Thursday, December 20, 2007

The Washington Braves?

This week the Washington Nationals added three former Braves to their team - Pete Orr, Ray King, and Willie Harris. These three join Ryan Langerhans on the club. King and Orr don't have guaranteed deals, but will be at spring training.

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Nats Agree to Terms with Orr

The Washington Nationals signed infielder Pete Orr to a minor league deal. He is invited to Spring Training, but not on the Nationals 40-man roster.

Friday, December 07, 2007

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Left-Handed Hitting Speedster Left off 40-man Roster

Pete Orr was taken off the Atlanta Braves 40-man roster yesterday as the team made a bunch of moves to the roster - including adding pitchers Jairo Cuevas, Charlie Morton, and Zach Schreiber. This comes the day after the Braves signed a 41-year old lefty who still has something left in the tank.

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Pete Orr Gets the Start in the Season Finale

Pete Orr is batting 8th and starting at second base for the Atlanta Braves today.

Saturday, September 08, 2007

Mark Teixeira

This thing is too funny even after having watched it 100x.


Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Orr Back with A-Braves

Pete Orr was recalled from Richmond when the Braves sent Joey, up/down/up/down, Devine to the AAA club.

Orr hit .240 in 43 games with the Richmond Braves.

Monday, July 30, 2007

Mark Teixeira #23

So the Braves will have a solid first baseman....I mean a real, power hitting, offensive, marquee, first sacker.

Let's take a look at the recent history of the Braves 1B position:

2007: Thorman/Saltalamachia/Franco
2006: LaRoche
2005: LaRoche/Franco
2004: LaRoche/Franco
2003: Fick/Franco/Franco
2002: Franco/Franco/Helms (and even some Surhoff)
2001: Bogna/Helms/Camanitti/Franco
2000: Galarraga/Joyner

So that means it's been since 2000 that the Braves had a real threat, I mean a household name type bigleaguer manning the old man's corner.

I like it. I like Teixeira. I liked Salty and hope he turns out to be a dud.

BTW, Matt Diaz wears #23 - and so does Teixeira, so someone will be buying someone else a new car for a jersey number.

Braves Get New First Sacker

Mark Teixera is a Brave.

Braves get 1B Mark Teixeira and LHP Ron Mahay.

Rangers get C Jarrod Saltalamacchia, SS Elvis Andrus, LHP Matt Harrison, and one more not accounced.

Pete Orr is still playing for Richmond.

Would you like some Salty or Teixeira

Which would you rather?

Saturday, July 28, 2007

48 Year old Everyday First Baseman?

Yes, the Braves have 22 year old Jarrod Saltalamacchia sitting while they play 48 year old Julio Franco at 1B.

I don't understand this at all. It appears taht they are very close to a deal to get Mark Texiera from the Texas Rangers in exchange for Salty and some other prospects...but wouldn't you want to have Salty at the first sack instead of Julio?

I like Julio, but c'mon.

Pete Orr went 4-5 for Richmond last night.

Friday, July 20, 2007

8 Teams; How Many Jersey #s?

Julio Franco has worn a variety of jersey numbers on his back. I remembered that he had worn several different numbers with the Braves during 2001-05, but couldn't remember them all. So I did some searching and found his page on the Baseball Almanac web site. Man, there is some cool stuff there. They have a record of all his jersey numbers!

Franco is currently wearing #14 for the Braves. This appears to be his favorite jersey number. As a rookie in 1982 he wore #15 with the Phillies. From 1983 to 1994 Franco wore #14 for the Indians, Rangers, and White Sox. When he returned to the bigs in 1996 for the Indians he wore #23. The switch was made because the Indians planned to retire the #14 in honor of the second African American Major Leaguer, Larry Doby.

In 1997, with the Brewers, Franco wore #25. Number 14 was worn by catcher Dave Nilsson. SI.com says, however, that Franco wore #14. Not sure what the real deal is here. Could have been a midseason switch by Nilsson.

In 1999, Julio had 1 AB with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He wore #18.

When Atlanta rescued Julio from the Mexican League in 2001, he wore #28 and #4. Bernard Gilkey wore #23 with the Braves in '01 and Quilvio Veras wore #4. Julio took #28, then switched to #4 after the Braves sent Quilvio packing. Verteran Dave Martinez wore #14 that year.

One would think that Franco would have stuck with #4 throught '02, but he didn't. He wore it for a while, then switched to #23. He gave #4 to Matt Franco - Matt was promoted from AAA Richmond pretty early that season. He and Julio more or less platooned at 1B that season. It does not appear that anyone wore #14 for the Braves in 2002. (Note: Matt Franco is currently playing professional baseball in Japan for the Chiba Lotte Marines; the same team Julio Franco played for in 1995 and 1998.)

In 2003, Franco put on #14 and kept it through 2005.

It was a good thing that Franco kept #14, because Pete Orr broke in with the Braves in 2005 and wore the #4.

In '06, with the Mets, Franco wore #23. The Mets have the #14 of Gil Hodges retired, so that was not an option for Franco.

