The Ted Turner Memoirs Part 4: Rise Of The Powers That Be

[ACMilan99]

I think that this deserves a.....

DUN DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!

Great set of updates.

[lilbiggio]

Quote: Originally Posted by ACMilan1999

I think that this deserves a..... DUN DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN! Great set of updates.

Thanks, yeah by the end of this it's all going to make sense just trying to tie up all the loose ends to avoid any unfortunate plot holes.



Now, back to the business in D.C. when we last left off we had a cool head to head showdown between Yu Darvish and Kenshin Kawakami. Two former aces overseas that are now trying to prove themselves over here in the States. So far this year Yu has been pretty average and a dissapointment, but still a dangerous pitcher who we all know could rattle off a 14 - 15 win season as soon as he gets it all together.

On the other bump... our guy, Kawakami, the guy who's silently put together a 7-1 season out of the bullpen and has been handed the keys to the car to get us to the postseason:


To say it was a great game is selling this game short. Yu's goto pitch was the curveball and well, let's just say, similar to it's cousin the knuckle ball, that **** is super difficult to time. In 2 innings Yu had 4 strikeouts. By the 5th he had a one hit 8 strikeout game going. It wasn't just a great game, it was one of those classic MLB the Show you don't know WHAT the hell is going to happen next type games.



But rest assured, when the 12-6 curve is timed... and it most certainly will be timed friends if you throw it over and over and over... that ball is going to get crushed. What was going against Yu tonight was that as he started to wear down, the curveball in the dirt kept creeping higher and higher into the zone,until finally Jordan Schafer... got him one he could handle. Next thing we know it's 6-0 and we're coasting to a 7-3 win. One minute it looked like the offense had mailed it in... the next, we're on to the next one...

There's just a little more to say about Jordan Schafer's return but first... it's that magical time again. August's edition of the Random game of the month for no reason. except this time boys and girls, there was a damn good reason to switch over to NESN...

[lilbiggio]

Jon Lester is f'n 13-2? What the hell?

Ok so let's set this up.. the Red Sox have jumped out to a 83 -44 Record, and at this point in time it's just the middle of August. There's only one other team in baseball with 80 wins and that's the Rockies. Boston has one of the filthiest lineups ever concieved on notebook paper to the point that it doesn't make sense how they keep getting better.

Jon Lester, their #3 starter as you see has 13 wins. They still have Ubaldo Jiminez as an Ace who they acquired in last year's free agency.. And if you remember they pratically stole the free agency this year when they picked up Chad Billingsely. Back to back years they poached aces from other ball clubs and then you got your #3 guy going 13-2? That's tough to beat..

but then you look at their lineup and they went and traded for Torri Hunter in CF to add alongside Crawford and Ellsbury. They still have Youkillis and Gonzales in the infield, and oh by the way had Dustin Pedroia not broke his elbow diving for a ball in the gap, they'd have 90 wins in August instead of 83.



So as you can see, the Red Sox are on some BS. And this is a battle of two first place teams. The records look like a first place team vs. a wildcard.. but this friends, could be a a potential playoff matchup and don't get it twisted the White Sox are no slouch themselves.



They should have won...when Konerko hit a moon shot over the wall to put the Sox up in the top of the ninth. But unfortunately... as we just mentioned, this is Boston... and this is what they do. And it would be not the stars mentioned earlier to do the heroics...

No, it'd be Jose Iglesias.

Jose freaking Iglesias.

Let that sink in for a moment as we head back to Atlanta...

[lilbiggio]

Jair was having some problems early on tonight but he recovered and we ended up having a pretty good one going on down in Cobb County. Our bitter rivals the Cardinals had come into town, and well we historically don't play them well home or away because of the Pujols factor.

The gameplan for Pujols was to pitch him high and in for the first two pitches. Throw him some junk outside to change his line of vision. Then pound the lower third of the plate and take a walk if need be. Tonight, that was all that was required to retire him as Pujols chased, he swung, he looked downright bad.



Only Albert Pujols can hit a ball 398 of 400 possible feet twice and look bad, but for Pujols this was a bad game as he just missed on two homeruns, and struck out, and took zero walks. I'm personally fine with that if you are.

