Tag: Atlanta Braves (Page 6 of 16)

      End of the line for Chipper Jones

      June 15, 2010 /

      In 1995, Chipper Jones led all major league rookies in RBI (86), games played (145), games started (123), plate appearances (602), at bats (524) and runs scored (87). He also finished second that season for the Rookie of the Year award behind Dodgers’ pitcher Hideo Nomo.

      Fifteen years later, Jones appears ready to hang ‘em up for good.

      Dave O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution hasn’t confirmed the news, but writes via his Twitter page that he’s heard from two people that Jones is set to announce his retirement at the end of the season. If he does, he’ll leave baseball with six All-Star selections, two Silver Slugger Awards, one NL MVP trophy, one NL batting title and a World Series ring on his career resume.

      It shouldn’t be a shock to anyone that Jones plans to retire. After batting .264 and committing more errors than any third baseman in baseball in 2009, he thought about hanging up his cleats last year. Thanks in part to a finger injury, he hasn’t hit well this season either and it appears that he knows the writing is on the wall.

      If he does decide to retire, something that I’ll always miss about Chipper is his consistency. He’s never posted awe-inspiring power numbers, yet he usually posted between 25-40 home runs during his prime. His career batting average is also over .300, which is still more impressive to me than a player that finishes his career with 600 home runs. As far as anyone knows, he’s also never been accused of taking steroids either.

      Considering the era he played in, that should gain him unwavering respect in most fans’ eyes.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB

      Top 10 active base hits leaders

      June 12, 2010 /

      I read yesterday that one of Pete Rose’s bats was being auctioned off, the one he used for his last hit, number 4256. And it made me wonder if that will ever be topped. I can’t imagine it will be, but stranger things have happened. Of course, the Baseball Hall of Fame still fails to recognize what Rose did on the field because of what he did as a manager off the field. But that’s for another post. Here is a look at the Top 10 active leaders in base hits:

      1. Derek Jeter, New York Yankees (2824)—The classiest player by far in the big leagues today, and the epitome of someone who plays the game right and just gets it. I look forward to Jeter notching his 3000th hit, which will likely be next season.

      2. Ivan Rodriguez, Washington Nationals (2781)—In his twentieth season this year, I-Rod is batting .331. No loss of bat speed with this guy, that’s for sure.

      3. Omar Vizquel, Chicago White Sox (2724)—Amazingly, Vizquel is in his 22nd season and still looks like he’s 28 years old. I got to see him play in his prime in Cleveland, and he was/is the best defensive shortstop I’ve ever seen. But he has clearly racked up hits too.

      4. Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees (2596)—Well, duh. The question is, though, will he eventually be the all-time home run king?

      5. Manny Ramirez, Los Angeles Dodgers (2530)—Yeah, he juiced, and so did A-Rod. But these two guys still have to be incredibly talented ball players to rack up this many hits.

      6. Garret Anderson, Los Angeles Dodgers (2515)—Steady and classy as well, but it’s just hard to believe Garret Anderson is 38 years old. Didn’t he just break into the bigs?

      7. Johnny Damon, Detroit Tigers (2482)—Scrappy, solid player, and he just keeps on grinding. But do any of you remember Damon’s days with the Royals? I sure don’t.

      8. Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves (2444)—Another guy who defines playing the game the way it was meant to be played, and he just keeps on hitting well into his thirties.

      9. Vladimir Guerrero, Texas Rangers (2326)—He’s hitting .339 with 53 RBI on June 11. Vlad is another ageless wonder.

      10. Edgar Renteria, San Francisco Giants (2213)—It’s kind of amazing that Renteria is on this list, even though he’s never had a 200-hit season. But he’s been reliable and consistent all these years.

      Source: Baseball Reference

      External Sports, MLB

      Top 10 active pitchers who keep it in the yard

      June 5, 2010 /

      Some pitchers give up 1-2 home runs or more per game, while some of them are masters at keeping the ball in the park. We did a gopher ball list last year, so here is the opposite…the pitchers who give up the fewest home runs per nine innings, and therefore the guys you want in the game when the game is on the line:

      1. Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees (0.4953)—Amazingly, Rivera gave up 11 home runs his rookie year (1995) and since then, only 50. That’s 50 home runs in like 15 years, or about 3 per season. That’s just sick. No wonder the guy has so many career saves (538).

      2. Tim Hudson, Atlanta Braves (0.7141)—If only Hudson was able to stay healthy for any length of time, he’d be a lock for the Hall of Fame.

      3. Derek Lowe, Atlanta Braves (0.7221)—When you have a ball that drops like six feet before it reaches home plate, you’re not going to have a lot of hitters get under your pitches. What you’ll get are lots of ground balls.

