A chat with former Brave Lonnie Smith

World Net Daily recently published a fawning piece on the persecuted ex-Brave John Rocker. In the article, the former closer shares his views on subjects such as immigration reform, the national debt and the general direction of the country.

We also learn that Rocker was banished from baseball because that Sports Illustrated writer tricked him into ranting about blacks, Asians, Asian women

A hell of a ball player

drivers, gay people, New Yorkers, young single moms, and assorted others who make the world less pleasant for John Rocker. His 6 ERA, and 6 walks per 9 IP over his last three big league seasons — not to mention his 6.50 ERA and 2.50 WHIP with the Long Island Ducks — aparently had little to do with his exit from the game.

Anyway, we thought we’d discuss the state of the world with another eccentric ex-Brave.

Rowland’s Office: Lonnie, thanks for your time.

Lonnie: Yeah. I don’t talk to many white folks.

RO: Rowland is actually black. But I’m not him.

Lonnie: Rowland who?

RO: OK. Let’s get right to it.

Lonnie: Right to what?

RO: What do you think is the biggest issue in the next presidential election? And a related question, should the National League adopt the DH, or should MLB kill it outright? 

Lonnie: Yeah, I thought about killing that mother fucker with the suspenders. Election? I think income inequality and some other fundamental questions about our nation’s economy are critical to the future. The DH? Three-time World Series Champion Lonnie Smith loves to hit. 

RO: What about the future of capitalism?

Lonnie: Well, we need to have a substantive debate about what kind of capitalism we want, you know? Managerial capitalism, or entrepreneurial capitalism, or worker capitalism, or some hybrid of all types. I do think we are in danger of further separating the country into long-term haves and have-nots. When people feel like they’ve fallen out of the system, and feel that the system doesn’t give them a fair shake, while they see Wall Street types making millions a year and getting bailed out by the Congress, it creates some dangerous feelings of disaffection and disconnectedness. People feel like the system is stacked against them. They withdraw and don’t participate. That’s bad
for democracy and the civic life of the nation and of our communities. 

RO: Wow.

Lonnie: Fuck, yeah. And I’m not sure big corporations and wealthy individuals should be able to bankroll elections. That’s not good for participatory democracy either. I fear that we have parties in this country that are quietly undermining our public institutions, at all levels, in the name of the free market. That is not good.

RO: Lonnie, what have you been doing lately?

Lonnie: None of your goddamn business.

RO: Lonnie, thanks again for your time. It’s been fascinating.

Lonnie: Get the hell off my porch.

Simmons up, Pastornicky down

The future is now. 

We approve.

More later.

 

This stat will depress you

Opening Day 2010 seems like a long time ago.

J.C. Bradbury points out that Francoeur has a higher OPS this season than either Jay Hey or B-Mac. And Francoeur’s 2012 OPS (.763) is just slightly above his career mark.

Jay Hey’s struggles extend beyond the plate. Last night Don said advance scouts are advising their teams to press the issue with Heyward when it comes to taking the extra base. His arm is strong but has been decidedly erratic this year.

The team’s fortunes this year and beyond rest squarely on Jay Hey’s broad shoulders. If he fails to develop into the superstar everyone assumed he’d be the future looks bleak. And the Braves will have to answer a tough question:

Why has a player who looked so polished upon his arrival to the bigs regressed so badly? How much responsibility does the organization bear?

Consider: Two years ago to the day Heyward was hitting .301 with 10 homers, 38 RBI, a .421 OBP and .596 slugging percentage. It’s been pretty much downhill ever since.

Still … he’s only 22. There’s still time for him to turn things around, and I trust that he will. But my optimism is waning.

Kris Medlen, clothes horse

Funny tweet from Medlen:

RT @KrisMedlen54: Day 1 at Gwinnett. Best part is I can wear the same clothes I wore to Turner Field yesterday and no one will notice!

Open Thread, May 30, Bravos vs. Jack Clarks

I’ll be surprised if Huddy struggles for the second straight outing. In his last start, in fact, he looked sharp as ever except for two innings. Of course, he ended up allowing seven runs. So by no definition is that a good game. Nonetheless, he was one pitch away from getting out of the seventh inning trailing only 4-3.

Me and Lenny Dykstra are starting a business. Wanna invest?

Anyway, Huddy will pitch well tonight or I’ll…I won’t do anything. His opponent, Kyle Lohse, is the picture of mediocrity. Except so far this season. A career .500 pitcher (exactly, 107-107) with a 4.58 ERA, this modern-day Mahler is 5-1 with a 2.90 in 2012. He’s only walking about one guy every seven innings, so the Bravos best be ready to hack.