Franco continued to wear #23 for the Mets until he was let go earlier this month. Currently Franco is wearing a #14 Atlanta Braves jersey.

So, Franco has wore 7 different numbers on the back of his Major League jerseys (15, 14, 23, 25, 18, 28, 4).

Sitting at 2.5 Back

The Bravos pounded the Redbirds last night at The Ted in the return of Julio Franco. Franco had a two-run single to show that he can still get around on the ball (he hit it to left field, a rarity for Franco).

This season will be his 6th in a Braves uniform - his first stint was 2001-05. Julio has played for 8 different MLB clubs. The Indians are the only team whom Franco has spent more time (8 seasons; 1983-88, 1996-97).

This is an interesting move. I guess Schuerholz and Cox think that Franco can help as a pinch hitter and at first base. I don't think they signed him for the "veteran leadership" as some of the media outlets have reported. I don't think the Braves, or any other big league team, would give a roster spot to a soon-to-be 49 year old to be a "father figure."

The Braves sent Jose Ascanio to Mississippi to open a roster spot for Franco. The Braves also moved Kyle Davies to Richmond and actived reliever Wil Ledezma (who had been on the "restricted" list since the end of the All Star break - his passport had been damaged in a load of laundry or something and he was stuck in Venezuela while he got a new one.

I think the Braves are concerned with left-handed hitting 1B Scott Thorman enough to make this move. Thorman is hitting .212 with 9 yayas and 33 RBI. He has Ked 57 times in 241 AB; that means he fans every 4.2 at bats. As previously mentioned, Thorman is out of minor league options.

Golden Child Jarrod Saltalamacchia has been spending a good amount of time at 1B, but that leaves the Bravos without a catcher on the bench. The Braves seem to have no interest in adding another catcher, and with Pete Orr now down on the farm Matt Diaz is the only "emergency catcher."

Salty has made 2 errors in 103 innings at the first sack - not all that bad for it being a new position. His batting average has dropped quite a bit. He was hitting .330 on July 1. After yesterday's 0-4, his average was .278.

We'll see how this whole thing plays out.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Kyle Davies as Pinch Hitter

Kyle Davies pinch hit today in the 15th inning for Jose Ascanio. I have to wonder about this move for a couple reasons - the first being that I'm thinkin' that Davies would have been a potential relief pitcher in the game...possibly the next pitcher if the game had gotten tied and the second being that Davies is not, by the numbers at least, the best hitting pitcher who was still on the bench.

There were X pitchers still on the bench - Buddy Carlyle, Tim Hudson, Chuck James, Pete Moylan, and Jo-Jo Reyes. Moylan being the only reliever. Cox had used Jo-Jo as a pinch hitter before and had been successful.

Both Hudson (.200, 8 H, 2 2B, 3 RBI) and James (.194, 6 H, 1 2B, 2 RBI) have better batting averages than Davies (.192, 5 H, 1 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI).

If it were me, I would have gone with Jo-Jo, who is 2-3 as a big league hitter.

Braves Bring Back Some Bench Help

No, Pete Orr is still in Richmond hitting .238 in his first 21 AB since being kicked to the curb by the big club.

Julio Franco, who will turn 49 on August 23, will join the Braves tomorrow. He'll be a right handed hitter off the bench - and will probably get some limited playing time at first base. At first one might think that 1B Scott Thorman will be headed to Richmond, but he's out of options and would have to be put on waivers if the Braves want to do that. I'm thinking the Bravos will send down one of their 13 pitchers to open the spot for Julio - either Jo-Jo Reyes or Jose Ascanio.

The move will be announced tomorrow before the 7:35 tip-off with the St. Louis Redbirds.

Friday, July 06, 2007

The Reality of Baseball Strikes

Pete Orr was sent to AAA Richmond yesterday and the call me up, send me down, call me up again, then send me down again, Joey Devine was recalled from AA Mississippi.

This will mark the first time since the beginning of the 2005 season that Pete Orr will not be on the Atlanta Braves 25-man roster.

Braves skipper Bobby Cox said, "We need another pitcher for the next couple of days bad. I hate to do it, because Pete is one of my favorite guys and one of the best teammates our guys have ever had."

Orr was hitting well below the mendoza line at .179 this season and has been overshadowed by the rise of Yunel Escobar during the recent weeks.

Orr said, "I'd love to play for the Braves and Bobby Cox again."

The Braves cannot recall Orr for 10 days - Major League rules, not mine.

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

...And Your National League All Star Shortstop is...

not Pete Orr since he's only played 1 inning during his MLB career at SS. Your NL All Star SS is Jose Reyes. The fans made a great choice. Reyes can play. He's a stud. He's got 40 SB at the half way mark and is hitting ~.315. A very worthy starting shortshop.

The members of the Major League Baseball Players Association chose the backup shortstop. They picked J.J. Hardy. Hardy is having a great year for the Brewcrew (18 HR, 52 RBI, .283 Avg, yada yada yada).

Who should the players have picked? Edgard Renteria. The Braves SS is having another great year (.326 Avg, 10 HR, 43 RBI, 21 2B, 7 SB, 53 R). Renteria has a .980 FPCT. Reyes has a .987 and Hardy has a .972.

