Happy Thanksgiving!

Yes, I have made a lot of promises of new posts.  No, I haven't finished a single one of them.  Of course, there were a few posts that I've made that I have deemed a bit too inappropriate to post.  I know that this is a blog, that it is MY blog, and I have the right to state my opinion (be it about trades, my teams, other teams, players' behinds, etc.)...  but at the same time, I AM trying to find a job...  And I'm sure that my occasional cursing and mild hypothetical flirtations don't necessarily help.

Right.  Because TONS of people are desperately waiting with bated breath (that is, by the way, spelled correctly) for my next post.  I know it's true.  You're just afraid to say so.  Don't worry.  I know just what you want to read, you masses of readers, you.  /sarcasm

So!  First things first.  HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

I really will finish these posts shortly... I just want to get through the massive amounts of cooking and work that I will have to do during this so-called break.  BUT there are posts coming.  And pictures.  There will be pseudo-analysis and bad graphs and stick figure drawings of which I will take pictures with a camera, instead of using a scanner because I do not have a scanner.  All of these things will happen.  (Though the venn diagram will have to wait.  I still can't think of one that is funny and not completely lame.)

But before all of this... I sincerely hopes that everybody has a wonderful Thanksgiving.

A few things to note:
--I am still upset about the Omar Infante & Mike Dunn trade.  I'm glad that Dan Uggla is consistently good.  I don't care if these are contradictory feelings.
--I'm glad that the Braves have made an offer to Eric Hinske.  He must stay.  MUST.  Think about this:  we can either sub out Freddie and put Ske at 1B... OR we can move Martin to 1B, and stick Ske in LF.
--I hope MattE stays.

I still <3 everybody else.  And I will miss, miss, miss, miss our giant veteran first basemen, Troy Glaus and Derrek Lee.  I had faith in you, T-Roy, even when all the other assholes booed (and they WERE assholes!!). D-Lee, if September and October didn't prove how awesomely BADASS you were, then I really don't know what will.  Saito-san, I will miss your happy sunny smile!  More odes to our boys later... now, I need to go pass out.  <3

There Are No Jinxes to Martín Love

Craig and I were discussing blogs, baseball announcers, and jinxes.  Craig accused the AJC baseball bloggers of being the worse of the jinxers.  Of course it then turned into a "I <3 Martín" rant.  :)


Alison: Oh, I do read the AJC; this is why I have my own blog.  I may not have the most up to date or fastest of news reporting.  But... considering that I'm a blogger…

Craig: you should totally have Mark Bowman's job

Alison: I'd be ok with following the guys around.

Alison: Don't know if they guys would like having a chick in the locker room while they're goofing off though

Craig: I wouldn't think you'd mind that, yeah

Alison: oh I wouldn't; they might.

Craig: it's hard for me to imagine them having a problem with you

Craig: unless they got tired of you proposing marriage

Alison: well, sometimes, guys behave differently when there is a woman around, see?

Craig: yes, that's true

Alison: and why in the world would they have a problem with me proposing?  they'd love that ****!

Craig: the first five times

Alison: In fact, I'd probably cause problems.

Alison: because they'll be like, “Wait a minute, you proposed to me first!”

Alison: “oh, no, she didn't... she proposed to me!!”

Alison: “what?  you bastards, ME!”

Craig: none of that would probably happen though

Craig: if Prado said yes the first time

Alison: if Prado said yes the first time, I'd give him a Rosetta Stone for Chinese and get a Rosetta Stone for Spanish

Alison: and then I'd go around hugging everybody on the team

Craig: and since they're rosetta stones, you'd also both be able to read Heiroglyphics!

Alison: YES

Alison: I have all sorts of plan for lovely Martin. [Like a trip to Europe, for instance…]

Craig: hey, if I weren't actually heterosexual, or if I were female…

Craig: a trip to Europe with Martin Prado would probably be my fantasy, too

I love Martín.  

I am NOT creepy.  I swear.  

I hope he tolerates my fascination with rock musicians, though.  Because I love Alice in Chains and Queens of the Stone Age.  

Also.  Craig is a nerd.

:)

Really, Seattle? Really??

So, I don't really keep up with the Mariners.  But I do like several of their players (e.g. Casey Kotchman--former Brave, Suzuki Ichiro, Felix Hernandez, Ken Griffey, Jr., and yes... Cliff Lee).

And I had meant to write about the Cliff Lee trade rumors yesterday, but I felt that it was more relevant to talk about Yunel.  Plus, my blood was boiling over anyway, because trading Yunel would just be stupid.

ANYWAY.

Let me just disclaim this ahead of time.  I, in no way, support anything that would benefit our division rivals or the New York Yankees.  Mostly because I love the Braves and I'm completely unreasonable and/or irrational about this love.  I love them in about the same way I love Alice in Chains.  Except Alice in Chains is 4 guys (and a deceased guy) who play music and the Braves are... well.  They're a baseball team, and I love most of the former players, too.