On the otherside Jordan Schafer had another brilliant game. He's really taking those trade talks to heart and making us realize that our midseason swoon had a lot more to do with him out of the lineup than we might have let on.




Schafer's not really a guy who strikes fear in too many people's heart.. but THIS version of Jordan could.. he's been on fire as of late and he's been the main reason we've broken open our past two ballgames. Good **** son... We're now 17 for our last 20 and fresh off of a series sweep of the hated Cardinals.



The good month of August, combined with the Phillies going an amazing 2-8 in their last 10, and the Marlins trying to out do that slump with a 3 out of 7 free fall of their own, has helped us stretch the 1 game lead back to 6. Going into the final month of the regular season that could be huge!

Quote:

This Week in Review: MLB TONIGHT Jordan Schafer returns to ignite the Atlanta Braves Offense and Defense... and oh yeah, the Random Game of the Month update showcases Jose F'N Iglesias flashing the wonder bat up in beantown

[ACMilan99]

Yay, updates!

Does anyone really care where I sent this from?

[lilbiggio]

One of the better games we've played this year, considering this has been the season of pain and misery, we were able to overcome a 5 run deficit, and punch a victory thanks to a Nate McLouth pinch hit walk off single.


This game was shady at first as it was evident early on, that Rafael Furcal was due for a every throw is going to be offline and over Freeman's head no matter what type game. He had 4 errors on his own. Conrad who has had to take over at third after Pastornicky got to the show and decided he was not mature enough for the trials of batting over .200, bobbled two at the hot corner. Oh and Uggla decided to join in and airmail an easy throw.

Being down 5-0 is tough to take, but the boys were resilient tonight, and chipped away.. First with back to back jacks by Jordan Schafer, and Conrad. Then Uggla, then even Furcal got him one he could handle... damn it was quite a nice comeback...

Quote:

Coach's Corner: MLB Tonight Freddi Gonzales chimes in on his team's offensive production in a 7-6 victory over the San Diego Padres Monday night.

but wait, Jorge there's more good news:



Finally after two months, Big Z is on his way back to the show, we've survived the storm, we're into September up by not a whole lot, but enough to feel good that this could be a playoff bound team. Adding Zambrano to our rotation is going to take the weight of the world off of all these young guys shoulders.

But first boys and girls, he gotta make a quick stop in Gwinnett.

[lilbiggio]

83 pitches was all we needed to see out of Zambrano Tuesday evening during his AAA start. The crowd was just about as anemic and lifeless for this ballgame as they were earlier this summer for the Tommy Hanson spot start... but we're not taking score on that, we're only concerned with the question of, is Big Z is going to be able to throw the sinker at the MLB level after tonight and help us when the games get tougher?

He looked rough out there, sure he got 5 punchouts, but the 8 hits in 5 innings pitched, that's iffy. The 4 runs, when Z is known as our inning eater, low run guy? That's a shame..

But, considering Kris Medlen's situation Zambrano may be the better option so we'll chalk this up to rust and keep it moving.




Also while we're thinking about the upcoming rotation for September and beyond, there are some executive decisions that are going to have to be made. Somebody is indeed going to get their feelings hurt when Zambrano returns. Will it be Medlen who loses his spot for the first time since he's been called up 3 years ago due to downright pathetic play? Will Kawakami the guy who keeps finding ways to avoid taking a L, be sent back into a mop up role? Is Beachy's 12-3 record with a 3.73 ERA enough to help him stay in the rotation?


Well... that's what September's is for. Medlen and Beachy are going to go at it one last time for the coveted fifth spot. Medlen won it outright during spring training, but with their careers going in opposite directions and our team still needing all hands on deck with Tommy Hanson still far from recovered, the spot is back open for a final month showdown.

In the meantime, Zambrano will mopup, and look to start the final week of the month.



I can't make this up, that fool Jordan Schafer is playing out of his skull right now! I mean above .300 average, 5 homeruns since he returned 11 days ago. He has been the spark we've needed offensively. To think Michael Bourn was moments away from wearing the Atlanta 24. We may never have gotten this type of production from him, nor from Schafer. The sabatoged trade was a blessing in disguise.