It sure would be nice to see J-Hey break loose tonight. He’s striking out every four plate appearances, a worse rate even than last season. He had four multi-hit games in the first 13 this season, and one in 38 games since.

Open thread, 5/29, Braves vs. the World

UPDATE, 4:45:  O’Brien tweeted that Medlen’s been sent down, presumably to stretch out for starting duties. Constanza called up and starting in left tonight, batting ninth. Freddie remains out until at least Thursday, when it’s hoped his new goggles will arrive.

On April 29, 2010, the Braves dropped their ninth in a row … to the Cards. JJ didn’t make it out of the first, starting OF’s Melky Cabrera and Nate McLouth were hitting under .200 and the team stood at 8-14. Jurrjens would continue to struggle through an injury-prone campaign, fifth starter Kenshin Kawakami won one game and the rotation was only three deep: Hanson, Huddy and Derek Lowe.

That team made the playoffs, of course, so not all is lost. The difference: the rest of the division, besides the Phillies was decidedly mediocre. Only Philly and Atlanta finished above .500. And the 2010 Braves had Bobby, a factor many dismiss.

And they didn’t have to face a killer schedule while they were at their worst. They don’t play an opponent with a losing record until June 26, vs. Arizona. By then we’ll know whether the 2012 Braves merit comparison to the ’10 squad.

It’ll be up to Randall Delgado to stop the skid tonight. He’s coming off two bad starts in which he’s given up eight runs and eight walks in 9.1 innings.

Where’s Troy Glaus when we need him?

Not all is lost

There was some good news Sunday:

JJ was dominant for the Buford Braves, tossing eight scoreless innings, walking none and striking out five. Don’t know what his fastball was clocked at but recent reports say his velocity is back to where it was this time a year ago. His stay in Gwinnett may be over.

And we may not have to endure the middling defense of Tyler Pastornicky much longer. Andrelton Simmons is raking at Pearl, hitting three homers this week. He’s batting .305 with 21 RBI, a .380 OBP and a slugging percentage of .439. He’s committed only  three errors, compared to the Reverend’s seven.

Open thread, 5/27, Braves vs. Maury Poviches

My dad was a respected sportswriter. No one respects me.

Hard to say which team you’re gonna see: the ’88 Braves or the ’95 Braves. Fortunately, with Brandon Beachy on the hill, you’re likely to see the latter. But there are several concerns:

• Jonny  Venters is totally out of whack. That’s not Roger McDowell’s fault, of course, but is he capable of leading the team’s pitchers out of the fog? His record is mixed.
• Freddie Freeman’s eyes. The vision thing, as George H.W. Bush would say, is scary.
• Jay Hey. He’s striking out way too much and the lackadaisical effort he showed in the field yesterday was bothersome. At least he took responsibility.
• The rotation. Before Saturday’s game the Braves starters ranked 13th in the NL with a 4.32 ERA. Roy Oswalt wants to pitch here and is just what the team needs (1.025 WHIP, 2.76 ERA, 211 IP in 2010) but won’t be signed because Liberty isn’t committed to fielding a championship team. FW has talked of moving Medlen to the rotation, but midseason is not the time to make that change. And, with JV struggling, what would that do the ‘pen?
• Fredi. Now that they’re off cruise control the manager’s erratic gut will play a bigger role. That doesn’t inspire confidence.

After 48 games last year, the Braves sported an identical 26-22 record. The 2011 team never lost more than four in a row but failed to make the playoffs. Meanwhile, the ’10 Bravos played in October despite a 9-game losing streak.

Here’s betting the streak stops today, thanks to Beachy. Regardless, our worries are far from over.

First quarterly report: Pitchers

The Braves starters entered play Saturday with a 4.32 ERA, 13th in the NL. The last time Braves starters sported an ERA so high was 2008, when the local nine managed but 72 wins. That Braves team was also 26-22 after 48 games — not to compare the two, but there’s reason for concern.

As with the hitters, the grades are based on reasonable expectations for each player. Same for the management and coaching staff.

Beachy: A. Only Bill James expected Beachy to be this good, projecting him to be the NL’s second-best starter. He’s certainly ranked among the top five. He’s done so by pitching more to contact, anathema to the statistically inclined. But who would you rather have: Mad Dog or Nolan Ryan? Give me 8 IP and 6 K’s over 6 IP and 8 K’s any day.

Hanson: B-. He remains an underachiever — a stout starter but far from an ace. Increasingly, it doesn’t appear as if he’ll make that leap.

