Hi LGTers, this traveling baseball fan out of Atlanta would like to ask those of you in the Cleveland-local area a few questions. Naturally, as the excitement for a new season approaches, we have a lot to look forward to; in my case, I look forward to two things most of all - traveling to new baseball parks, and eating the food available in these places.

I'm very likely to make just a quick day trip up to Cleveland on April 26, on the day that the Indians are hosting the Royals, and knocking Progressive Field off of the list of MLB ballparks (#21 for me). That being said, I would like to ask you guys just a few questions:

1. What's the traffic like in Cleveland? I haven't been there since I was just a fourth grader passing through with my family, and seeing Sea World, so my knowledge of what the roads are like, how light/bad the traffic may or may not be is not at reliable. I'm going to be on somewhat of a tight schedule, literally coming in in the morning, and probably taking the last flight out that same day.
2. Furthermore, will I even need a rental car? I'm looking at maps online, and seeing that Cleveland has the RTA rail line. Could I feasibly just take the red line from CLE airport into Tower City station, and just walk to Progressive Field? Anybody have any estimates for how long such rides takes, or if it's like Atlanta's public rail system and is a joke and should be avoided like the plague stick to a rental noob?
3. Progressive Field question itself: it's a 12:05 game I'm looking at, during the middle of a workday. Should I at all be concerned about not being able to get a ticket, and pre-purchase one now, or will I be able to fairly easily walk right up and get a right-field seat without much complication?
4. Food. I'll pretty much have time for one really good meal, and maybe something to snack on at the ballpark. That being said, one breakfast/lunch meal in the city of Cleveland, what should I strive for? Also, anything unique good in Progressive Field?

If any of you guys would be so kind as to field my inquiries, I would be very grateful. I apologize in advance if this is redundant, or if there was a Cleveland visitor's post I clearly missed available somewhere, or if there were any other fanposts of this nature that existed before I came along. I searched for some general and vague terms, and came up with nothing prior to this. Any references, answers and advice are all welcome.

I've done a whole bunch of write-ups of my travels throughout the last four seasons, in collaboration with a lot of the cities' teams I've visited. If there's any interest of those of you here at LGT, I'd be happy to share my experiences in a similar fashion in my short stay in Cleveland.

Great American Ball Park - Red Reporter
Wrigley Field - Bleed Cubbie Blue
Miller Park - Brew Crew Ball
PNC Park - Bucs Dugout
PETCO Park - Gaslamp Ball
Dodger Stadium - True Blue L.A.
Angel Stadium - Halos Heaven
Tropicana Field - DraysBay
HHH Metrodome - Twinkie Town
U.S. Cellular Field - South Side Sox
Kauffman Stadium - Royals Review
Busch Stadium III - Viva El Birdos

Thanks again in advance, and I look forward to all the wonderful advice you guys might have for me.

Recently, I went to a Chinese restaurant, and as is the norm at most of these establishment, fortune cookies are handed out with the bill:

Don't let statistics do a number on you.

Now that's quite an odd fortune to receive inside of a slightly vanilla flavored, folded up wafer. Not only does it not pertain to some can of corn advice on my love life or career, the whole "in bed" postface game does not work with this fortune (seriously, keeping any sort of statistic involving sexual exploits is kind of creepy, unless you're Wilt Chamberlain), but it seemed ironically humorous that a baseball nerd like me is the one who ends up with a fortune like this.

Obviously, my grasp of advanced statistics and Sabermetrics isn't as sharp compared some of you other nerds, but I can't help but feel that it's not so much of advice as much as it is a reminder; that stats are great tools and fascinating numbers sometimes, but they certainly don't dictate the future. It's interesting and sometimes fun to examine and pore over the numbers, but sometimes it's interesting to simply watch and enjoy the sights and sounds of the game, too.

This time next week, every catcher and pitcher, and some hard-working position players in the NL East will be in Florida. Almost there. Welcome back to the basement.

Can't win at everything; Anibal Sanchez defeats Marlins in arbitration - Fish Stripes
In his victory over the team, Anibal Sanchez will make $8M instead of $6.9M the Marlins had offered. This also pretty much ensures that the Marlins are content to let him test the free agent waters going into 2013. Fish Stripes examines the scenario with the two other times that the Marlins let promising pitchers walk, and maybe it's something to consider with Sanchez's future health, and the fact that the Marlins have ridden him pretty hard over the last two seasons, making Verducci-theory-believers cringe.

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You know what really stinks? Virtual waiting rooms. The plus side is that I've secured tickets for a trip out west to see games at both San Francisco and Oakland, but the process was very much like pulling teeth. It's about that time of the year in which individual teams are slowly opening up the ticket windows for individual game tickets, and for a traveler like me, these dates are crucial when it comes to hoping to see games in other cities. Apparently, the first visit by the Pujols-led Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in Orange county, California is somewhat of a draw in Oakland, and I guess San Francisco is such a draw now, that seats that typically cost $1-6 in Atlanta have literally rung me up $57, and that was the best available.

But anyway, I am very relieved to have secured tickets to the games I had tentatively planned on going. So now, there's no turning back. This year, I will knock both San Francisco and Oakland off of my parks list, which makes numbers #22 and 23. That is, until Oakland moves to San Jose, and I'll be forced to go back out there again in the future, so here's hoping the Bay Area treats me well.

Welcome back to the basement.

Edwin Jackson signs one-year deal with Nationals - Nats Insider
Well now, things have gotten even more interesting in D.C. Unable to get a multi-year deal, Jackson gets on board with the Nats for an estimated range of $8-12M for the one year, to re-establish value, and try again next year. With this, a rotation of Strasburg, Zimmermann, Gonzalez, Wang and Jackson means that the incumbent jam for fifth starter is now a story. Ross Detweiler no longer has any more options left, and isn't arb-eligible until 2013. Either he makes the roster as a reliever in an already-crowded bullpen, or the cost-controlled lefty has to be traded. And then there's John Lannan, who is an arb-2 in 2012 - technically he still has two minor league options left, but then there's a risk of a $5M guy sitting in AAA, or the Nationals can sell low on him and trade a fairly durable, moderately talented innings-eater to someone where he could bite the Nats later.

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But anyway, with little for me to really talk about, I'll share a different interest, which is still somewhat related to baseball. I'm somewhat of a literary nerd, who likes to read books from time to time, and every now and then, a sports book will catch my fancy. One of the best books I read in 2011 was Dan Barry's The Bottom of the 33rd, which is the story of a 1981 minor league game between the Rochester Red Wings and the Pawtucket Red Sox, which holds to distinction of being the longest game ever played in the entire history of baseball.

It's a beautiful narration of all of the elements within the game as well as those the game touched on a fateful April night. From the fans in the stands, the clubhouse attendants that prepared food for the players, the radio announcers, the AAAA mainstays, umpires that read and re-read the rulebook a little too closely, to the now Hall of Famers in Cal Ripken, Jr. and Wade Boggs; it's an emotional cruise through what seemed like an ordinary baseball game turned into a historic occasion.

