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2 things Bobby Cox HAS to do.
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2 things Bobby Cox HAS to do.
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2 things Bobby Cox HAS to do.
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Reputation:96
Level:Superstar
Since:Jan 5, 2007
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Anyone that has read my posts knows that I love Bobby but there are 2 things he has to do: 1st he has to stop dikking with the lineup! Is it any wonder Francoeur can't stay hot for more than a week? When he gets comfortable at the plate and gets his ave above 300 Bobby flips him with McCann and this happens all up and down the lineup. Does anyone know if we have had the same line up more than once this year? 2nd he has to either give Gregor Blanco a chance to be the leadoff hitter or convince Frank Wren to trade for one. Kelly Johnson is imo going to be a really good player one day but he just isnt a leadoff hitter. To get back to the playoffs we have to have table setters in front of Chipper which we havent had since Furcal left. The guy is hittting 420 with 10 hrs and only 29 rbi's in 31 games, 10 rbi's atributed to hrs, 3 games accounted for 12 rbi's and he has had 6 multi hit games with 0 rbi's and 3 multi hit games with only 1 rbi. This is driving me crazy, 9 straight 1 run losses (before today) and we could have been giving Blanco the chance to win the leadoff spot. Johnson after a hot streak is still only hitting 260's with 18runs scored with 4 of those runs scored in a 2 game stretch against the Reds. I think we are going to end up wasting the best yrs of Chippers career if Cox doesnt at least address the leadoff situation. Thanks for listening to me vent.
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2 things Bobby Cox HAS to do.
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2 things Bobby Cox HAS to do.
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Reputation:96
Level:Superstar
Since:Feb 6, 2008
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I certainly agree about Mr. Johnson not being the answer at leadoff. I say give Kotsay a shot, it couldn't turn out much worse.
BTW, Ben Sheets could be on the trading block if the Brewers aren't in the race later in the year. We are likely to be in the market to get a starter. Hummmmm...
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2 things Bobby Cox HAS to do.
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2 things Bobby Cox HAS to do.
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Reputation:97
Level:Superstar
Since:Mar 19, 2008
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Ok, let me address both issues mentioned above me
First as far as the leadoff hitter goes I agree Kelly is not the answer. But you know Bobby and how loyal he is to his players. He is gonna give Kelly Johnson every opportunity to secure that spot. That being said, I don't agree with it! I would either stick Mark Kotsay or Gregor Blanco at the top of the card
Second as far as Ben Sheets goes, he would certainly be a welcome addition to the Braves rotation, but at what cost? Sheets is an injury waiting to happen and is that worth trading some of your best prospects for? I kind of doubt it. The Braves brass is smart and i don't think they would risk some of the Braves future for a guy who usually can't stay healthy for even 3 consecutive starts.
The Braves do need to get another starter though. I will definitely agree with that!
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2 things Bobby Cox HAS to do.
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2 things Bobby Cox HAS to do.
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Reputation:96
Level:Superstar
Since:Feb 6, 2008
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I agree about Sheets health being a factor, but that is the storyline of the year for us anyway LOL. At what cost? Well, we have a few extra outfield prospects that we will probably put in some sort of deal at some point anyway. Hell, I don't know.
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2 things Bobby Cox HAS to do.
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2 things Bobby Cox HAS to do.
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Reputation:98
Level:Superstar
Since:Oct 22, 2006
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Excellent post.
The flip flopping of the order though isn't as big of a deal imho. And your solution to our leadoff (blanco) would actually cause more flip flopping. I mean putting a platoon player in as your leadoff guy would make the leadoff different for every other game potentially, which would be a much bigger deal than flip flopping your 5/6 hitters (which is done for lefty righty matchups since tex and chipper are switch hitters).
To me Kelly is better suited in the 6 hole, but then you have to move McCaan down, and since they are both lefties now you don't want to put them in the 7th hole, so you wind up dropping Kelly or Mccaan all the way to 8 - not ideal. I understand what you're saying though.
Lets face it though - 29 rbi in 31 games is not too shabby. That comes out to 154 or so rbi by the end of the season. And you have to consider Escobars stats in there. His 14 rbi from the 2 hole have been taking some of Chippers opportunities away. But overall I agree. For me the answer right now would be Kotsay in the 1 hole because he's in there every day.
BTW Furcal's obp was right around the .340 mark except for his first year with the Braves when he was at .390 so Kelly's .375 last year and even his .325 this year aren't that much worse.
As far as sheets goes - if we can get him as a temporary rental for cheap (maybe for Brandon Jones, or Brayan Pena) then I say sure. If not, then his injuries are awfully risky.
Go Braves '08!!!
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2 things Bobby Cox HAS to do.
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2 things Bobby Cox HAS to do.
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Reputation:99
Level:Superstar
Since:Oct 25, 2007
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In a town of 50 people, if one of them murders another, and you look at crime rates, that's going to be the most dangerous city in America.
Why is this relevant?
It's a small sample size, and it's about as foolish as using one month of statistics to try and figure out whether someone is suited for the leadoff role.
NL Leadoff hitters this year have batted .262/.338/.421.
Kelly Johnson, in an off-month, is batting .264/.325/.436.
Last year, Johnson batted .276/.375/.457. We're going to completely ignore that in favor of a small sample size? To quote Daniel Plainview, "Don't be thick with me."
KJ has a .284 batting average on balls in play. BABIP is pretty random, and it usually drifts toward the league average, which is .290. This means his batting average is likely to increase in the coming weeks without making any changes, simply because his luck will improve. KJ has been the victim of some slightly bad luck so far. Second, he's only batted 121 times. Sometimes guys struggle against certain teams, whether it's because those teams have the best scouting reports or the stadium messes them up. Either way, KJ has struggled with the Nats this year, and that's a quarter of his plate appearances!
The point is, right now Atlanta has a leadoff hitter who, when he's having a rough time, is still better than half the leadoff hitters in the league. Considering all the signs that he'll improve, I think it'd be nothing short of foolish to start moving him around.
Also, I love the irony of this first post, which basically says,
"Hey, Bobby Cox is getting on my nerves because
1. He keeps changing the lineup, and
2. He won't change the lineup."
Nice....
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2 things Bobby Cox HAS to do.
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2 things Bobby Cox HAS to do.
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Reputation:96
Level:Superstar
Since:Jan 29, 2008
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To quote Daniel Plainview, "Don't be thick with me."
What's with you and that quote?
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2 things Bobby Cox HAS to do.
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2 things Bobby Cox HAS to do.
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Reputation:99
Level:Superstar
Since:Oct 25, 2007
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Ha!
I knew you'd catch that. I wasn't sure if I'd used it here before, but I guess I have. It was either that or "Kelly Johnson drinks your milkshake!"
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2 things Bobby Cox HAS to do.
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2 things Bobby Cox HAS to do.
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Reputation:97
Level:Superstar
Since:Nov 17, 2006
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Please give me your opinions about this for a possible line-up :
1.Mark Kotsay (or Blanco on Mark's offdays)
2.Kelly Johnson-good eye and contact hitter, doesn't seem to mind giving himself up for the team. Bats left-handed, obstructing view of opposing catcher when runner is on first.
3.Chipper Jones
4.Mark Teixeira
5.Yunel Escobar-- seems to th | |
