Fellow Braves fans...

On September 20th, I have the unique opportunity to join a group of
other golf enthusiast in testing my mental and physical stamina, all
to benefit of a great cause.

I have registered to play in The James 1:27 Foundation's 2nd Annual
Atlanta Golf Marathon at the Flat Creek Golf Club in Peachtree City. I
have been charged with the task of playing as many holes as possible
between 7:30a.m. and 7:30p.m. For those who have played 36 or more
holes in a day, you know the toll it takes on your body and mind. Now
imagine playing 72 or more...!  (I wonder where the nearest ER is?)

It is going to be a lot of fun, but the real reason I am participating
is to support The James 1:27 Foundation. The Foundation is an
Atlanta-based non-profit that was established with the idea of
providing for the well being of orphans around the world. The
Foundation's goal is long-term partnerships with organizations that
care for abandoned children with a loving and faith-based approach.

My goal is to raise $1,500 through sponsor pledges and donations. I
ask that you consider supporting me in this endeavor. All gifts made
to the foundation are tax deductible and no gift is too large (or too
small, Dad). More information about the event and the foundation are
at The James 1:27 Golf Marathon
<http://www.thejames127golfmarathon.org/> 

web page.

If you choose to sponsor me, the first and easiest option is to
contribute through the link above and click on the Donate/Sponsor tab.
All of your personal information is secure. The second option is to
contribute through a check made payable to "The James 1:27
Foundation," if you do contribute with a check, please complete the
attached Sponsor Form and send it in with your check. You can mail it
to me or to the foundation.

The James 1:27 Foundation     Ryan Daniels
P.O. Box 190397                     2290 Clearwater Dr.
Atlanta, GA 31119                   Marietta, GA  30067

If you know of anyone else who would like to help these disadvantaged
children, please do not hesitate to let them know. Thanks to all of
you for taking the time to consider this. I look forward to letting
you how my body holds up and how our efforts will continue to help
these children. Thanks guys and Go Braves!!

With the role of the Brave's singles machine Omar Infante increasing this year and substantially as of late, he has positioned himself for a run at the National League batting crown. With continued excellent performance through September his chances of taking home the hardware are more than realistic.

We know he needs 502 plate appearances to qualify for the title. He has 360 PA's and 337AB's right now, needing 142PA's in the remaining 32 games. Roughly 4.4 a game. With September call ups and obvious days off he's not gonna get that number. The rule for the title is if you lack the 502, the spread between your PA's and 502, what ever number that is, are counted as PA's like a ground out or fly out towards your average for the title.

Assumptions...

 1) With 4PA's a game for the 32 games left on the schedule, that's 128 additional plate appearances. That's a total of 488PA's, 14 short of the 502 needed.

2) Omar's walked 5.5% of the time this season, that's another 7 walks on top of his 19 so far this season, well give him 8 because he's an All-Star. 4PA's per game, 32 games, 128PA's*5.5% is 8 more walks and 120AB's.

3) He hits .300 the rest of the year, (a low assumption I feel) 120AB's equates to 36 more hits. 115 hits so far this season plus another 36 is 151 hits for the year. Not too bad considering he's only played in 102 of our 130 games and came off the bench numerous times for the first half of the season.

So, with 337 AB's so far and 120 to come, means he'll have 457 total AB's this year. With 151hits and 457 AB's, that's an average of .3304. This is his actual batting average with the assumed .300 average and 4 PA's the rest of the way. Remember though he's short of the 502 needed to qualify by 14. So we add the 14 to his season AB total, 14+457= 471. His hit total of 151/471=.3206 average computed for batting title qualification.

The league leader is at .326, followed by .325 and Pujol's at .320 as of today (Martin Prado is 4th with a .316 average, so don't count him out either). With my assumptions of average and plate appearances being on the low side, Omar has a very realistic chance at his first batting title and the Braves' first since Chipper wore the crown in 2008.

Further analysis...

If he hits above .300 for the rest of the year his chances increase substantially...

.310, gives him 153 hits, 153/472=.3242
.320, 154/471=.327
.330, 155/471=.329
.340, 156/471=.331
.350, 157/471=.333

With the current leaders between .320 and .326, and depending on how Omar performs down the stretch... the chances of our All-Star utility/bench man winning the batting title are more than good... I'll just say I'd have no problem taking that bet. Go Braves!