There comes a point in every baseball game that goes into extra innings, where everyone kind of feels a sense of dread at the idea; it's obviously different if the circumstances were going into extras as the result of coming from behind, but definitely a lot worse when it involves your team blowing a lead. But the 10th and 11th innings are always a feeling of dread and anxiety whenever the opposition gets a base runner or an extra-base hit. By the 13th inning, sometimes we lose care of who wins and loses, as long as we can just simply get out of there. By the time the 15th inning ends, this is where not only do I not care who wins or loses, at this point, I'm already balls in, so may as well cheer for the fruitless attempt to hit 34 innings.

Imagine if Jerry Meals didn't decide he had enough, and actually called Julio Lugo out at home in that crazy night against the Pirates last year? Although it would probably never happen again, it was still a beautiful night in its own right; a major league stadium still operating with less than a thousand people left. Cups Guy and Pirates Girl becoming internet famous in the span of EST AM hours. And a parade of relief pitchers, most notably Cristhian Martinez and Daniel McCutchen, unrelenting, pitching well above expectations, not wanting to be the guy that let their team down, holding Major League lineups scoreless for a combined 11.2 innings. But even throughout all of that, that game was still 14 innings away from just tying the record of 33 innings. Madness.

So while we've still got time in the off season, go out and give The Bottom of the 33rd a whirl. It may not be as thought-provoking and intellectually satiating as a Moneyball or The Extra 2%, but it's a beautiful narration in its own right, and a good reminder of what craziness this game we all love is capable of producing at the drop of a hat.

Welcome back to the basement.

The Miami Marlins are the worst thing ever - SBNation
Now I like Al Yellon; he's always been cordial and polite to me whenever I visit Bleed Cubbie Blue, and among the Baseball Nation rotation, I favor his pieces often, but I'll be the first to admit that I find this a little uncharacteristic and unexpected. Obviously as fans of a bunch of kids' games that adults play for, for a lot of money, we're all subject to irrational prejudice from time to time, but I kind of feel that a lot of these reasons are kind of a stretch. I will admit that I, like many am not fond of the logo either, but this is the kind of stuff I do for a living, and I'm actually more curious to see what kind of creative sell tactics were employed when the logo was presented in a conceptual stage.

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By the time you read this, I could very well be waking up with a very nasty hangover, as I am in Las Vegas this weekend. Sadly, there are no MLB odds available at this time of year, so I have no chance at getting my opportunity to be like this Cardinals fan who probably pocketed somewhere close to $200K in winnings for his Hail Mary bets that the Cardinals would win the NLCS as well as the World Series, a month before the regular season even ended. Regardless if there were baseball odds to bet on, it really wouldn't matter; when it comes to sports, me betting on anything is like the kiss of death.

I actually remember the last time I made a Vegas bet: it was on game 5 of the 2008 ALCS. I knew Scott Kazmir was a legitimate Red Sox destroyer of worlds, so I made a bet on the straight up game, that Tampa Bay would beat Boston. I couldn't help but notice that when I was placing a bet, that there was an option for "official game," meaning betting on the score after five innings. The payout was a little bit better on the full game, so I decided to go with that. Going into the bottom of the 7th, things felt great - I was nicely buzzed and the Rays were up 7-0 on the Red Sox.

And then the (crap) hit the fan epically, and a combination of Grant Balfour, Dan Wheeler and J.P. Howell choked up eight runs, and the Red Sox won the game, and I lost my bet. If only I had bet on the official game, I'd have walked away with money, instead of a worthless bet ticket. No more sports betting.

Anyway, that means this was written up a night early, and if anything happened on Friday or Saturday morning, it's not mentioned. Welcome back to the basement.

Gio Gonzalez signs four-year extension with Nationals - Nationals Journal
Despite not having thrown a single pitch yet, the Nationals went on to secure the services of Gio Gonzalez for the next four years. The base salary is roughly $42M, but there are two options which could bump the deal to a total of six years and almost $65M.

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So I was looking at the Braves Caravan destination list, and it occurred to me that as of right now, there's not actually any stops remotely actually in Atlanta. I mean, Atlanta gets a lot of flack for being unsupportive and fairweathered, but come on now. The closest stop remotely close to Atlanta would be Snellville, but even that's still 25 miles outside of the city. Cumming and McDonough, with the latter being Jason Heyward's childhood home, are both 30+ miles out.

They're all Academy Sports + Outdoors, and two Taco Macs; there are no Academy Sports + Outdoors within Atlanta city limits, but there are quite a few Taco Macs in town, where's the love?

This time of year, I take great pleasure in filling out a nice big calendar. I fill in all the Braves' home games, and then I eventually comb through the calendars of both Gwinnett and Rome's schedules to look for any appealing weekends where either is home while Atlanta is on the road. Eventually, I get to the schedules of the other MLB teams I'm interested in seeing in 2012 (SFG, OAK, CLE, DET, BAL), and start adding in potential weekends to travel to go see other ballparks.

Last but not least, I expand my horizons a little bit to see if there's anything intriguing, and I did find one thing kind of immediately: April 22, the M-Braves head to Birmingham to play the Barons, a Sunday afternoon game. I haven't visited Birmingham in ages, but if there's ever a good reason to go there, seeing the Double-A (oddly, a rarity) squad seems like it. I know there are a bunch of you nerds who live out in Alabama, it might be a pleasant afternoon to conglomerate.

Welcome back to the basement.

Nationals still apparently pursuing Prince Fielder, meet with Scott Boras again - Nationals Journal
Sure, the Nationals are interested in Fielder, but I still think he's going to end up on the Rangers. Here's my rationale: Darvish or no Darvish, the Rangers have the financial flexibility to acquire both players; they have the means (television deal) to up payroll a little bit, or they wouldn't have to if they follow in the practice pretty much ever free-agent contract goes by, which is having a fairly low-amount first year or two, before it escalates into gigantic numbers on the back end. The Rangers are legitimate contenders whether or not Darvish and/or Fielder is acquired (nullifying Dodgers/Mariners). Being in the AL, Fielder could DH when he no longer can field period. Finally, the Rangers need Fielder more than the Nationals do; Mitch Moreland didn't actually set the world on fire, and Adam LaRoche is more than a capable everyday first baseman.

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Happy New Years, Braves Country! Here's to hoping for a 2012 of excellent baseball, beautiful baseball weather, exciting baseball travels, delicious baseball park foods, and MOAR baseball winz.