[lilbiggio]

Throughout the past weeks, he had driven hundreds of miles. Beads of sweat dripping down the side of his face as he pushed his car along the southern roads of Georgia and Mississippi. At first he blamed the heat. As everyone knows, it can get quite hot in a 08 Charger with questionable AC in the summertime. But here it was the middle of September, fallen leaves crisp with cherry red, orange and hints of brown laying on the ground. It couldn't have been more than 85 degrees and yet his back was drenched with sweat as if it was June. His hands clammy for the past 2 years.


It was clear it was not the weather, but emotion that drained him. The anxiety to figure out a truth that had aluded him for so long. It made no sense that player after player had not been able to reveal any leads to help their case. Surely everyone had their price?

But again, if that was the case, he would not be headed to Texas.

It had never taken him this long to hit his mark. So imagine the embarrassment of a once proud man. Fooled consistantly for 2 almost 3 years. The laughingstock of his peers, talked of as an incompetent child. Trusted with nothing... promised nothing.. the trial was beginning to go in the wrong direction. That one bit of information...


...No,... no... he would find out. Everyone has a price.


***

Brandon Beachy vs. Kris Medlen: Round 1


So Beachy and Medlen are going at it for what looks to be a 5 start, winner take all mano-y-mano fight to the death. Ok maybe not a fight to the death, I got a little carried away, but still... the winner of this little inpromptu head to head battle would be the fifth starter, the loser delegated to mop up duty throughout the playoffs.


Brandon Beachy, who easily could say he had the inside track after posting a 12-3 record so far, completely wet the bed tonight. Damn he screwed this first round up as he gave up 6 hits in the second, another in the 3rd, and had us out of the game by the fourth inning. The hits just kept coming as the Marlins just would not stop hitting the damn ball.


Kris Medlen comes up the next day, against the same Marlins and only gives up 4 hits. Would it be a lie to say this came as a complete surprise given the season this kid has had? He didn't strike out many, but he got key strikeouts. He didn't make it look easy, but he got us 6 strong after Beachy let the bullpen take one in the gut. It was a good outing.



For those taking score, Zambrano came into both games and looked stellar. In game 1, he struck out the side in one inning's work. How's that for a debut? The next night he went 3 innings and only gave up 1 hit. He had to do it because the bullpen was shot.

Round 1, the judges are ruling this 45-40, Medlen. With Zambrano getting special brownie points for coming in damn effective out of the pen.

[therockstar2005]

Every time I see Ted talking or thinking, all I can think about is this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmypHQ5AUxQ

Seriously, awesome stuff here.

[lilbiggio]

Quote: Originally Posted by therockstar2005

Every time I see Ted talking or thinking, all I can think about is this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmypHQ5AUxQ Seriously, awesome stuff here.

LMAO at "protect the enviroment... or I'll ****in kill you."

This is definately how Cap'n planet should have been. How you going to have ******* intangibles like fire and heart, and be getting beat up by street bums every other episode? Oh well.. I'm blame Maiti



Meanwhile Brandon Beachy after getting lit up like a christmas tree, came back on the mound vs. the Cubs Wednesday night, and well... the dude threw an almost no hitter.

You know what an almost no hitter is... when you are in that groove, everybody is swinging and missing or popping up to first, but you just know that inevitable hit is going to poke it's nose around at a stupid time. Mike Mussina might know what the hell we're talking about. He not only got close on some almost no hitters, he threw a pair of almost perfect games.

Carlos Zambrano got the good end of the stick earlier this year... and well, unfortunately Brandon Beachy got the bloop hit to break it up in the ninth.

then another...

and another... and another... and well, damn, next thing you know it's 5-7... but this was more out of coach G's reluctance to go to the bullpen in a game that had been almost a no hitter. It would have been ridiculous to call upon the bullpen in a game that for the past 2 hours had been relatively easy and flukish up until the ninth inning.



So that's the story of how Brandon Beachy went from 3 outs from a no hitter, to giving up 5 in the ninth. HE still won the game, but man it opened the door for Medlen to slither his way into the conversation for this week's head to head.



And so the question of the day is, was Beachy's 8 innings of 8 strikeouts and 0 hits, with the ****ty ninth, a better performance than Medlen's 7. Sure Kris went out early but he put the team in a position to win only giving up 3 hits, and another highlight? He got the game winning RBI.