Right.  There I go rambling again.

Cliff Lee.

The Seattle Mariners traded Cliff Lee to the Texas Rangers yesterday, right before he was to start for the M's against the Yankees.  I mean, guys... really.  Couldn't you have done everybody in the league a favor... and finalize the trade AFTER he pitched (and won) against New York?

So the Rangers ended up getting him.  And this irritated me, but I guess it's better than the Yankees getting him, because really... that would have been awful.  Just awful.  And is it any wonder that they were after Lee?  He has dominated them this season and dominated them during the World Series.

Which leads to my other point.  WHY would Seattle trade him after acquiring him from Philadelphia and playing him for less than half a season?  He's been stellar.  All Seattle has to do is score one run, and he takes care of the rest.  Because he is THAT good.

All of that... leads to a very important question:  Why did the PHILLIES trade him to Seattle in the first place?  For prospects?  I mean, I know that they pursued Roy Halladay and failed to get him and Cliff Lee was their second choice.  But look how well that turned out for them?

They acquired him at the trade deadline and then Cliff Lee went to work.  He started 12 games for Philadelphia, winning 7, losing 4, 1.13 WHIP, and 3.39 ERA, including 3 complete games and a shutout.  (One of those losses, by the way, that I can't help mentioning was to the Braves with our own D-Lowe pitching.  Just saying.)  During the postseason (where he was very casual and nonchalant, yet stellar and dominating), he started 5 games, with 4 wins and no losses, 0.82 WHIP, 1.56 ERA, and 2 complete games.

So you look at these numbers and you wonder... why isn't he still in Philadelphia?  Answer:  Because they acquired LeRoy Harry "Doc" Halladay III from the Blue Jays during the off-season.  But that's a terrible answer!  Philadelphia could have had this for a rotation:

1. Roy Halladay, RHP
2. Cliff Lee, LHP
3. Cole Hamels, LHP
4.  and 5.  whoever makes these two spots -- JA Happ, Kyle Kendrick, Joe Blanton, or Jamie Moyer

But look at those 3 starters!  Even though I like to pick on Cole Hamels a lot, he's not a bad pitcher (he just isn't as good as our starters--sorry, couldn't help myself).  

WHY WOULD YOU DEAL THIS GUY FOR PROSPECTS?  R U SRS PHILADELPHIA?

That's 2 Cy Young Award winners right there.  Both of whom have pitched in the AL.  On one team.  In the National League East.  With the Atlanta Braves.  A sigh of relief for us, but I bet Philadelphia is kicking themselves right now.  Right in the face.

Poetry

"Pitcher" -- Robert Francis

His art is eccentricity, his aim
How not to hit the mark he seems to aim at,

His passion how to avoid the obvious,
His technique how to vary the avoidance.

The others throw to be comprehended.  He
Throws to be a moment misunderstood.

Yet not too much.  Not errant, arrant, wild.
But every seeming aberration willed.

Not to, yet still, still to communicate
Making the batter understand too late.

A Baseball Related Dream

Normally, I wouldn't post this type of thing here... I'd post it in my normal blog, but I figured since it was baseball related, it wouldn't be so bad posting it here.

I was sitting in a car with John while he was trying to get me to listen to a Beatles' song.  But the thing was, I already knew the song, since it was "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds."  To make matters even more complicated, I was inexplicably on the phone with Roy Halladay.

Now I don't think there is any confusion that I have a giant schoolgirl crush on Doc.  What a stud.  Seriously.  He is a phenomenal athlete.  And the intensity!  What great form!  And the tallness (I'd try to climb him like a tree :P).  Ugh, I could just keep going on and on, all day.  I could post video highlight after highlight.  Pictures upon pictures.  But yes.  Roy Halladay.  ::drool::

ANYWAY.  I was on the phone with Roy Halladay while in the car with John who was trying to get me to listen to "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds."  So I ended up telling Doc I'd call him back.  And as soon as I hung up, my phone rang again.  And the radio is now playing "Hello Goodbye."  I looked at the phone, and I was really confused, because John was calling... but he was sitting right next to me!

Oh.  Damn.  Me having Roy Halladay's number was a dream.  booooooooo.

:P

Atlanta with the Double Smackdown

I'm so proud of my babies.

I decided, as I had stated before, that it was necessary to go to NBA Playoffs Round 1 Game 2 of the Hawks/Bucks... So my friends Thomas, Lauren, and John (who also contributes to this blog) went.  After fees, it was 7 dollars... ridiculous.  For a playoffs game?  What insanity.   (fees are about 4 dollars or so; the ticket itself was cheaper than fees.  which I find just ludicrous.)  I hadn't been to a Hawks game in over a decade and I was ultra excited, especially since I had never been to Philips Arena before.  The last Hawks game I attended was at the Omni... we played the Bulls (sans Michael Jordan, but... Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman were there), and we crushed them miserably.  The dancers had some seriously ugly silver boots on, but, hey, more power to them.  Everything seemed way shinier and louder; there were flashing lights everywhere.  There were dancers and music and lights and whatnot.  The crowd was pretty crazy.