The only NL SS with a higher batting average than Renteria is Christian Guzman, but Guzman has only played in 43 game (Renteria has played in 79).

Renteria has 101 hits. Hardy has 87. I could go on, but I won't.

Renteria is an All Star. The players dropped the ball -- and you can't blame the "every team needs a representative rule" because the Braves have 2 on the team (John Smoltz and Brian McCann) and the Brewers hav 3 others on the club (Prince Fielder, Francisco Corder, & Ben Sheets).

Monday, July 02, 2007

Who is Better at Picking All Stars?

Really, who is better at picking an all star team - the fans or the players?

In my opinion there has always been an undertone of disrespect for the selections that the fans make. So, here we are in the new era of All Star selection - fans still pick the starting position players, but the players get to pick most of the reserves. Prior to the tied all star game in 2002 the selections of the reserve players were done entirely by the managers World Series teams during the prior season.

So here were are in the National League with several catchers having solid years. It seems that a Major League Baseball All Star is defined by his year-to-date performance, so I will only address the 2007 stats that the NL backstops have put up.

The Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles catcher Russell Martin was selected to start by the fans - he leads NL catchers with a .297 batting average, 53 RBI, 9 HR (tied with Michael Barrett), runs scored, stolen bases, doubles (tied with Brian McCann), and hits. He has thrown out 36.5% of those who have tried to steal a base on him.

The players selected Atlanta Braves catcher McCann as the reserve catcher. Now, don't get me wrong. I'll take McCann on my ball club any day of the week. I love the guy...not love love, just love - ya know, kinda like Pete Orr. But McCann ain't no All Star - not this year. Here are the catchers with a higher batting average than McCann: Martin, Bengie Molina, Yadier Molina, Paul Lo Duca, Johnny Estrada, Carlos Ruiz, Brad Ausmus, and Josh Bard. Yes, that's right, there are 8 National League catchers who have a higher batting average than McCann. That puts McCann's average in the bottom half.

The only offensive categories that McCann is near the top in are doubles (19, ties for first with Martin), home runs (7, tied for 5th with 3 others), and RBI (41, third). McCann has thrown out 20.5% of would be base stealers. Sorry Brian, not this year.

If I were a player I would have voted for...drum roll please...B. Molina and his .289 batting average, 8 HR, 44 RBI, 76 H, and 26.3% caught runner stealing rate. I considered Johnny Estrada (7 HR, 33 RBI, .281 Avg, 29 R, 72 H), but his 19.5% rate of catching basestealers turned me off. I also thought about Paul Lo Duca (.285 Avg, 5 HR, 24 RBI, 74 H), but B. Molina's stats were stronger over all.

But what do I know, I'm just a fan.

Next topic will be the NL All Star Shortstops.

Monday, June 25, 2007

Andruw Jones Gets a Hit; Pete Orr Plays an Inning

Which happens more often?

Last night (June 24) Pete Orr played 3B in the ninth inning. This was Pete's first appearance in a game since June 20 when he struckout as a pinch hitter for Oscar Villarreal. His time at the hot corner was the first time he had been on the defensive side of the ball since June 12 (he played a full game at 3B vs. the Twins that day).

Andruw Jones got a hit last night. This was his first hit since June 15.

Orr is hitting .192 this season. Jones is hitting .199.

Orr is making $400,000 for the 2007 season. Jones is making $14,000,000.

Here are a few ways of looking at Orr and Jones ROI:

Orr has 2 RBI at a cost of $200,000 per RBI. Jones has 42 RBI at a cost of $333,333 per RBI.

Defensively, Orr has 9 PO at a cost of $44,444 each. Jones has 210 at a cost of $66,666 per put out.

Now look, I'm not saying Orr is better than Jones...."I'm just sayin'."

Friday, June 22, 2007

Long Island Ducks - A Big League Roster

Wow. This is crazy. On ESPN Page 2 today there is a column by Jeff Pearlman, "These Ducks are waiting for "the call"," that talks about 13, yes, 13 former major league baseball players playing on the Long Island Ducks baseball team, a team in the Independent Atlanta League of Professional Baseball.

Edgardo Alfonzo, yeah he made $8 mil for the Blue Jays and Angels last season. I guess 8 is not enough for Edgardo. After hitting a buck 26 last season he wants back in the bigs. So does Carl Everett. Everett, a .271 career hitter, has played for 8 big league teams over 14 seasons. He hit .227 for the Mariners last year. Eight ain't enough for Carl either.

Danny Graves had 41 saves in his All Star 2004 season, but the wheels came off in 2005 (6.52 ERA for the Redlegs and Mets) and in 2006 (5.79 ERA for the Indians). Jose Offerman, a 2-time all star, hit .229 for the Mets and Phillies in 2005. Donovan Osborne had a 7.13 ERA with the Yanks in 2004.