Now I'm going to go straight from happy post-holiday greeting, to hopping up on my soapbox here. Now most of us are very well aware of the vastly changing landscape of the prestigious National League East division. The Marlins have spared absolutely no expense at going from the team that once had a combined payroll less than Chan-Ho Park's salary to suddenly signing Jose Reyes, Heath Bell and Mark Buerhle to large, multi-million dollar contracts, to play in their mockery of a new baseball park. The Nationals acquired a few useful veterans here and there, and then went for the jugular, trading for Gio Gonzalez who slots into a rotation, if healthy and not inhibited by kid gloves too much, is almost on the cusp of excellence. The Phillies haven't really done that much, but being the Phillies, until proven otherwise, will continue to win on a combination of their excellent, existing starting pitching, reputation, intimidation and anomalous contributions from guys like Wilson Valdez and John Mayberry, Jr., no matter which key players are injured. And even the Mets, while practically in full rebuild-mode, have made a few acquisitions, to shake up the look of their 40-man roster.

All while the Braves, as it's popularly believed, "have done nothing." That's not true at all. Eric Hinske had his option picked up. And they unloaded Derek Lowe. And several other guys, via non-tender. But they've kind of been killing it on the waiver wire!

An annoying trend I'm seeing here a lot lately are people popping up out of nowhere to do nothing but complain and whine about all of the nothing that the Braves have done this off-season, more so, with each subsequent move that a division rival makes. First of all, it's in the past now, no amount of whining about it is going to suddenly make the Houston Astros look at the Braves and go "aww, you guys want Jed Lowrie? Fine, you can have him for Mauro Gomez and the last guy on Gwinnett's bench, no matter who it is!" Carlos Beltran isn't legally allowed to dissolve his contract with the Cardinals and sign a team-friendly one with the Braves instead.

But you know what, I can understand the griping; what I can't really understand are the contingent of people who feel that the Braves are required to make moves right now in order to have a modicum of hope for 2012. I would have loved to have seen the Braves manage to find ways to get guys like Carlos Beltran, or trade for Jed Lowrie. Or snag a Cody Ross, or even bring back Andruw Jones, or Rafael Furcal. But pretty much all those names, along with many other popularly suggested players, are off the board now. So then what? Go down the ladder and pursue their less-talented counterparts, but offer the same money/players for them? If these mythical team-improving moves for the sake of countering others' moves were made, then the Braves would sign Johnny Damon, trade Jair Jurrjens and Martin Prado for Seth Smith and not Tim Wheeler, signed a soon-to-be-45-year-old Omar Vizquel, and traded Julio Teheran for Scott Westbrook straight up.

I play trivia every week with a group of friends. One night, my team was doing well, and we were in third place going into the final question, where you could bet zero to 15 points. The question ended up being something really obscure like "what was Princess Leia's cell block number." Obviously, we had no idea what the answer was, so instead, we wrote down a dirty remark about the host's mother and bet zero points, knowing fully well that anyone behind us who got it right could very well pass us, but anyone in front of it who got it wrong and wagered anything substantial, would fall beneath us. The answer to the question was "cell block 1138 in detention block AA-23." Nobody in the bar got it right. First and second place wagered numbers that would have prevented any correct chasers from surpassing them, but by getting the question wrong, those points were deducted from their totals. By making no move at all, my team won first place.

Seldom is making a move for the sole sake of making a move the right decision. The 2012 Braves certainly have some weaknesses, but they don't have any genuine holes. People act as if Tyler Pastornicky isn't a real human being let alone a shortstop, and that Martin Prado patrols the outfield via Professor X hoverchair instead of legs. Until proven otherwise, the Nationals and Marlins both realize they have to overtake Atlanta, before getting a crack at Philadelphia.

But hey, Orlando Cabrera appears to be available, and since the team NEEDS a short stop, why not?? Between him and Eric Hinske, there's two insta-playoff streaks that need to be rekindled.

The current theme is "ugly hats." What's that you say? The Marlins hat is actually one of their in-game hats? Well I'll be. Que sera, sera. Welcome back to the basement.

Marlins acquire Carlos Zambrano from Cubs for Chris Volstad - Fish Stripes
The Cubs are essentially paying $15.5M to get rid of Big-Z. Here's the thing though, although it's well documented how Carlos Zambrano has not had much success against Atlanta, which is good for us Braves fans, the fact of the matter is that the Braves aren't the only team he'll be facing. Even if Zambrano were to go 0-5 against the Braves this year, if the Marlins were to go 18-7 in all of Zambrano's other starts, then he's still doing his job pretty well. And hell, simply getting rid of Chris Volstad has to make the Marlins better by like 2-3 wins.

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As the year 2011 winds down to a close, I'd just like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all Talking Chop readers. Thanks for your readership, thanks for your words, knowledge and insights and opinions we may or may not always agree on. Your one-time visits, or your frequent stopping by. The site's not fun without readers to share it with, and not so great without a community that's so willing to share back.

The Braves might not have fulfilled destiny in 2011, but it was still a good, exciting season regardless. Here's to hoping for better fortune, more excitement, and more good baseball in 2012, and such sentiment goes out to each and everyone one of you.

Welcome back to the basement.

Mets really don't want R.A. Dickey to do charity mountain climb - Wall Street Journal
I can see this from both sides. MLB and the Mets don't want their most reliable pitcher scaling Mt. Kilimanjaro, because it's really really dangerous, and if he gets hurt, the Mets are boned. They're threatening to void the last year of his deal if he does it and gets hurt, which I can understand from the business standpoint. However, the purpose of the climb is to raise awareness of the underage human sex trafficking in India, which is a rampant problem. Somehow, I'm betting that Dickey does it anyway, and doesn't get hurt, and this all becomes a moot point in the end.

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I'll delete this post when I've gotten sufficient information, so I don't clog up your fanposts sections here.

So, I'm a baseball fan that loves to travel. That being said, as soon as 2011 ends, I'm already looking for trips in 2012. Roughly, as I'm slowly working my way through visiting every single MLB park, I've tentatively decided that the Bay Area will be my primary big road trip in 2012. I'm looking at a couple of weekends that fulfill a few criteria, and have limited my choices to 2-3. The one I'd like to go to first, is the one I have a question about, and would like to get the input of any of you locals who would be willing to help a traveler out.

How well do A's vs. Giants tickets sell, playing at AT&T? The scheduled rivalry series in May is what I'm looking at, and I'd like to know if I should be fervently setting calendar reminders for the date in which single tickets go on sale, or if I could casually stroll up to ticket windows on day-of, and still be able to snag a decent ticket. When it comes to rivalry games, I can never be too sure, and I can't assume that some games may or may not be novelty due to the fact that they're Interleague.

Any help from you guys would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Hi everyone. There was once a day when I used to crowd the FanPost section with grandiose picture posts of just my weekend, because I really was seeing that much Braves baseball, or immersing myself in every public event they did around town, and there was almost always a story to tell, or at least kickstart some epic OT conversations in the process. There was also once a day in which I had tons of free time at my job(s) in order to bring such menial content to the interwebs to promote discussion and create a sense of community.

