There was something about last night lost that bother me a lot.  In the 6th inning with the bases loaded Fredi put Conrad to bat for the pitcher which might have been the right decision.  I don't know the splits of Conrad against Sanchez (or maybe the kind of pitcher Sanchez is) and he might have been the best pinch hitter in that situation.  But as people have mention before David Ross to me seems like is very seldom used in those kind of situations where the game is on the line or his AB might make an impact on the game...

I actually like Conrad and he has deliver some clutch hits for the Braves but I believe Ross could do the same if given the opportunity.   I am not going to bring up the numbers since David Ross are much better than Conrad across the board.  I am mostly looking at Ross two years with the Braves (09 and 10) and Conrad last year (since 09 was a small sample size and since it was a horrible year people will say so) but even if you look at Ross numbers for his entire career witch are not as good as the last two years they are better than Conrad numbers.

Conrad is also not a young guys compared to Ross so is not like they are developing him or something.  I can not think of any reason why not use Ross more.   Is it because they want to keep fresh for when he has to give Mc a day off?  I know there is a lot of smart people on this site and you can tell me what the reason is or if is just in my head but again it really bothers me.

One more thing, I know that tonight Conrad almost had the game winning hit if it wasn't for a great defensive play and I don't want to make this a thread about tonights AB, I want to know why Ross is not getting more of those kind of pinch hitting opportunities.  

I have not heard anything new in the last couple of days and wanted to know if anyone have heard anything.   I am sure with all the devoted fans on this page someone will give me what I want to hear:  Lopez will start the Spurs series!

I was really hoping that Dallas could win at least one more game so the Suns players could get some rest, Spurs will be tired and LOPEZ would have more time to heal.   It is what it is, but I think one more game could have made such a great difference.

    I wanted to throw this out there.   Should the Braves pick up Marte if Cleveland don't give him a spot on the 25 man roster?

   He is out of options and he hit .327 BA/.369 OBP/.593 SLG at Triple-A Columbus last year. 

   Chipper is not getting any younger and Andy is only 26 so he could still have a bright future.  I know he has not been able to hit on the majors but I think he might just need something to click and he can be a great player, so if we get him for "free" why not.

   So what does the smart people from TC think?

  I read that Smoltz would like to come back to the Braves.  I know that he is not the same player he used to be but he proved to be effective last year with the Cardinals and could be a good set up guy. 

  I don't think we should pick him up to start the season but as the season progress and injuries will happen then we can sign him if he is still available and if the price is right.

  I know there is a little of nostalgia on my reasons for wanting him back but I also think he could help and it would be nice to have him play his last season as a Brave.  What do YOU think?

Wow, I think we can forget about the Mets putting any fight this year.  With the signing of Matthews they just got worse and I don't see them have any kind of plan in place.

"To sum up the view of Matthews within the game: He can't hit for average, can't hit for power, his defense ranks statistically among the worst outfielders in the majors and, to top it off, rival scouts have been reporting that in recent years he has been a clubhouse negative.

If Matthews were a free agent, he would be a player who might get a $500,000 non-guaranteed minor league deal with an invitation to spring training. And yet the Mets opted to commit $2.5 million and to trade a serviceable pitcher in Brian Stokes to get a player whose effectiveness might have ended years ago." Onley ESPN.com

I read this on ESPN and gave me a chill throughout my spine:

"With the benefit of 20-20 hindsight -- that the Phillies could have done differently while holding their payroll at the same level as it will be with Blanton in the fold -- is to have worked out a trade of Blanton, rather than Lee. And there would have been takers. Some officials with other teams say that while they would not have been willing to surrender a top prospect for Blanton, they would have been interested in acquiring the durable innings-eater who will make something in the range of $8.8 million, with a one-year obligation, this in a winter in which the Rich Hardens and Jason Marquis' and Joel Pineiros are getting about $7.5 million to $8 million a year. The Phillies could have probably gotten a Grade B prospect for Blanton. They could've traded Blanton for a prospect, kept Lee and, at the very least, gotten two draft picks in compensation if/when he walked away after the 2010 season. They could have easily replicated the package of prospects they got in return from the Mariners for Lee. The Phillies' choice, at its heart, came down to this: They preferred to add Aumont, a very talented and unproven reliever, over having an overpowering rotation of Halladay, Lee and Hamels for 2010." From Buster Olney Even though

I am confident in our team this year but the Phillies are a scary team and the thought that they could have had Halladay, Lee and Hamels just keep me up awake at night. Thought I share :)