Alfonzo, Everett, Graves, Offerman, and Osborne are 5 names that most baseball fans would have known during the past decade. There are some others that put some decent MLB time in on the club too (Todd Erdos, John Halama, John Riedling, and Damian Rolls). Even a fella from the Marist School in Atlanta, Mark Watson.

So, you ask, since the Ducks are full of these former big leaguers how is the club doing? Well, Long Island is currently tied for first place in the North Division of the Atlantic League with the Bridgeport Bluefish. The Bluefish, managed by a fella named Tommy John, have a few former Major Leaguers too - 6 of them actually....most notably Junior Spivey (2002 All Star with the Diamondbacks), Quinton McCracken (.274 hitter in 12 seasons with 6 teams), and Brian Boehringer.

So the answer to the age old question "How many former major leaguers does it take to win the the North Division in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball?" will be answered this year.

I don't see any former Braves on those teams - and more importantly, I don't see Pete Orr on either of those clubs.

Monday, June 11, 2007

The Good, the Bad, and the Orr

The Braves have started to look like they are back on track with 2 wins in a row over the Cubbies. I was at the game on Friday - everytime I looked up Alfonso Soriano was hitting a homer. I had to leave early so I missed out on Pete Orr striking out in the 8th and playing an inning at the hot corner. That game was ugly. The Cubs had 15 hits in the 9-1 beating of the Bravos.

Saturday things looked a bit brighter. I was happy to see former Brave Jason Marquis get abused by the Braves (1.2 IP, 4H, 6R, 2ER, 3BB, 1K).

It looks like Chipper Jones is going to be back on the club this week and John Smoltz will resume his spot in the rotation in Cleveland this weekend.

The Mets have been slumping recently too, so the Braves are 2.5 games back in the standings. In June, The Mets (36-25) are 3-7 and the Braves (35-29) are 4-6.

I realize we are not at the half way point, yet, but here are the NL Wild Card Standings:
  1. Arizona Diamondbacks (37-27, .578)
  2. Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles (35-28, .556)
  3. Atlanta Braves (35-29, .547)
  4. Philadelphia Phillies (32-31, .508)

Pete Orr (born in Canada) is hitting .196 and has not had a hit since he had 2 on June 1 vs. the Cub (at Wrigley Field). Yunel Escobar (born in Cuba) is hitting .333. There have been a total of 210 players in Major League Baseball who were born in Canada and there have been 153 big leaguers born in Cuba.

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

My Buddy and Me

Buddy Carlyle allowed 1 hit (a solo homer) in 7 innings today (7IP, 1H, 1R, 1ER, 3BB, 5K) and picked up the W for the Bravos today in their 3-1 victory over the Miami Marlins.

Carlyle, who pitched for the LG Twins in Seoul Korea last year, was immediately sent to Richmond after the game today to allow the Braves to promote RHP Blaine Boyer. Now, this is interesting because a couple days ago when I signed on to ajc.com I read a headline that Boyer was dead. Of course after clicking into the article I realized that they were talking about the 70 year old former 3B Clete Boyer (whom I had never heard of before that moment).

With Bobby Cox and company worried that John Smoltz might need to come out of the game early due to his tender right shoulder they had not choice but to add a bullpen hand - thus the "Congratulations Buddy Carlyle on your first MLB win this century, now go back to the minors" roster move. Carlyle's last, and only, big league win came on September 9, 1999 when he went 6 innings for the San Diego Padres.

Pete Orr went 0-2 in the game in which he started at second base.

Sunday, June 03, 2007

'Bout Time

No, not that the Cubs won a game, but rather that Jarrod Saltalamacchia got some PT at the first sack. With a stick like Salty's got and the lack of production from the current firstbaseman (Scott Thorman) it seems only logical to give the switch hitting Salty a shot over there.

See my May 17 post about the Bravos first base situation.

The fact is that Salty is too good to not be in the lineup. It will be interesting, however, when both he and McCann are playing - leaving no backup catcher on the bench.

The Braves got thumped today by the Cubs (10-1), so Bobby gave Salty a couple innings in the field. He's been taking ground balls at first for a couple weeks during BP.

Pete Orr, went 0-1 today, after collecting a pair of hits and scoring twice in the Braves 8-5 win over the Cubs on Friday - a game in which he started at the hot corner. Despite Pete's performance on Friday the Braves still called up highly rated prospect, Yunel Escobar. Escobar went 2-4 in his big league debut and drove in the winning run in Saturday's 5-3 win over the Cubbies.

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Braves Rebound

After a three game losing streak (getting swept by the Phillie 5/25-27), the Bravos took 2 of three from the Brew Crew in Milwaukee. Unfortunately for the Braves, their recent stumble (losing 6 of their last 10) has cost them a couple games in the standings to the New York Mets. The Metropolitans are 33-18 and lead the 30-23 Bravos by 4 games in the NL East.

The Mets are flat out good - even without Pedro Martinez. When you've got Shawn Green (who was just put on the DL) hitting 7th, you're a pretty good ball club (Green was hitting .314 before going on the shelf).