That being said, to those of you TC readers who see me as just the weekend guy with a wry sense of humor, and/or one of the power-hungry, first-amendement-suppressing Nazi moderators on the site, you couldn't be any more correct. But I'm also an avid traveler, especially when it comes to the game of baseball we all love. Throughout the seasons, I travel to numerous ballparks throughout the country, be it major, minor, or indy, and am one of those dorks whose missions is to visit every single MLB ballpark and city. After the 2011 season, I'm at 21/30 MLB cities visited, but it also doesn't help that old ones are dying off and being replaced with new parks I have to visit in the future. First world problems!

Seeing as how I am one of the unfortunate souls to be working on the final week of the year, I find myself with a low workload, and a generous amount of downtime. That being said, I feel that we could use a little bit of reprieve from the litany of posts about how the Braves need a short stop, how the Braves needed Carlos Beltran/Josh Hamilton/Hank Aaron/Roberto Clemente, and other trite rosterbatory posts that result in stat arguments or opinion-based pissing contests. And when I say "we," I really still mean "I," although I can't imagine being the only person to have this sentiment. So, for old time's sake, and putting it on the record, here's a 2011 season in photos and stories, chronicling my experiences.

Be warned - boatload of images ahoy.

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Firstly, I'd like to wish everyone a Season's Greetings, Happy Holidays, or whatever suits your fancy that won't be twisted and misconstrued to be considered offensive. I am looking forward to nothing more than enjoying sleeping in, in my own bed this holiday weekend, and not worrying at all about the rigors of any inconvenient, awkward traveling.

Such sentiment is pretty much the same as it pertains to the news around baseball, namely the beast of the National League East division. The Nationals and Phillies win this week, with the Phillies re-signing Jimmy Rollins' and the Nationals getting their hands on Gio Gonzalez.

But anyway, have safe and happy holidays, I hope those of you celebrating occasions where gifts are exchanged, I hope you get what you wanted. Otherwise, to everyone else, have safe and happy weekends, and then we're a week closer to the end of the year. Welcome back to the basement.

Nationals acquire LHP Gio Gonzalez from Oakland A's for four minor leaguers - Nats Insider
Three pitchers, and a catcher. RHP Tom Milone, LHPs A.J. Cole and Brad Peacock, along with top catching prospect, Derek Norris. Not going to lie, I kinda winced. I still would have tried to unload Jesus Flores over Norris seeing as how the A's got three pitching prospects out of it, but whatever. At first blush, I want to ring the Teixeira bell, but the whole thing becomes a moot point if the Nationals rotation of Strasburg-Zimmermann-Gio-Wang-Lannan stays healthy and keeps making starts, and more or less negates the need for any of these minor league arms.

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Well, that didn't take long - Carlos Zambrano is (as far as I'm aware) the first to declare the magic words: In the Best Shape of My Life (ITBSOML). And unlike several players of the past who have done similarly through various other means, Big Z didn't go on any new-age diets, do P90X, go to some high-tech fitness institutes, or take anabolic horse werewolf steroids like many before him. Instead, Zambrano is more or less speaking as if he's been doing Rocky Balboa workout montages, by climbing large mountains and running on the beach.

Now I'm all for exercise and physical improvement, but the thing with Zambrano is that the problem's never really been the physical aspect of the game; he's built like a truck, and when he's on, he's capable of brilliance, and "for just a pitcher," he's a threat with the bat as well. Instead, Carlos Zambrano has the mental fortitude of a 13-year old girl on Facebook facing her peers, and lets his emotions consume him on a regular basis, complete with the fake walkouts and tantrum meltdowns.

Screw the mountains and the beaches, Carlos Zambrano should be sat down in front of a computer, and be forced to read dossiers on himself written by the biggest stat geeks on the internet. Or watch repeated David Fincher films. Either way, by the time he's done with either, thinking about baseball will be like picking daisies. He doesn't need to get ITBSOML, he needs to get ITBMentalSOML.

Welcome back to the basement.

Stop me if you've heard this one before - Hardball Talk
Johan Santana "might not be" ready for Opening Day. He hasn't pitched since September 2nd.. 2010. Shoulder injuries! They're worse than Tommy John Surgeries, I tells yous guys.

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The Miami Marlins are going to see at least one playoff appearance within the next two years. Mark it.

And it has nothing to do with the acquisitions of Jose Reyes, Mark Buerhle and Heath Bell, and that Hanley Ramirez will instantly grow up and mature and take his third-base assignment like a man and hit for a triple crown. And Josh Johnson will go all of the next two years completely injury free and make up for lost time and throw three no-hitters in the process. Or the fact that MLB is adding additional playoff spots, increasing the pool of contenders by one per league.

No, none of that actually matters at all, because the one and only thing that does is the fact that there are going to be some NEW UNIFORMS.

Throughout the history of sports, simply getting new uniforms have historically been somewhat good luck for the teams receiving them. Nevermind the history of free agent pickups, trade deadline acquisitions or good luck or health, because none of those wishy washy myths are actually true, because it's always been about the power of new uniforms. New uniforms have had a high percentage of success at inexplicably turning basement dwellers into instant contenders, or pushing teams that couldn't get over the hump to that next level, and absolutely nothing else did. Examples:

• The New Jersey Nets (NBA) of the 1990's were this perennial cellar-dweller whose three season win totals prior to new uniforms were 30, 30, 26 (out of 82 games), but in the 1997-98 season, introduced new uniforms. Instantaneously, they won 43 games, and made the playoffs.
• Karl Malone and John Stockton (NBA) pick-and-rolled their way in and out of the playoffs all through their careers in dorky purple and gold from the team's New Orleans roots, but in 1997-98 the Jazz also received new uniforms, and made it to the NBA Finals in consecutive years, where they had never made it to in any year previously.
• After Natrone Means (NFL) stampeded over the highly-favored Denver Broncos in 1996, enough was enough. Out the door went the tangerine orange and royal blue, and in 1997, the darker, meaner looking identity of the Denver Broncos emerged, and they responded by immediately winning the next two Super Bowls.
• Also in 1997, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (NFL) ditched the swashbuckling creamsicle uniforms, and went to the gunmetal dark side. For the first time in 17 years, the Bucs won double digit games, and made the playoffs five of the next six years, winning the Super Bowl in 2002.
• Speaking of 2002, that's when the Anaheim Angels decided to ditch the Disney wings and clouds, and go back to the pointy halo A. Coincidentally, the Angels would make the playoffs for the first time in 16 years, and go all the way to the top, beating the San Francisco Giants in the World Series.
• In 2007, the magic of the fabulous turquoise and purple was essentially dead, so the Arizona Diamondbacks went Sedona red for their new colors. And in their first year of new unis, they won the NL West for the first time in the last five years, and went all the way to the NLCS.
• And in 2008, the Rays decided to kick the devil out of St. Petersburg, and completely rebrand the entire team. The newly enshrined [just] Rays exploded with a worst-to-first turnaround, and charged all the way to the World Series for their first division title, pennant, and WS appearance in one fell swoop. The Rays have remained in the upper echelon of the American League since.