Atlanta won by 10 points.  There was never actually a single moment in the game in which the Hawks were not leading.  It got as low as 2 and I think as high as 16.  Excellent performances, even if I was a bit scared of where we were sitting; I have very bad balance, and we were very very high up.  I love Mike Bibby's socks.  I also love that he wears number 10, which was Mookie Blaylock's number.  I also love that he has the same initials Mookie Blaylock.  :D  Also, the slam dunks, whaaaat??  Sick!  Josh Smith, out of control.  I even got to see Zaza, but no "NOTHING EASY!  NOTHING EASY!  WE'RE GOING TO GAME SEVEN, BABY, WE'RE GOING TO GAME SEVEN!  GAME SEVEN!  GAME SEVEN!  GAME SEVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!"  :P  I think I'll survive, but that would have been FAB.

Oooh, and John let me wear his Mookie Blaylock jersey.  (Thanks, John!)  Some guy at the MARTA station said to me, "Now that is an old jersey!  How long have you had it!?  That's got to be at least 10 years old."  :)  The Hawks are now 2-0 against the Bucks.  Yay!!

John, Thomas, and Lauren at the Hawks game.  <3

I was, of course, every time there was a time-out, checking my phone to see how the Braves were faring.  Let me just say that I did not like what I saw.  You can imagine my surprise and dismay when I saw that Peter Moylan was pitching, and it was only the 5th inning.  The Phillies were already on the board to the tune of two runs, and Kendrick (who entered the game sporting an ERA of 17.47) had only allowed two singles and a double.  WHAT?  And my Tommy Hanson was already out of the game?  What happened?  I had no idea, but I was agitated as hell.

By the time I got onto MARTA with my buddies, the euphoria of having won the Hawks game was starting to wear off a bit.  I am a baseball girl, through and through, after all.  And the Braves are my babies.  I checked the At-Bat app again:  7th inning... and the score was now 3-0.  What??  :(

I was admittedly starting to feel a little desperate at this point.  This is the Phillies, after all, and we couldn't lose to them.  We just couldn't.  For one thing, tomorrow's game against Halladay will be the most difficult one to win.  For another, the Braves had to win alongside the Hawks so that it could be an "Atlanta, baybeh-BAYbeh" celebration, you see.

Even though Kris Medlen gave up a run in the 7th, he came back out in the 8th and pitched perfectly.  Three men up, and three men down, striking out Jayson Werth while he was at it.  (Speaking of Jayson Werth... He is mega hot.  It's annoying.  He's not allowed to be hot.  He's a Phillie!  :P  Also, his "mugshot"* is awful; looks like a total douchebag.)   We still failed to score, to my dismay as I was frantically checking my phone for updates.  I tried to look at Twitter and Facebook for ideas as to what could have happened.  No dice.  All I found was that the Atlanta crowd had been booing Troy Glaus.  Booing!  What in the world, Braves fans?  Since when do you boo your own??  AGITATION.

Top of the ninth (I was still on MARTA/en route to T&L's apartment), Jesse Chavez comes out of the bullpen.  No worries, no sweat.  Took care of business, and now it was up to our boys.  And for the second game in a row, the Braves are behind in the 9th inning, and they are sending in Martin Prado, Chipper Jones, and Brian McCann.  Of the three, only Chipper made it onto base... and that was because he was walked.  Troy Glaus got up to the plate, apparently to a chorus of boos (wtf!!  who boos their own?  WHO??  I wish I hadn't seen that on Twitter), and promptly issued a STFU 2-run homer.  And the game was suddenly not so hopeless anymore!  That Jason Heyward kid, don't know if you've heard of him, but he delivered a homerun as well.  And the game was tied!!  Yunel ended up grounding out, but it didn't matter.  We had tied the game, and it was going to extra innings.

So BWags got out there and made short work of the three Phillies facing him (INCLUDING Ryan Howard, who struck out swinging... oof, Billy!!).  And then?  Nate "Mighty Mouse" McLouth was at the plate.  Five pitches later, there was a ball shooting through the air towards right field, sailing over the head of Jayson Werth and into the stands.

BRAVES WIN.  What a come from behind win!!

AND!  ATLANTA had won on both the basketball and baseball fronts.  What a night to be an Atlantan.  :)

Note:  I am so glad that Glaus hit that homerun.  And the people who booed him are jerks.  I hope they all feel like jerks and that they personally apologize to T-Roy.  hmmph!!  And good for Troy.  You show'em!  :)