The Mets are an All Star team. Reyes, Lo Duca, and Chavez are all hitting over .300. Carlos Beltran (a career .281 hitter) is hitting .294 and flashing plenty of leather in the outfield. David Wright is back on track after a terrible April (21 RBI in May vs. 6 in the opening month). Oh yeah, don't forget a left handed hitting first baseman who has over 400 career homers (Carlos Delgado) who is just a sleeping giant at the moment.

The pitching for the Mets is pretty nice too. Future Hall of Famer (and former Brave) Tom Glavine is solid, Oliver Perez has figured out how to pitch this year (2.69 ERA, 64 IP, 47 H). John Main is pitching the best ball of his short career (6-2, 2.79 ERA) and Orland "El Duke" Hernandez has pitched quite well in 6 outings thus far. Did I already say they have Pedro working his way back for the post season run? Oh, and don't let me forget that the Mets waved a magic wand over Jorge Sosa (former Brave) to get him 4 wins in 5 starts.

The Mets are good. The Braves can't afford to go through rough patches like they have in the recent past. I didn't even mention the Mets bullpen - which is scary good with rookie Joe Smith (1.59 ERA, 26K in 22.2 IP), Pedro Feliciano (0.96 ERA in 18.2 IP), and the best closer in the game (my opinion) Billy Wagner (1.57 ERA, 12 for 12 in Saves).

Chipper Jones has been sitting for a week with a sore right hand. Pete Orr got a pair of starts at the hot corner in the Milwaukee series. He made an error in the field and went 1-7 at the plate. Pete has the lowest batting average (.189) on the club.

Friday, May 25, 2007

Bullpen Down 1 for the Rest of the Way

No, I'm not talking about Mark Redman. Lefty Mike Gonzalez has to shut it down for 12-14 months so he can have, and rehabilitate from, ligament transplant surgery according to ajc.com.

Gonzalez, who came over from the Pittsburgh Pirates in the off season in exchange for Adam LaRoche (there were minor league players swapped in the deal as well), pitched in 18 games for the Braves this season with a 1.59 ERA.

This could, with emphasis on could, mean that Joey Devine could be around for a while longer. Since I have been less than accurate in recent predictions I'm giving the politically correct "cautiously optimistic" line.

So, the Braves bullpen is down to one left-hander - Macay McBride. Look for the Bravos to try to get another lefty in the mix down in the 'pen. Hmmm...Mark Redman is still available? He gave up 38 hits in 21.2 innings and posted an ERA of 11.63 during his 6 games with the Bravos this year...but wait! He did have an ingrown toenail.

Pete Orr has never been on the disabled listed during his Major League career.

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Smoltz Wins #200

John Smoltz won his 200th career game tonight. He's now tied for 107th place on the All Time Wins List for Pitchers. Now the question everyone in baseball seems to be asking now - is Smoltzy a Hall of Famer?
  1. He has 200 career wins; 196 of his wins were as a starter.
  2. He spent 3.5 years of his career in the bullpen where he saved 154 games.
  3. When he was a closer he led the majors in saves once, ranked 2nd once, and had 4th most once.
  4. He's a 7-time All Star (2 of them as a reliever).
  5. He won a Cy Young Award.
  6. He has 2,838 career strike outs.
  7. He has a career ERA of 3.27.
  8. He is 15-4 with a 2.65 ERA and 4 saves in the post season.

John Smoltz is a Hall of Famer. You need not compare him to other Hall of Famers to justify his inclusion. What he has done speaks for itself. Pete Orr is not, however, a Hall of Famer...at least not yet.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Joey Devine Back in the Bigs

Reliever Joey Devine, believed to be the closer of the future for the Atlanta Braves is back in Atlanta today after the Bravos cut loose Mark Redman.

Saturday, May 19, 2007

OK, So I Was Wrong

Yesterday, the Braves sent catcher Brayan Pena down to AAA Richmond in order to activate pitcher (and I use that term loosely) Mark Redman. The move makes my speculation Bobby Cox planning to use Salty at 1B totally wrong. There I admitted it.

Pete Orr is back to being the #3 catcher.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Things Just Sorta Work Out

The Braves released Craig Wilson today. The first baseman was hitting .172 in 58 at bats this season. Wilson, a career .262 hitter, had been platooning (kinda) with Scott Thorman. The move has to be a result of Wilson's lack of hitting, but more directly the debut of the highly touted Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Salty is the catching prospect who the Braves have been excited about for the past couple years. With the quick rise of Brian McCann it has crowed the stock behind home plate.

I'm thinking the switch hitting Salty will get a pretty good amount of PT at 1B. The Braves activated Brayan Pena from the DL today after cutting loose Wilson. The Bravos still have to pay the rest of his $2 million salary this season.

The Braves have three players listed as catchers on the roster now - the combined salary of the trio is $1.43 million (McCann $666,667; Pena $380,000; Salty $380,000). It appears that none of them will be leaving anytime soon - unless the injury bug strikes. I don't recall the last time that the Braves had three catchers on the roster - for any prolonged period of time. If you count Pete Orr as a catcher - which they say he can be if the Bravos were ever in need - then the Braves have 4 backstops.