The Miami Marlins probably didn't need all these expensive free agents, when they could have simply coasted on the power of the new unis for some instant notoriety. But I guess when Pujols, Kemp and Reyes, Buerhle and Bell available, it's best to snatch them up while they could be had.

Welcome back to the basement.

Jose Reyes signs six-year, $106M contract with the Miami Marlins - Fish Stripes
Unless you've been living under a rock, you know by now that Jose Reyes is now a Miami Marlin. The Fish were hell-bent on making a splash with their inaugural season, and they're off to a good start by signing Jose Reyes. As Fish Stripes also points out, the contract is heavily backloaded, so regardless of the no-trade clause, it would be difficult to find anyone who would want to take on the later years of this kind of deal.

Mark Buehrle signs four-year, $58M contract with the Miami Marlins - Miami Herald
How much influence Ozzie Guillen had to do with this is left to speculation, but regardless of the fact, Mark Buerhle is now a member of the new Miami Marlins, looking to make a huge splash in 2012. Now as human beings, I like Buerhle way more than I ever liked Derek Lowe (dog lovers unite), but all the justification and the speak of consistency and "he just wins" remarks that are being tossed around in regards to Buerhle, it's a lot of the same things heard when the Braves signed Derek Lowe. Now Buerhle's two years younger at the start of this deal than Lowe was in 2008 and may probably age more favorably, but I'm just sayin'.

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Over the last few offseasons, keeping up with baseball was never a difficult thing to do. With the staggered way Major League Baseball does things like present awards, creates hype about the winter meetings, come up with terms like the Hot Stove, and the fact that the countdown to Spring Training starts pretty much immediately a team's playoff contention the prior year goes kaput, baseball finds a way to stay amazingly relevant even when it's not even in season.

This season has been kind of different though; perhaps it's the unfortunate way the season ended for Braves Country, and maybe as a fan I'm mad at baseball in general. Aside from the wonderful of a time I had with the AFL, my general interest in baseball since the regular season ended has been fleeting, at best. When I've literally got nothing else to do, I'll fire up the Xbox and tune into some Latin American winter ball, and quietly root for Wilson Ramos, or take amusement at the futility of Wilson Valdez, but then I'll find something else to do. Aside from the trip out to the AFL, I partook in National Novel Writing Month (and succeeded, 50,714 words woot), read two books, and spent a lot of time watching television shows (Walking Dead, Dexter, American Horror Story, Storage Wars, Community). But baseball, it's not even remotely in the backseat in my mind - it's like in the trunk, buried under the flannel/fleece sheet that so many of us have in the trunks of our cars. I guess I'm a crappy baseball fan.

What have you guys been doing to pass the off-season? Welcome back to the basement.

And if I may speak freely, GO HOKIES!!!

Heath Bell signs with Marlins, 3/$27M - Fish Bytes
I have mixed feelings about this. I am happy for Heath Bell finally getting his long-awaited payday, as I think he is a fantastic human being, and genuinely probably deserved more than $27M. But on the flipside, he lands in Miami, which will probably be a fanbase that will never appreciate him as much as he should, but furthermore, he's a fearless, unflappable flamethrower, who has that intangible ability to fortify entire bullpens with his presence and attitude he cultivates. I guess whatever they're calling Leo Nunez these days is pretty much getting pushed aside now.

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Hi everyone. I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving. Mine was swell. As always, ate like a pig.

Look, I'll be honest with you guys. I've been up since 3:00 a.m. since I'm one of those guys that has been known to do some of that crazy Black Friday shopping. But I got everything I aimed to get, with minimal standing out in the cold since I'm not looking for a big television, laptop, Xbox or a three-dish Crock Pot. However, as a result, I'm dog tired, and I admit I procrastinated a little bit in getting some weekend links in order. So the links are a bit scant this week, and maybe obvious that I'm a little on the sleep-deprived as well as on too much caffeine.

So have safe holiday weekends, and enjoy this picture of me standing next to Bryce Harper's truck that I saw out in Scottsdale during the AFL. Welcome back to the basement.

Marlins trade catcher John Baker to San Diego Padres for Wade LeBlanc - Fish Stripes
The Marlins could use some SP depth with the questionable health of Josh Johnson and Ricky Nolasco, and with John Baker on the cusp of being non-tendered anyway, the Fish manage to get something out of him before it got to that point, by sending him to the San Diego Padres, for lefty-starter Wade LeBlanc, straight up. He's no world beater by any means, but he's an arm that's capable of not completely embarrassing himself while the rotation shapes up.

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Doc Samson is a Marvel Comics superhero. To cut to the chase, Doc Samson was radiation-afflicted with superhuman strength - when his hair was long. His strength was proportionate to the length of his hair, so the longer it grew, the stronger he became; conversely, if a dastardly villain were able to shear any of his green locks off, Doc became weaker.

The first time I saw a picture of Tommy Hanson, was shortly after he hurled a no-hitter in the minor leagues, shutting out the Birmingham Barons down in Pearl, Mississippi. By this point, the cbtitses of the internet were bragging about how they knew about Hanson before Hanson was now suddenly cool. Casual minor league baseball enthusiasts researched to find out more about Tommy Hanson before their peers could. Fans suffering through the dredges of the 2008 season, now had a tangible face to associate with the beacons of hope developing in the minor leagues. But to this author's sometimes-eccentric thought process, I couldn't get over this Tommy Hanson's hair. He had a mullet.

Later that year, Tommy Hanson was sent to the Arizona Fall League to pitch for the Mesa Solar Sox. While continuing to sport the mullet, Hanson took the AFL's MVP honors, striking out 49 batters in just 28.2 innings of work. His peers actually started called him "Jesus."

So with the slow, slow off-season upon us, we can always use a whimsical, exercise in cherry-picking post to help pass the time and have a little fun.

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This is a picture is of J.J. Hoover getting Bryce Harper to ground out in just one pitch, in Surprise Stadium. For four days last week, I was in Arizona for some Fall League baseball.

All I have to say is that now, I am completely ruined when it comes to going to baseball games.

Arizona Fall League baseball was simply the greatest baseball experience ever, and I don't look forward to any other baseball moving forward. I went to five of the six AFL parks. Seven dollar general admission tickets allowing visitors to sit wherever they want, be it behind home plate, or front row behind the dugout, first come first serve. Free parking, everywhere, taking the rock star spots right next to the ticket window. Arizona fall weather that tops out at 75F and doesn't dip below 55F.

A relaxing atmosphere, watching baseball at its purest, most innocent incarnation; no veteran players going through the motions and loafing while they think about making tee time. These are all youngsters who are playing for their careers, hoping their efforts and production will get them to the show sooner rather than later. Being after the regular season, there aren't gigantic crowds of obnoxious kids and autograph hounds annoying players, personnel and other visitors.

