SB Nation User Blog: Smoltz's Beard

BP falling to the wayside?

Smoltz's Beard — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 02:05:56 -0000

BP falling to the wayside?

This doesn't merit it's own fanpost, nor does it really have to do with the Braves, but I thought it was a pretty nice little read.

Braves Release Glavine?

Smoltz's Beard — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 21:51:50 -0000

BA highlights two Braves prospects.

Smoltz's Beard — Tue, 19 May 2009 21:01:04 -0000

BA highlights two Braves prospects.

Most of you probably frequent BA, but for those that don't two of our boys landed at the #5 and #6 spots of their Prospect Hot Sheet: Jason Heyward and Kris Medlen (his bill ain't all that flat) respectively.

Serenity now.

Smoltz's Beard — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 13:29:41 -0000

Well, that was a fun game to watch, huh? Since I didn't actually see the bullpen collapse happen in real time, I would have to say last night's loss has been the most painful to watch. BUT...I'm not here to complain, just to pass on a little tidbit reminding those of you who think the season is cooked for some reason that, hello, it's not even May yet.

4/22/08 Records of 2008 Playoff Teams

Cubs: 13-6
Dodgers: 8-11
Phillies: 8-10
Brewers: 11-8
Angels: 12-9
Red Sox: 14-7
Rays: 8-11
White Sox: 11-7

Can we all chill out right now? We're only two games under .500. We're only 5 games back in the NL East behind a team that, guess what, isn't going to play .786 ball all season. We're only 3 games back in the wild card. The offense will heat up as the summer months roll along, this is common knowledge. Our bullpen doesn't look to be a complete disaster (OMG, who knew!). And the most important part of our team, starting pitching, has been pretty damn good this season. The depth we have in that area is going to be huge as the season progresses.

Let's all take a step back from the ledge, and can we please stop with the constantly complaining? We're playing really poorly, I'm aware. People are upset, I'm aware. But if you want to bitch, if you want to vent...do so in the game thread. There's no reason to start up a fanpost where you do nothing but complain. I don't see any other SBN blog that has the type of fickle fans that we do, and quite frankly it makes the site look really bad. Let's try to act like adults here people.

Understanding Pitch f/x Graphs

Smoltz's Beard — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 16:07:34 -0000

As I'm sure most of you around here have seen lately, our good friend VictorW has been working up some pitch f/x graphs for our starters. It's a really sweet tool that gives you a better idea of how the pitches break to various hitters, and clues you in as to how our boys decide to attack the strike zone. It may be new to some of you so I thought I'd link a post from Beyond the Boxscore that does a good job of explaining exactly how it works.

Understanding Pitch f/x Graphs

I suggest you check it out so that you can appreciate yet another fine tool that can be used to disect the game of baseball. I myself learned some new stuff, it's just that good!

Inconceivable!

Smoltz's Beard — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:55:24 -0000

Inconceivable!

Classic Norm.

Smoltz's Beard — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 21:19:29 -0000

Classic Norm.

Not Braves-related, but this is too good to not pass along. Funniest man alive.

Clint Barmes Projection.

Smoltz's Beard — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:36:45 -0000

Hey all, decided to drop by from the NL East with a quick question regarding fantasy baseball. I apologize in advance as this has probably been discussed over here ad nasuem, but any input would be great appreciated. Picked up Clint Barmes at the end of my draft for two reasons:

1) He's got three position eligibility

2) He had solid stats in a little over a half season's worth of PAs.

My question is...what do you guys expect out of him this season? I've seen on some depth charts that Baker is ahead of him at 2B, but read elsewhere that the Rockies were thinking about shipping him (Baker) off. At first glance it appears to me as though Barmes is an above average defensive 2B, and while his BB% isn't all that great, his counting stats last year were more than solid.

Any help would be appreciated...there's a pitcher that I'd like to add to my squad, but I don't want to cut Barmes because it looks like he could be a really valuable middle infielder if giving the starting gig.

Prospect Breakdown

Smoltz's Beard — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 21:26:05 -0000

Prospect Breakdown

No one likes to boast about their prospects more than the Braves and our good buddies over at Fangraphs finally got to us in their series. Check it out, it's a solid read as is most of their stuff.

#8 Organitzation According to Fangraphs

Smoltz's Beard — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 02:10:50 -0000

#8 Organitzation According to Fangraphs

Over on Fangraphs they've been doing a series on how each organization shapes up over the next 5-10 years to capture a WS title. We came in at #8.

If you're bored I highly suggest checking out the entire series...very informative.