      4. Aaron Cook, Colorado Rockies (0.7384)—If you’re a pitcher in Colorado, it’s sort of like being a meatball sandwich in a pizza joint. You’ll get noticed, but only when they run out of pizza…or in this case, when the Rockies aren’t hitting. Still, when you think about Cook and how he’s spent his entire career in Denver, being fourth on this list is quite an accomplishment.

      5. Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies (0.7385)—A perfect game only added to Halladay’s Hall of Fame resume.

      6. Carlos Zambrano, Chicago Cubs (0.7445)—He’s always angry but always has nasty stuff, and, like Cook, he pitches in a hitter-friendly park.

      7. Andy Pettitte, New York Yankees (0.7671)—Lucky for the Yankees, Pettitte’s career high of 27 home runs allowed was when he was with the Astros in 2006.

      8. Roy Oswalt, Houston Astros (0.7729)—He has an impeccable nose for the strike zone, but puts enough on his pitches to keep hitters guessing and in the park.

      9. Jake Westbrook, Cleveland Indians (0.7999)—He hasn’t pitched much in the last three years, but when he does, Jake Westbrook is very good at keeping the ball in the yard.

      10. AJ Burnett, New York Yankees (0.8213)—As if the Yankees needed another guy like this in their rotation.

      Source: Baseball Reference

      External Sports, MLB

      Top 10 active innings eaters

      May 29, 2010 /

      Chances are, you need a few pitchers on your fantasy baseball roster that can eat up innings. You know, that silly rule that prevents you from loading up on closers? Well, here is a list you could use, especially if your team if floundering and you need some steady pitchers to deliver quality innings of work. This is the list of active leaders in innings pitched. Some of the names will surprise you, but certainly not all of them:

      1. Jamie Moyer, Philadelphia Phillies (3966 innings)—Remember when Jamie Moyer pitched for the Cubs? Yeah, neither does anyone else. He was a rookie in 1986, the year Mookie Wilson hit the ball through Bill Buckner’s legs. I know, most of you don’t remember that, either.

      2. Andy Pettitte, New York Yankees (2984)—Though it’s early, Andy Pettitte is having a career year at age 38. And I’m just glad I had the foresight (errr, luck) to draft him for my fantasy team.

      3. Tim Wakefield, Boston Red Sox (2980)—Remember when Tim Wakefield pitched for the Pirates? Seriously, he started out there in 1992 and joined the Sox in 1995. And dude is still beloved by the chowder heads.

      4. Livan Hernandez, Washington Nationals (2795)—Two things are baffling. One, that Livan’s age is listed as 35. Thirty-freaking-five! Um, no. And two, that this guy is still getting hitters out with that blistering 80 mph fastball of his.

      5. Javier Vasquez, New York Yankees (2532)—So this guy has banked $92 million in his career to date for losing as many games as he wins (145-144). That’s proof right there that innings eaters are worth something, but still sounds like highway robbery to me.

      6. Jeff Suppan, Milwaukee Brewers (2437)—He’s relegated to the bullpen for the most part, but still racking up innings of work.

      7. Kevin Millwood, Baltimore Orioles (2382)—Remember when Kevin Millwood was the fourth starter behind Smoltz, Maddux and Glavine in Atlanta? That was in 1997 but seems like it was 50 years ago.

      8. Derek Lowe, Atlanta Braves (2191)—He may have peaked a few years ago, but this guy still has some of the nastiest stuff in the game.

      9. Tim Hudson, Atlanta Braves (2124)—Through all of the injuries, it’s truly amazing that Tim Hudson has pitched that many innings. And hey, Javier, put this in your pipe and smoke it—a 153-79 career record.

      10. Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies (2123)—This dude just keeps winning, but even he’s only got 154 wins to date. Does that seem right?

      Source: Baseball Reference

      External Sports, MLB

      Reds’ outfielder Nix helps Braves complete amazing comeback

      May 21, 2010 /

      Usually when a club is down seven runs in the ninth, fans are busy making their way out of the stadium. But those that stayed to watch the end of the Reds-Braves game yesterday afternoon were treated to a thriller. (Unless they were Cincinnati fans, who were treated to heartburn.)

      The ball was heading for the yellow stripe before Nix intervened, so even if he didn’t get his glove on it, the ball would have probably been ruled a homer anyway. Still, to come thisclose to robbing a potential game-winning dinger only to have it go off your glove and over the wall must be excruciating.

      What’s even more excruciating is thinking about how the Reds’ pen gave up that big of a lead in the ninth. Come on, fellas – close the door!

      What a cool moment for Conrad, though. He’s a 30-year-old journeyman who had played just 36 games in the majors before this season and who has largely been a pinch-hitter.

      External Sports, MLB, Video

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