All the players are accessible and willing to chat, and most are simply happy if you know what their first names are. I had brief and pleasant chats with several players, including the Braves' own J.J. Hoover, Navery Moore and Todd Cunningham. Christian Bethancourt tossed me a baseball because I knew what his first name was. I saw Mike Trout, Bryce Harper and Mike Olt rake. David Nick of the Dbacks had a stretch of seven PAs where he didn't make an out. Speaking of the Dbacks, I met and shared great conversation with the Flag Lady that we often see whenever the Braves play the Dbacks in Arizona. I watched #2 pick in the 2011 draft, Danny Hultzen systematically carve up the Salt River Rafters. And for reasons completely beyond me, San Francisco prospect Joe Panik had a cult following that showed up to pretty much every single game the Scottsdale Scorpions were at.

In my opinion, Phoenix isn't a very interesting city. I found it to be kind of boring, in fact. Tons of strip malls, lots of suburbia, and then more strip malls. Outside of baseball, there wasn't much for a guy like me to take in, except for food, to which Phoenix area has a lot of great eateries (Thanks to all the fine folks at AZ Snake Pit who made great suggestions). But the baseball alone, easily makes it a fantastic trip, and I want to do the AFL again next year. I want to do the AFL every year. I suggest everyone make it out there at least once in your lives, if you truly want to see some beautiful baseball.

Oh, and here's something absolutely fascinating:

Logan Schafer actually exists. He's a Brewers minor leaguer, and probably going to spend a lot of time with the big club in 2012 and beyond. Like Jordan Schafer, he's 25-years old, 6'1 tall, bats left, throws left, and plays center field. But unlike Jordan Schafer, he wasn't fast-tracked to the major leagues, and has systematically developed through every level of the minor leagues before getting his first cup of coffee in 2011. Hopefully he avoids injury and has a fine career. Except against the Braves. Unless he's traded to the Braves.

Anyway, the AFL was the bomb. Welcome back to the basement.

Marlins supposedly offer Albert Pujols nine-year contract - Yahoo Sports
No actual numbers are given, but they state "competitive," to which the competitive average is stated to be around $25M a year, meaning this could possibly have been 9/$225M, or something along those lines.

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As most of you are already aware, the Washington Nationals' rising talent catcher, Wilson Ramos was kidnapped at gunpoint in his Venezuela. Naturally, this is a frightening and unfortunate occurrence, and until further details are released as the days pass, we as baseball fans can only hope and pray for the best in regards to Wilson Ramos' safety, as well as the well-being of his family and friends.

My initial opinion of this event is one of confusion; no disrespect to Wilson Ramos by any means, but in terms of professional athlete salaries, he's still a pauper. If his rookie season was any indication, big money is easily in his future, but it's a bit puzzling to why the athlete himself was kidnapped, especially one who makes league minimum. Long ago, there were reports of Edgar Renteria moving family members out of Colombia, upon making his first million. A few years ago, Manu Ginobili of the NBA's Spurs, signed a $56M contract, and the first thing he did was get his family out of Argentina. Just two years ago, Yorvit Torrealba's son was captured and held hostage, also in Venezuela; fortunately he was freed physically unharmed.

Regardless of the facts and circumstances, it's all widely irrelvant and pointless when a human life is in danger. I would rather have Wilson Ramos be the ultimate thorn to the Braves and hit back-breaking hits against Atlanta his whole career, than to hear of Wilson Ramos' life being in jeopardy like this.

The links are a little sparse this week because one, it's the slow offseason, two, by the time you read this, I'll have been in Arizona for a few days watching AFL games and three, everything else just seems so unimportant compared to Wilson Ramos' safety.

EDIT: Wilson Ramos is safe.  Obviously most of you are already aware of this, but if you don't, he's safe now, which is tremendous news.  Also, Phoenix is an inconveniently different kind of place than what I'm used to, but I'm sure I'll blog about that at another time.

Wilson Ramos confirmed alive by Venezuelan police - Nats Insider
I'm not quite sure how they confirmed this without any contact being made from the captors, but for what it's worth, that's great news.

Reasons why Venezuela is a scary place - MASN
Featuring a list of more occurences than the aforementioned ones that makes me sometimes wonder if sending prospects down there to play baseball is really such a good idea in the future.

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The Major League Baseball season is officially over now. Doesn't quite feel like it, does it? It kind of doesn't for me. With Dominican and Venezuelan winter league baseball available to watch on ESPN3, I can still see some familiar faces like Dmitri Young, Jose Constanza and Gregor Blanco, and it doesn't quite feel that unfamiliar to me. Next weekend, I'm taking a trip out to Arizona, where I'll go bounce around some of the AFL ballparks, and hope to see some Braves prospects in action. Maybe it's the evolution of technology, but even though the MLB season is now done and over, it doesn't mean that there isn't relevant baseball being played, somewhere in the world at any given time during the next two months.

I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge the changing of the guard over at the SBNation's Marlins site, Fish Stripes. Craig and GameFish stepped down as the dynamic duo of the blog, and Michael Jong, whom you may or may not recognize as the guy who writes all the stat-oriented posts I occasionally link to from Marlin Maniac, has taken over at Fish Stripes. I'll be frank, he's going to transform the formerly quiet, relaxed Fish Stripes into a place where stats and some heavy analysis takes place; but we're all nerds anyway, so I'm sure it'll be fine regardless.

Welcome back to the basement.

Davey Johnson predicts pennant for the Nationals in 2012 - The Nats Blog
Way to set the bar there, Davey. Now the Nationals certainly have a lot of talent, and some good pieces waiting in the wings, but being able to win, and actually winning are two very different things. It's certainly not impossible, but 162 games is a long time for things to change.

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Today, we take a look at Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson, whom many expected to gradually take the reins of leadership to a pitching staff that was a balanced blend of veterans, young rising stars, and rookies. Despite the fact that Jurrjens is more of a finesse pitcher, while Hanson is the prototypical power pitcher, unfortunately both of their seasons pretty much followed the same script: fantastic first halves of the season, followed by nagging injuries, resulting in plummeting numbers and ultimately early ends to their seasons. Although it was a thing of beauty seeing some of the Braves' youngsters accept the challenge and deliver some wonderful rookie performances, many of us are still left to wonder how the script may have differed had the team had their two young stallions assumed their scheduled starts instead.

Prior to the All-Star break, Jair Jurrjens was among the best pitchers in the Major Leagues. Heading into the break, Jair was leading the Major Leagues in wins with a 12-3 record, as well as a majors-best 1.87 ERA. Jurrjens notched his first complete game against the Padres on April 26^th, and also a one-hit shutout of the Orioles on July 1^st. He was averaging 6.2 innings a start during this time, and held 441 batters to a pedestrian .229/.276/.310 slash with a 1.066 WHIP. Such credentials also earned Jair Jurrjens a trip to Arizona, for his first-ever All-Star selection, where he retired five straight American League All-Stars in 1.2 innings of work.