Huddy: B. A tad erratic but not unexpected considering he’s coming back from surgery. Timmy has now won as many games with the Braves (92) as he won in Oakland. Looks like the soon-to-be 37-year-old has a few good years left.

Minor: D. His appears to be a concentration problem. I still think he’ll turn it around but he’s not a rookie anymore and it’s time for him to deliver.

Delgado: B. Inconsistent but that was expected. Actually, I feel better about him than I did a year ago and foresee him as a solid #3 starter for years to come.

JJ: F. I hate to be so harsh because I really like JJ, who handled his demotion with class. But no one could’ve predicted he’d be this bad. Reportedly he’s regained some velocity in Gwinnett so don’t count him out.

Durbin: D. He’s been decent since that horrible first week but he’s not to be trusted. For some reason, Fredi does. Not smart.

Livan: B. Slightly more effective than expected.

C. Martinez: B. He hasn’t shirked from greater responsibility.

O’Flaherty: C+. Awful start but appears to be rounding into form and may play a bigger role than anticipated if JV doesn’t turn things around.

Medlen: B. Generally reliable, he’s proven a huge upgrade from the likes of Scott Linebrink. Now FW is talking about moving him into the rotation, but that decision should’ve been made in the spring. He can handle it, but will his surgically repaired elbow cooperate?

JV: D. Truly confounding. Too much rest? It’s hard to say, but he’s gone from one of the best relievers in baseball to a question mark. He’s too good to struggle like this.

Kimbrel: B+. To quote Ashford and Simpson: Solid. Solid as a rock.

McDowell: C. No one will ever accuse him of resurrecting a career, a la Leo. He apparently couldn’t get through to JJ — can he fix Venters? If not, the Braves should consider a change.

Walker/Fletcher: A. Despite their recent slump, Braves hitters have demonstrated a markedly different approach this year, consistently grinding out AB’s. Apparently hitting coaches do matter.

Fredi: C. Remember, the grade is based on expectations. He’s certainly shown improvement from 2011 but I still have little confidence in his stewardship.

FW: Inc. We’ll see if he’s able to repair a leaking rotation with limited resources. Overall, signing Uggla long-term and hiring Fredi could prove to be his undoing, though I suspect he retains the confidence of JS.

Time Warner: F. They no longer own the team but the 30-year broadcasting rights extension they signed with Fox will cripple this franchise for years to come. Barring new ownership, we’re likely to see payrolls more in line with the Pirates and Rays.

Better win while we can, but I doubt Liberty sees it that way.

Future sabermetrician

Open thread, 5/26, Chipper’s on the DL and I don’t feel so good myself

Mike Minor, the game’s on your shoulders. Perhaps having J.C. Boscan behind the plate will help the young southpaw find his way.

That’s right, I said J.C. Boscan. With McCann still battling the flu and Ross dealing with a sore groin the Braves will fill Chipper’s roster spot with the veteran backstop. The odds are against the local nine today — maybe that’s a good thing.

#Braves lineup: Bourn cf, Pastornicky ss, Prado lf, Uggla 2b, Freeman 1b, Heyward rf, Francisco 3b, Boscan c, Minor p

Open thread, 5/25, Braves vs. Marion Barrys

To quote the former mayor, “bitch set me up.”

You could see this week coming. The Braves were due a slump, half their line-up was out and the Reds, having just won a weekend series in the Bronx, were starting to play up to their potential.

What’s done is done. Time to get back to business.

Any time you’re playing the team ahead of you in your division, it’s a big series. The Braves won’t have any excuses — no team has dealt with more injuries than the Nats, which makes their early success all the more impressive.

It comes down to the pitching, The Braves have the edge tonight, with Huddy opposing Ross Detwiler. Line-ups haven’t been posted, but Freddie and B-Mac are expected back. Hopefully Chipper will return to face Strasburg tomorrow night.

Open thread, 5/24, Braves vs Brad “the Animal” Lesleys

Teams slump, and that’s what’s happened the last week. It doesn’t help when two of your best hitters are shelved and a third can’t see.

According to DOB, Chipper’s bruise is looking worse and he might be out longer than expected. Since he pinch hit last night, a retroactive trip to the DL is unlikely. Meanwhile, Freddie said he could barely see last night. Not sure about B-Mac since the line-ups have yet to be posted.

So, considering the lack of good news, I’m invoking the name of Brad “the Animal” in hopes of reversing the Braves’ fortunes. Lesley was a washout in the majors but, according to Wikipedia:

He is probably best known for his role as Ajimaru “Animal” Resry in the Japanese gameshow, Takeshi’s Castle where he would participate in such games as “Devil’s Domain”, “Stuck Up” and his own game “Animal Bang”. Takeshi’s Castle would later be shown in the US on the cable network Spike TV as Most Extreme Elimination Challenge, later shortened to MXC.