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Pete Gets His Shot

With Chipper Jones taking a couple days off after doing a face plant on Friday night when he and and the Pirates 3rd baseman Jose Bautista got in each other's way. He bruised his writs or something. This opened the door for Pete Orr to get a start at the hot corner. Prior to Saturday night, Orr had played only 2 innings in the field (1 at 2nd and 1 at 3rd).

Orr batted 8th in the lineup in both games. Saturday, Orr ripped an opposite field double, but went hitless the rest of the night...ending it 1-5. Sunday afternoon was not any better as Orr went 0-3 with a walk. He did, however, drive a ball to deep right, but it was caught.

I watched Saturday night's game on the edge of my seat as Chuck James took a perfect game in the 6th and a no-hitter into the 7th. Sunday's game was one that I'll be looking forward to forgetting as the Pirates punded out 18 hits on their way to a 13-2 pounding of the Bravos.

If Jones needs another game off, it could be Orr again on Monday vs. Jason Bermann and the Washington Nationals.

Friday, May 04, 2007

The Old Switcheroo

Welcome back to the NL East Ryan Langerhans. It's been a while since we've seen a double backstabbing.

The Oakland Athletics traded Langy to the Washington Nationals. The Nats, apparently, have coveted thy neighbor's outfielder for sometime, but the Bravos didn't want to trade him within the division. In exchange for Langy, the A's got Chris Snelling, who came to the Nats in a December trade with the Seattle Mariners....and what division are the M's in? Yup, the AL West.

This is certainly not substantiated, but all evidence points to some backdoor deal between Billy Beane (Oakland GM) and Jim Bowden (Washington GM).

The San Franciso Chronicle agrees with the above:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2007/05/03/SPGKPPJ6811.DTL

To be honest, who really cares?

We're talking about guy who's hitting .061 in 49 AB this season and guy who has less than 50 career hits. Besides, the Braves got what they want out of the whole thing - cash....to help that tight payroll.

As I was writing this, Pete Orr reached base in the 8th when he layed a bunt down the first base line. The hit brings his average to an even .300 for the season.

Sunday, April 29, 2007

He Can't Say They Didn't Give Him a Shot

Ryan Langerhans was traded by the Braves to the Oakland Athletics today, immediately after their 11 inning loss to Colorado.

Langerhans was 2-41 entering today's game - in which he went 1-3 to bring his average to .068 on the young season. The fact is that the Braves couldn't wait any longer for Langy to "break out of it." With Matt Diaz hitting a decent .260ish in part time duty, and coming off a .327 season (nearly 300 AB) there really wasn't much reason to wait for Langy.

The Braves will get some cash and a player to be named later for Langy. Willie Harris has been promoted from Richmond to the big club as a result of the transaction. Harris was hitting .362 as a regular for the AAA team. This spring, Harris hit .318 in 44 AB. Harris came to the Braves as a non-roster invite to Spring Training. He hit .156 for the Boston Red Sox in 2006 (45 AB). Harris spent four seasons with the Chicago White Sox (2002-2005) and was a member of their World Championship team in '05. He broke into the bigs in 2001 with Baltimore.

Don't expect Diaz to take over the day to day work in Left Field. Expect to see the left handed hitter Harris take over for Langerhans in the platoon role. Harris has spent most of his Major League Baseball career as a second baseman (just what we need...another second sacker), but has been playing mostly in the outfield for the immediate past.

I'm a little unclear on what the A's have in mind for Langerhands...as it seems they have more outfielders than most clubs (5 according to www.athletics.mlb.com).

Pete Orr came off the bench today to pinch hit for pitcher Kyle Davies in the 5th inning. He grounded out to shortshop to drop his batting average to .222.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Put Me In Coach

The Atlanta Braves (13-7) beat the Miami Marlins (9-11) last night thanks in part to Pete Orr. Orr pinch hit in the top of the 9th for pitcher Rafael Soriano. The Bravos were leading 7-6 and Orr drove in 2 runs on a single to right field. Orr later scored on a single by Edgar Renteria. Orr's single, his second hit of the season, gave him his first two RBI and run scored of the season. Pete is now 2-7 in '07.

It's quite strange that Orr has only seen 2 innings in the field this season and has yet to get a start. Manager Bobby Cox has started right handed hitting Chris Woodward at second base on several occations, but nothing for Orr to date.

Cox is known for spreading playing time around to "keep guys fresh," but Orr has not seen his share yet.

Monday, April 16, 2007

Willy, Where Are You?

How do you suspend a guy who is on the disabled list? Well, the Braves are apparently doing just that to Willy Aybar. He's been on the DL since coming out of Spring Training and didn't show up to the game on Saturday night - yeah, the one that was rained out.

Check out the article on the Braves web site.

I guess the best part of the article is the last paragraph...."Even if he reaches a point where he's healthy enough to play, the Braves may have a hard time placing him on the roster in favor of Pete Orr, who is a clubhouse favorite, beloved by teammates, coaches and manager Bobby Cox."

