because that's what I'll be watching at the Anderson (S. C.) Independent-Mail sports desk. I live in Clemson territory, but I'll be breaking out my Georgia Tech sweatshirt and cap for tomorrow, heh heh heh.

Let's discuss the 2006 World Series first.

(Playoff stats in parentheses)
(AVG, HR, RBI. W-L, ERA, K)

Cardinals Lineup

C Yadier Molina (.333, 2, 7)
1B Albert Pujols (.324, 2, 4)
2B Ronnie Belliard (.316, 0, 4)
3B Scott Rolen (.188, 0, 0)
SS David Eckstein (.195, 1, 2)
LF Preston Wilson (.200, 0, 1)
CF Jim Edmonds (.257, 2, 6)
RF Juan Encarnacion (.222, 0, 4)
DH Scott Spiezio (.235, 0, 55)

Anthony Reyes (0-0, 4.50, 4)
Jeff Weaver (2-1, 2.16, 5)
Cris Carpenter (2-1, 3.70, 17)
Jeff Suppan (1-1, 1.86, 9)

Tigers Lineup

C Ivan Rodriguez (.172, 1, 4)
1B Carlos Guillen (.367, 1, 2)
2B Placido Polanco (.471, 0, 4)
3B Brandon Inge (.222, 1, 3)
SS Ramon Santiago (.000, 0, 0)
LF Carig Monroe (.300, 3, 7)
CF Curtis Granderson (.313, 3, 7)
RF Magglio Ordonez (.250, 3, 8)
DH Sean Casey (.350, 0, 4)

Justin Verlander (1-0, 5.91, 11)
Kenny Rogers (2-0, 0.00, 14)
Nate Robertson (1-1, 5.91, 5)
Jeremy Bonderman (1-0, 3.00, 7)

Prediction: I will say this: The Cardinals do deserve to be in the World Series because they earned it. They clobbered the Padres, as they should have, and beat the Mets in seven games. Not very many other teams can say they've fared better against the Mets. Suppan and Weaver have been very, very good for the Cards this postseason, and the Redbird offense was very timely. But the offense has to shoulder some more of the workload against the Tigers, and I don't think that's possible at this point.

The Tigers on the other hand, worked with both cylinders chugging. They've only allowed more than 5 runs just twice in eight postseason games and only one of their wins was by less than three runs (one). The final win was a bit deceiving, as Ordonez had the walk-off three run homer. The Cards have lost twice when they have allowed less than three runs. This would mean that the Cardinals probably have to pull their offense up a notch more than the Tigers do. And I guess that won't happen. Detroit will celebrate their first World Series championship in 22 years.

Tigers in six.

EDIT: Added a proper title.