 He has also made a number of appearances in certain films such as Brother (2000) (as Moose), Big Monster on Campus (2000) (as Arnie), Buddy (1997) (as Ali Baba), A Boy Called Hate (1996) (as the Moving Truck Driver), Little Big League (1994) (as John ‘Blackout’ Gatling) and Mr. Baseball (1992) (as Niven). He also made a brief appearance in Space Jam (1996) (as Himself), after Michael Jordan had asked him to star in it personally.

First quarterly report: Braves hitters

As much as the Braves have struggled in Cincy, and to a degree in Tampa, it’s hard to fault the offense on the season as a whole. Los Bravos are still second in the NL in runs, fourth in OPS and batting average, fifth in OBP and middle-of-the-pack in steals and strikeouts.

It’s also worth noting that the Cincy doldrums have happened with Chipper and McCann absent. When they return, though, things won’t be easy. Coming up: Washington, St. Louis, Natspos again, Marlins, Blue Jays, Yankees, Orioles and Yankees again. All those teams have winning records. By the time the Braves face 20-25 Arizona on June 26, we will have played 41 straight games against teams that, as of today, have winning records, or are .500 in the case of Boston. Hell of a stretch.

I’ll also grade the broadcasters, since they’re almost as much a part of the fan experience as the players are.

On to the individual offensive grades, which are based on realistic expectations for each player.

McCann: C. Mac has been streaky. He’s had some big hits — the grand slam off Halladay, for example. He’s tied for third on the club in RBI with 30-plus fewer at-bats than the two leaders. But he’s hitting just .254 with the fifth best OPS among Braves regulars. He’ll pick it up. Defensively, he still misses too many balls in the dirt.  

Freeman: B. He had an A going until the past week-and-a-half or so. Still, Freddie’s been generally good. He leads the team in RBI, though because of a subpar .311 OBP, his OPS has tumbled to .766. That’s nearly 100 points below Chipper’s. He’s been good afield.

Uggla: B. He’s been light years better than he was in the first half of last season. But he strikes out a ton — about once every three ABs — yet he also leads the team in walks. His OBP is a nice .364 but his power’s a little lower than it should be, with six homers and 10 doubles. He’s slugging .431, just a point better than Bourn. He’s lived down to his rep with the glove, and the arm.

Pastornicky: B. He hasn’t done a whole lot (.264/.294/.431), but it’s more than I think most expected. His defense has been below average but, again, not ghastly.    
 

No. 10, you are the wind beneath our wings

Chipper: A. Who could have expected what the old boy’s done? Beyond the numbers, which are very good (team’s second best OPS behind Prado), he’s had magical moments galore already. I personally witnessed the walk-off against the Phillies. It was one of the best moments at Turner Field in a long time. 

Prado: A. A rock. Leads the club in batting average, OBP, tied with Chipper for slugging, and tops in OPS. Glad he’s still wearing the Bravo uni.

Bourn: A. He’s been superb. One nitpick might be his five times caught stealing. But if you’ve watched the game, at least three of those were obvious bad calls. So never mind even that quibble. Maybe he could walk a tad more often, but his .370 OBP as leadoff man is second best in the NL. Can we please at least try to re-sign this guy? 

J-Hey: C. Honestly, I haven’t been that disappointed with Heyward. His overall numbers are pedestrian. But in late-close situations, he’s hitting .333 with a .429 OBP and a 1.095 OPS.

Bench

Hinske: B. Solid. Which has been nice to see after a lackluster 2011. Just in the past few games, has anyone in baseball been jobbed by the home plate ump more often? He and Bourn had Eric Gregg type calls go against them last night by Angel Hernandez, who is a disgraceful umpire.

Francisco: C-. He’s been about what we expected, though it’d be nice if he hit better than .200 and played better defense.

Wilson: C. non-existent offense, but that’s no shock. His glove has been steady, which is what counts.

Diaz: B+. Matty D so far is having a nice rebound after looking done last year.

Ross: B. Doing what he does, which is be the best backup backstop in the bigs.

Broadcasters

Powell: C. He’s competent enough. And I want my play-by-play guys rooting for the Braves. But this guy’s a cheerleader. Where’s he been lately, anyway?

Sutton: B-. I’ve always really liked Don. But his time doing play-by-play should be limited.

Simpson: B. Solid, as always. And a nice counterweight to ….