Advanced statistics are rarely complementary to contact pitchers like Jair Jurrjens, but the fact of the matter was that what he was doing was working for him and the Braves, as the team was 12-4 in his 16 pre-ASG starts. Unfortunately, it was after the All-Star Game that Jurrjens' stellar season began to unravel.

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One thing that really stinks about the World Series is the obvious fact that one network has the rights to all the games, a handful of chief sponsors has the rights to all the commercial time, and subsequently we the viewers are subject to the same litany of crappy advertising for the duration of the playoffs. That being said, I share the following opinions:

• I used to say that I found no bigger joy in my baseball fandom than watching Brad Lidge blow a save. Nowadays, Brad Lidge has been replaced by the Giants' Brian Wilson. And seeing him blab about black ops and a bunch of nonsensical blathering that makes the Ultimate Warrior sound like Shakespeare makes me look forward to smugly watching highlight clips of Brian Wilson blowing saves in the future. I can assure you, that this chalupa most certainly did happen.
• Legends are born in October - if you're a reputable player. I love all these interstitials that MLB is broadcasting about legendary performances in October; y'know, since there's only one October, for that matter. But how they only focus on established superstars, and not the many unheralded players coming through in the clutch. Take for example the Cardinals alone; in 2006, Yadier Molina's go-ahead HR against the Mets, or Anthony Reyes and Jeff Weaver each turning in 8.0 IP masterpieces in the World Series, or David Eckstein gritting his way to MVP honors? Or this year, this guy named David Freese turning into Mr. Clutch?
• That being said, it means if (because I'll be too busy getting sloshed at Halloween parties all weekend to watch game 7, yes, I'm publishing a day early, again) the Rangers win, it will be all Josh Hamilton or Nelson Cruz and not Derek Holland or Mike Napoli being legends, or if the Cardinals win, it will be Albert Pujols or Chris Carpenter being deemed legends instead of David Freese or the army of relievers being used all playoffs long.

Anyway, have Happy Halloween partying all weekend, if you're into that kind of stuff, and welcome back to the basement. To those who may or may not have been interested in my experiences in last weekend's RUN FOR YOUR LIVES Zombie run, check out SBNation's Uncommon Sportsman, where I also somehow author at, and briefly share my experiences.

Phillies decline options on Roy Oswalt and Brad Lidge - Phillies Nation
This isn't much of a surprise. Neither of them performed to the levels that would have warranted unanimous exercising of such priced option years, and frankly $3.5M for an opportunity to either re-sign either to lower deals, or let them walk and possibly get younger isn't a bad investment.

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*Not actually Justin Timberlake

Fellow Uncommoners, I return to you with another adventure that involves running and/or eating. This time around, it would only be running, BUT it would be from running away, from those who wanted to eat my brains (or at least pretended to).

Run For Your Lives! had their first-ever obstacle and zombie 5K run, in Darlington, Maryland, which is about 45 minutes north of Baltimore.  The game's premise was simple: runners wore belts with three flags on them, representing their "health," and they had to run a 3.1 mile obstacle course and try to keep as many flags on as possible.  All while people dressed as zombies were trying to take them away from you. Retaining any flags meant you "survived," and losing all your flags means you "died."

I learned of this event back in July, and I registered at the very start of August.  I'm a fairly active individual who works out almost daily, and I jog regularly.  In preparation for the event, I upped my jogs to twice a day to help build some more stamina.  Needless to say, everything I did to prepare for this event was completely useless, and afterward, well rather, during, I realized just how unprepared I was for this kind of event.

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Hello SnakePitters,

I visit not to talk so much about playoff baseball, or at least in my case, the lack-of, as much as frankly, for my inquiries, I don't think there's anyone better to ask than those of you who actually live in the Phoenix-surrounding area.

Forgive me in advance if my questions seem redundant, I've searched some fairly general terms, and found no real travel guides, or prior FPs from other would-be Chase Field visitors, so I must unfortunately seek to occupy a FP spot with my own questions.  If anyone knows of any and could point me to some, that would be great as well.

I'm visiting the Phoenix area in a few weeks to catch a few AFL games.  If all goes well, I'll see five games at four of the AFL parks: Phoenix, Salt River, Surprise, Salt River, Mesa.  I'm look forward to it all, but what I'd really like the help from anyone willing to help this traveler out is stuff to do in between/after games, and during the one baseball-free off-day in between.

Most importantly, I'm looking for good/unique/interesting food.  I'm the kind of guy that pretends like he's on Man v. Food, and I've got my own litany of failed food challenges and things I've eaten in various parts of the country while traveling for baseball, if that's any hint at what I'm looking for.  I was mortified to find out that that Heart Attack Grill place closed down, since I really wanted to try that out.

So yeah, if you've got food recommendations, I'd love to hear them.  Activities, or things to see, that would be nice too. I'm staying in Tempe, and I will have a rental car to move about, but all in all, I'm really looking more forward to the relaxation of visiting Phoenix, and watching some leisurely AFL games where sure it's nice to see some Braves prospects on the Surprise Saguaros, but I'd still have little vested interest in the outcomes of the games.

Thanks in advance for any help that may be provided, and I look forward to another bout of interaction with your fine community.

Have you guys been watching much postseason baseball? I haven't. And man, do I feel kind of liberated. I'm still paying attention to the scores, notable performances, and the standings, but hell if I'm actually watching. After watching the Phillies fall out, I haven't really watched much, nor have I really cared. I guess I'm glad that the Cardinals are doing so well, because despite them overtaking the Braves, I've never had a problem with the Cardinals or their fans, and I really really enjoyed visiting Busch Stadium III earlier this season. Not that I'll be paying that much attention, but I guess this is a tiny vote of favoring the Cards from this guy.

Published a day early this week, because instead of watching baseball, I'll be up in Maryland participating in RUN FOR YOUR LIVES, which is to say, in short, is a zombie-themed 5K run/obstacle course. And I hope I'll succeed! Welcome back to the basement.

The state of the Mets' 2012 budget - Amazin' Avenue
Estimated $18.5-28.5M to spend for 2012. If on the low end of the spectrum, it makes it difficult to sign Jose Reyes, but there are still several positions of need that need to be addressed additionally.

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In 2011, the Vaunted Atlanta Braves Bullpen pitched a total of 522.1 innings of relief. This was second most in the National League, only behind the Pirates. To put this in perspective, the four qualifying playoff teams rank first, third, fourth, and fifth (PHI, ARI, MIL, STL) in least bullpen usage. Among other teams that also eclipsed the 500 IP mark from their bullpens are third-place or worse standing teams (PIT, WAS, FLA, COL, CHC).