Saturday, April 14, 2007

The Great Mark Redman Experiment

Let's face it. Mark Redman is not an All Star pitcher. When the Braves signed him, it was always mentioned that he was on the American League All Star team last year. He was on the team because the Kansas City Royals was a very poor team and every team gets a representative and he was the best the that Ozzie Guillen could come up with (5-4 with an ERA around 5.50 if memory serves). So really, it's not very fair to label Mark Redman as an All Star -- he's simply a victim of the system.

Last night was part 2 of the Redman Experiment. The opening act was vs. the Mets, so let's face it, the Mets are a pretty good lineup (understatement of the year), it probably wasn't the best assignment for Redman right out of the gate. Last night was a disaster. Redman was abused by the Fish.

So, now the question is, what is the alternative? It was pretty much implied that Redman was only going to be around until Hampton got off the DL. Since Hampton is on the DL until, at least, opening day 2008, then I'm thinkin' the Bravos might want to reconsider their position. Since Lance Cormier is injured, Kyle Davies is up and pitched well in his first outing. I guess when Cormier gets healthy, then he'll be the heir to the Redman fortune? Who knows, but neither one of them is an All Star and I don't care what Ozzie Guillen says.

Pete Orr played an inning at the hot corner last night after Bobby Cox determined the game was out of reach when the score was 11-3 in the top of the 9th. Orr was in the hold when Kelly Johnson flew out to end the game.

Sunday, April 08, 2007

Braves - The Best in the Bigs

With this afternoons come from behind 3-2 win over the New York Metropolitans, the Bravos are sitting at 5-1, the best record in Major League Baseball.

In not-so-favorable news today, the Braves highest paid player (13th highest paid player in the majors), Left Handed Starting Pitcher Mike Hampton, cut his bullpen session short with pain in his throwing elbow - the same surgically repaired elbow that has not allowed him to pitch in a ballgame since August 19, 2005. Hampton is traveling to New York to visit with the Doc who performed the Tommy John Surgery on him in September '05.

Here is the top 10 on the 2007 Atlanta Braves Payroll (with approximate salary in millions):
  1. Mike Hampton ($15.5)
  2. Andruw Jones ($14)
  3. Chipper Jones ($12.3)
  4. Edgar Renteria ($10)
  5. Tim Hudson ($8.5)
  6. John Smoltz ($8)
  7. Bob Wickman ($6.5)
  8. Mike Gonzalez ($2.4)
  9. Craig Wilson ($2)
  10. Rafael Soriano ($1.2)

Everyone after Soriono is under $1 million in salary this season. Pete Orr #22 on the salary rank - he is pulling down $400,000 this year.

So, you say, if Mike Hampton is the 13th highest paid player in MLB, who are the top 12?

Well, ask and you shall receive. See the list right here (with approximate salary in millions and team):

  1. Alex Rodriguez ($27.7, New York Yankees)
  2. Jason Giambi ($23.4, New York Yankees)
  3. Derek Jeter ($21.6, New York Yankees)
  4. Manny Ramirez ($17, Boston Red Sox)
  5. Todd Helton ($16.6, Colorado Rockies)
  6. Bartolo Colon ($16, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim)
  7. Andy Pettitte ($16, New York Yankees)
  8. Jason Schmidt ($15.7, Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles)
  9. Jim Thome ($16.7, Chicago White Sox)
  10. Bobby Abreau ($15.6, New York Yankees)
  11. Barry Bonds ($15.5, San Franciso Giants)
  12. Richie Sexson ($15.5, Seattle Mariners)

Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Sunday April 8, 2007; Section B

Man the Yanks have a lot of money.

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

And 2 Makes a Streak

Another extra inning contest for the Bravos and Phils. Same result...Braves win! Braves win!

Tim Hudson looked great - which he needed to after all the speculation him losing his stuff after a couple bad years in the ATL.

The 'pen looked a little scary but did a nice job overall. Bob Wick-itywack-man picked up the save.

All spring the press has been saying that Jeff Francoeur has matured as a hitter and is more seletective with the pitches he swings at. I have yet to see this.

Pete Orr had an infield single in the 11th. He has the highest batting average on the Braves (1.000).

Monday, April 02, 2007

Undefeated Braves

Nice outing from Braves ace John Smoltz (6 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K). He had 5 strikeouts in the first two innings, and then the Phils started getting around on him.

The offense was carried by Brian McCann (3-4, 3RBI, HR) and Edgar Renteria (2-5, 2RBI, 2HR).

Bob Wickman got the win in the 5-3 game and his twin (minus the facial hair) Chad Paronto got the save by pitching a scoreless 10th inning.

Pete Orr pinch ran for McCann in the 9th and advanced to 3rd base, but couldn't cross the plate.

The real story today was the bullpen. Last season, the Bravos opened up on LA with an 11-10 win over the Dodgers.

Last opening day the Braves bullpen:
5IP, 11H, 5R, 5ER, 0BB, 3K

2007 opening day for the Braves bullpen:
4IP, 2H, 0R, 0ER, 3BB, 4K

Friday, March 30, 2007

The Braves 25...For Now

A few suprises on the Atlanta Braves 25 man roster for Opening Day...