Chip: C. Again, this is based on expectations. He’s been what we’ve come to expect, or dread. I think he’s actually been a smidge funnier this year. He’s also made the dumbest remark I’ve heard a regular baseball announcer maker in a while, when he said the situation with runners at first and second with no outs was identical for the hitter as when there was only a runner on second with no outs.

Glavine, Lemke, Ben Ingram: C. Blah. Hate to do that to Lemmer and Tommy G., but honestly, they offer virtually nothing as announcers.

Murph: B. Limited action. But so far, his joviality gets him a B. I trust he’ll get better. 

Finally, I think the roving reporter — is his name Tom Rose? — has done a nice job. He seems to know the game and have a sense of humor. Mercifully, it appears the jumble of corporate entities that decide these things has decided to kill the Twitter girl bit. That was atrocious.

Open Thread, May 23, Braves vs. the Les Nessmans

There’s no such thing as a must-win in May, of course. But tonight qualifies as a sure-would-be-nice-to-win. Four-game sweeps are not fun.

I suspect Hanson will pitch well tonight. Chipper’s still out. McCann’s back in the lineup and Hinske’s playing right. Hinske has good numbers vs. Arroyo, and I guess Fredi decided J-Hey could use an off day. (Damn, McCann scratched again.) I have a feeling the Bravos are going to return to smacking the ball tonight. Playing sans Chipper hurts, but we knew he’d miss his share of time.

Fredi to Juan F.: We don’t play that shit

Good for Fredi:

David O’Brien ‏@ajcbravesManager Fredi Gonzalez spoke with JFrancisco about his bat flip and HR stroll, told him #Bravesdon’t abide by that kind of stuff.David O’Brien ‏@ajcbraves

Asked Fredi G. what part of Francisco’s HR trot/bat flip he didn’t like. #Braves manager said, “The whole act.”

 

Open Thread, May 22, Braves v Wayne Krenchickis

The way Beachy’s throwing, you have to feel good with him on the bump. That said, he’s bound to have an off night at some point. On the other side, Latos is a pretty good pitcher who has been spotty this year. He’s pitched at least 7 innings only once.

It’d be nice to grab an early lead, let BB coast, and even the series.

Speaking of Krenchicki, he was drafted 7th in the first round of the 1976 draft. What an underwhelming group of first rounders. The best big leaguer in the bunch, and the only one of any note whatsoever, was Hubie Brooks.

Open Thread, May 21, Bravos vs. Darrel Chaneys

The good news: tonight’s Reds starter, Mike Leake, is having a bad season. The bad news: Mike Minor is having a worse season, and Leake pitched well in his last start.

Maybe the worst player on one of the best (’75 Reds) and worst (’78 Braves) NL teams of the past 40 years.

Minor, uh, did not. In fact, the young Bravos lefty has been Kyle Daviesian in 2012. He’s made eight starts. Two were good. One was passable. Five have been repugnant. In his last four games, he’s been poleaxed for 27 earned runs in 20-2/3 innings, for an ERA of 11.75. The WHIP in that stretch is above 2. Yikes.

I didn’t see his most recent start against Miami, but in the game at St. Louis he started well. It looked to my untrained eye like he was so determined to get ahead that he left a few fastballs down the middle and up. Many of them were hit over the fence.

So maybe Minor’s due to iron things out starting tonight. He’s certainly capable, one has to think. His confidence is probably rattled. Cincy might not be the ideal place for a struggling young lefty to find himself, what with the Little League dimensions and a solid Reds team. The “Great American Ballpark,” whatever that means, is my least favorite of the new yards. It just looks like a carnival ride. And a fly ball to right center that wouldn’t reach the warning track at Turner Field is a home run at this riverside grotesquerie.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see a 10-8 game tonight. So watch both Mikes dominate.

Open thread, 5/19, Braves vs. Esteban Yans

After 40 games in 2011 the Braves were 21-19. Jay Hey and Freddie were each hitting .220. Uggla had dropped below the Mendoza line. Nate McLouth was the starting CF and only Chipper had an OPS over. 800.

After Friday’s win four Braves boast an OPS of .800 or better (Bourn, Prado, Freddie and Chipper) while Jay Hey, Uggla and McCann fall just short.

Chipper’s likely to miss the rest of the series with a nasty contusion over his ankle, but it’s nothing too serious, reports DOB. Francisco gets the start today, with Hinske at DH.

From the Dept. of Irrational Exuberance …

The Bravos are now 6-1 5-1 vs. first place opponents, with all seven games on the road — 2 out of 3 vs. the Dodgers, a sweep of the Cards and tonight’s win over the Rays.

CORRECTION: No disrespect, O’s fans. Baltimore, not Tampa, occupies first in the AL East.