Out of the 522.1 innings of relief pitched, 238.2 of them were pitched by Craig Kimbrel, Jonny Venters and Eric O'Flaherty. And out of the remaining 283.2 innings of relief thrown by the Braves, we're going to be excluding a few guys due to not making an impact (Moylan, Medlen, Asencio, 21.0 R/IP), or they're going to be covered later (Teheran, Vizcaino, 23.0 R/IP). So with that in mind, we're left with 239.2 innings of relief thrown by the remaining contributors and Scott Proctor.

Let that soak in for a moment - 238.2 IP from three guys versus 239.2 IP from six guys.

Okay, let's get started.

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There really aren't a whole lot of words that can be said by anyone on Talking Chop to describe how great Jonny Venters had been throughout 2011, that haven't already been said at some point or another. We all are aware of just how good he was for the Atlanta Braves throughout the year, so there's no point in trying to extol more superlatives onto him.

When I think about how awesome Jonny Venters was however, three particular games stand out in my mind:

1. April 4^th, at Milwaukee. Braves rally down 0-1 to the Brewers and take a 2-1 lead after Martin Prado and Dan Uggla take Takashi Saito deep for solo homers each. Going into the bottom of the eighth, Peter Moylan gets one out, but then gives up a single to Ryan Braun, bringing the dangerous Prince Fielder to the plate. Jonny Venters is immediately summoned to play the matchup, and in two pitches, gets Fielder to hit into a 5-6-3 inning-ending double play. Braves win.
2. April 19^th, at Los Angeles. Nursing a 2-0 lead in the seventh, Scott Linebrink gives the Dodgers hope by allowing three singles and a run to cut the deficit to 2-1. Jonny Venters is called upon to put out the first-and-third, one out fire. A strikeout of Marcus Thames and a Casey Blake groundout neutralizes the threat. But then Fredi Gonzalez decides to put the nail in the coffin on the Dodgers and trots out Jonny Venters again to pitch the eighth, and he slams the door on the heart of the order, striking out Andre Ethier, and getting Matt Kemp and Juan Uribe to ground out. Braves explode for eight runs in the ninth and win.
3. May 25^th, at Pittsburgh. Tied 1-1 in the bottom of the ninth, Jonny Venters gets into a little bit of trouble in his second inning of work that afternoon, partially due to an E6 error, leading to a bases-loaded, one out scenario with the Pirates looking for the game winner. It doesn't happen. Jonny Venters gets Steven Pearce to ground into a clutch 6-2-3 double play. Braves win in the 11^th. 
   This one stands out to me due to the Open Thread that afternoon - this is where the error occurred, and the natural panicked freak-out by the day's participants. Amidst this panic was yours truly:
   

   I still have confidence in Jonny
   

   And this is where the game-saving GIDP occurred, and the natural rejoice celebrating reaction to such.

In 2011, Jonny Venters put out more fires than Smokey the Bear, made his first All-Star team, and was often the topic of concerns of overuse, all while putting up a fine statistical season overall. Compared to his excellent 2010 rookie season, Venters didn't really suffer the mythical sophomore slump. He pitched in 85 games, completing 88.0 innings, and faced a total of 357 total batters, all of which were career-highs for Jonny. He improved upon his 1.95 ERA in 2010, reducing it to 1.84 in 2011, allowing just 53 hits and striking out a career-best 96 batters while allowing 36 unintentional walks. Additionally, Jonny logged 35 holds, and five saves. Batters fared an ineffective .176/.289/.219 versus Venters, all improvements from 2010.

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Remember in Fight Club, how Edward Norton's character began to think negative thoughts and be upset by the mere presence of Marla Singer (Helena Bonham-Carter) at all of the self-help and therapy sessions he attended? That's kind of how I felt at the last game of the season at Turner Field, when in between one of the late innings the camera people put "famous" ballhawk/uberdork, Zack Hample up on the big screen.

Suddenly, I stopped focusing so intently on the baseball game, and trying to channel positive thoughts and energy to the Braves' success, and I began thinking about how irritated I felt that this dork was in my home ballpark. Why was he here? Was it coincidental? Or was he trying to apply false sense of significance to being at Turner Field for a critical game, and the baseballs he begged for were somehow more special? Didn't matter. Him being in the same place as me began to bug me. I'm sure he was switching back and forth between Braves and Phillies hats and jerseys begging and pandering and pleading and whining for baseballs from players and coaches. And because he's so aggressive and willing to stoop to using gloves and cups on strings to fish for baseballs, he probably had like 20+ baseballs by that point.

I know there are so many things worse than this guy, but for me, he represents bad baseball fandom for me. Fake allegiances, and the pitiful desperation and lengths traveled for just free baseballs. A tourist, a phony. Cheaper than a movie and baseballs are free. Fan of no team, since he's too busy being a fan of the balls themselves. Yeah, I'm aware of how petty this makes me sound, but it's a fun story in itself. Because after I was aware that he was in the park, my mood soured, the next thing I know Scott Linebrink's in the game, Hunter Pence is bat-knobbing a ball past Uggla and Freeman, and then fans in the stands are ripping apart their foam tomahawks in frustration.

I am Jack's petty delegation of inappropriate blame. Welcome back to the basement.

Jimmy Rollins doesn't BS around - Philles Nation
J-Roll wants five years and/or a boatload of money, and he'll go to any team that provides both on adequate to his standards level.

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Friday was the first games I actually watched this postseason, with Nyjer Morgan dropping about 20 f-bombs on national television, but more importantly the first round defeat of the Phillies by the Cardinals. Chris Carpenter was an absolute monster on the mound, and it was a fantastic game, with an even more fantastic finish. The Phillies had a phenomenal season, but further prove the old adage of the rigors of the short series, with their impression of the 2001 Mariners.

I could say more words of reconciliation that no Phillies fans want to hear right now, especially from a Braves fan. But in spite of that, this smug grin on my face? That's not going anywhere for a while, as long as we're talking baseball; and no rebuttal of the Braves' own failures changes the fact that the Phillies too, are done for the year as well.  Welcome back to the basement.

Says it all - Beerleaguer

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Depending on the stats you decide to look at, the Braves could range from being a good defensive team (.987 FP%, 2^nd best  NL), bad defensive team (-23.2 UZR, 3^rd worst NL), or a lucky team that relies on some spectacular saves (24 DRS, 6^th best NL). But we're not here to discuss the defense of the team as a whole; today, we're here to discuss which individuals on the Braves were the best and worst fielders on the squad.

Alex Gonzalez

#2 / Short Stop / Atlanta Braves

Height: 5-11

Weight: 215

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Feb 15, 1977

The baseball gods may have forgotten to bless Alex Gonzalez with at least some average-level offensive talent, but boy did they compensate on the defensive end.  Sometimes stats can quantify the talent, sometimes they can't.  The fact is, that Alex Gonzalez has a gun for an arm, and above-average range, and the athleticism necessary to make some seemingly unconvertible plays into outs.

Sometimes the best way to explain is through visual aid. You might want to get some popcorn ready, and enjoy some of Alex Gonzalez's 2011 fielding brilliance, as provided by MLB.com

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