  1. Smoltz (SP)
  2. Hudson (SP)
  3. James (SP)
  4. Redman (SP)
  5. Cormier (SP)
  6. McBride (RP)
  7. Gonzalez (RP)
  8. Villareal (RP)
  9. Yates (RP)
  10. Soriano (RP)
  11. Paronto (RP)
  12. Wickman (RP)
  13. McCann (C)
  14. Pena (C)
  15. A. Jones (OF)
  16. Francoeur (OF)
  17. Langerhans (OF)
  18. Diaz (OF)
  19. C. Jones (3B)
  20. Renteria (SS)
  21. Thorman (1B/OF)
  22. Wilson (1B/OF)
  23. Johnson (2B)
  24. Woodward (2B/3B)
  25. Orr (2B/3B)

Out in the Cold:

  1. Aybar (2B/3B) [DL]
  2. Hampton (SP) [DL]
  3. Escobar (SS)
  4. Prado (2B)
  5. Harris (OF)
  6. Davies (SP)
  7. Carlyle (SP/RP)
  8. Colyer (RP)

The biggest suprise has to be that the once Golden Child, Kyle Davies, will be on a bus to Richmond tonight. He had a nice spring (2-0, 2.84 ERA, 19 IP, 14 H, 9 BB, 11 K), but apparently the Braves feel that he will benefit from some time in the minors. His 2006 #s (3-7, 8.38 ERA, 63.3 IP, 90 H, 33 BB, 51 K) would certainly support the decision.

The right side of the infield is going to be scary for the Bravos. Watch out.

Monday, March 26, 2007

Orr Making Strong Case

Complements of David O'Brien, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 26, 2007

ORR MAKING STRONG CASE

Infielder Willy Aybar probably will start the season on the disabled list with a sore hand, and Pete Orr is making a strong push for the would-be job opening.

Orr is hitting .371 with two doubles and a .434 on-base percentage.

"Pete's had a nice little spring," Cox said.

Orr has spent two seasons with the Braves, batting .300 as a rookie before slipping to .253 in 2006. He hit .291 after the All-Star break but .213 before, and Orr feared that half-season might get him ticketed for Richmond this year.

He could have a reprieve because of Aybar's situation. Versatile rookie Martin Prado has had a good spring (.368, five doubles), but Cox is known for being loyal to his guys, and Orr has proven himself at the major-league level.

"I still don't know what the [heck's] happening," Orr said. "I don't if they know, of if they know and aren't saying. It is hard, though. I ain't going to lie. You come in, do what you can do, and it's totally out of your hands.

"That's the hardest part. I was talking to Chipper and he said, 'Don't worry, don't worry.' But I've got to find a place for my wife and me to live."

-----

This would change the roster in the previous post....

22. Johnson (2B)
23. Prado (2B/3B)
24. Chris Woodward (2B/3B/1B.....)
25. Pete Orr (2B/3B)

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Narrowing it Down to 25

Alright, so let's figure this thing out. Here is what I'm looking at for the Braves roster come Opening Day (April 2nd @Philadelphia at 1:05 PM).

  1. Smoltz (SP)
  2. Hudson (SP)
  3. James (SP)
  4. Davies (SP)
  5. Redman (SP)
  6. Cormier (RP)
  7. McBride (RP)
  8. Gonzalez (RP)
  9. Villareal (RP)
  10. Yates (RP)
  11. Soriano (RP)
  12. Wickman (RP)
  13. McCann (C)
  14. Pena (C)
  15. A. Jones (OF)
  16. Francoeur (OF)
  17. Langerhans (OF)
  18. Diaz (OF/1B)
  19. C. Jones (3B)
  20. Renteria (SS)
  21. Thorman (1B/OF)
  22. Aybar (2B/3B)
  23. Johnson (2B)
  24. Prado (2B/3B)
  25. ????????

So that is what it looks like today...the first 24.

It looks like my man Pete Orr is on the bubble for that 25th spot. Chris Woodward, signed in the offseason to a one year deal, has had only 14 AB this spring due to injury. Pete Orr, the underdog as usual, has battled this spring to stay on the club - he is hitting over .380.

The Macon Telegraph wrote about the race for infield positions on Tuesday, March 20.

I don't know what the next week will bring. I'm pulling for Pete, of course, but I don't know what will happen.

Thursday, February 01, 2007

Braves Winter FanFest

Good stuff this weekend - of course it's freezing rain today, so who knows if it will go down.

At The Ted, the Braves will be having their Annual Winter FanFest from 10 AM to 5 PM. Fans can run the bases, take some fly balls, and get autographs.

Lotsa players are going to be there: Chipper Jones, Tim Hudson, Jeff Francoeur, Edgar Renteria, Brian McCann, Chuck James, Kyle Davies, Mike Gonzalez, Chris Woodward, Blaine Boyer, Macay McBride, Lance Cormier, Kelly Johnson, Scott Thorman, Chad Paronto, Anthony Lerew, Joey Devine, and some of the coaching staff. And, of course, Pete Orr will be there.