So we're having trouble scoring runs, and at least a couple of times we have scored early and failed to tack on any insurance.  I'm not being negative or suggesting that we will continue to fail to score runs, but I would like to see us "manufacture" a few.  Why not hit and run...ever?  Also, when Schafer leads off and gets on, I would like to see him take second and be bunted to third at least once.  We're not hitting the long ball, nor are we built to hit the long ball, so I believe we should do some of these things.

And for all the Falcons fans, we got TONY GONZALEZ.... WOOOO!!!

With all the negative talk about our bullpen, Garret Anderson, our inability to pinch-hit, etc., I would like to bring to everyone's attention a few of the bright spots I have seen in our season so far.

1.  Our starting pitching has averaged six innings per start so far, not counting Lowe's rain shortened outing.  We're getting what we paid for this off season in that category.

2.  When Chipper plays, we're 5-2.  With him in the lineup, we have a lot of confidence and I am going to be optomistic that he can stay healthy.

3.  Rafael Soriano has been lights out.

4.  FYF is hitting .308!

5.  Prado and Infante have looked excellent.

6.  Kotchman looks like a gold glover at first.

7.  Jordan Schafer has shown glimpses of brilliance.  If he is capable of taking over the leadoff role at some point this season, our lineup will look a lot better.

8.  Our young guns at AAA have been nasty.  At some point this season, Hanson and Medlen could be in Atlanta and our pitching will be much deeper.  For Medlen at least, this could happen sooner than later.

9.  New York and Philly aren't doing too hot either.

10.  At least we haven't misspelled the names on our jerseys.

With all the left-handed hitters we have in our lineup this year, I think that we're going to have to platoon somewhere (LF) or try to give one of the lefties a day off just about every time we face a lefty.  There's an article on the Braves site about Garrett Anderson's familiarity with Moyer, so I assume he'll be in the lineup tonight.  With guys like Moyer, I don't think that it matters as much, but against the Oliver Perezes of the world with good "stuff" I believe we've gotta get our righties in there (Prado at second, Diaz in left, Norton at first).  I hope Schafer hits lefties well; we don't have many options in  center.

Also, speaking of lefties, man I wish we resigned Ohman.  I'm not at all comfortable with our LOOGY options.  I think that's our weakest spot on the roster.  It'd be nice to go snag one of those Japanese lefties from the WBC.

Does anyone down at Disney have any updates on our minor leaguers?  I'm not even sure if they've started playing games or not.  I'd like to know how Rohrbough, Locke, Gorky etc. are looking so far.  Also, does anyone know what happened to Dustin Evans, the RHP we drafted out of GA Southern a few years ago? I played high school ball with him.  I know he's battled a lot of injuries.  I'd really like to see him break through.

Why is he not in spring training? I know he doesn't have a chance of making the roster, and he probably won't even be a September call-up, but I would have liked to seen him against major league talent this spring. 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 words long.

Okay, here's a completely unrelated topic to the Atlanta Falcons, but one that came up in discussion today between me and some friends.  My favorite 50 something players in the NFL all play for the Falcons (whether I even know who they all are or not), but who is your favorite player not in an Atlanta uniform, and why?

I have to say mine is Philip Rivers.  He's a gunslinger with an in-your-face mentality, he truly loves playing football, and he's not afraid to speak his mind.  Also, I am an ACC guy, and I loved watching him in college.  I love watching him beat Cutler, the SEC QB that absolutely grinds my gears.

For once I actually watched this meaningless game this year, and I was a bit upset by it.  Where were 84 and 33???  I thought that it was a bit unfair that Michael Turner and Roddy White didn't receive much playing time in Hawaii.  After all, shouldn't this game be more about showcasing ALL of the talent the NFL has to offer rather than about Larry Fitzgerald?  No offense to Fitz, but I've seen him enough this postseason.  I wanted to see our Falcons touch the ball, but that seemed too be too much to ask from Andy Reid.  Adrian Peterson received carries from the beginning of the game all the way up to the final whistle.  Clinton Portis also got several carries; I believe Turner only got 2.  Was he not the co-runner up for MVP this year?  This game isn't a very big deal, and we don't need Turner getting any more carries and more chances to get injured, but I was upset and felt that he was disrespected.  And as for Roddy, he was one of four receivers selected to the NFC roster, and the other three were given many opportunities to make plays.  Roddy may not be Larry Fitzgerald, but let him make a catch in the damn Pro Bowl.  He deserved it after the year he had.  Oh and John Abraham, you're an honorary Pro-Bowler in my book as well.  You just didn't have to suit up and sit out like Roddy and Turner.

Oh and I don't believe I saw Chris Johnson get any carries either.  Leon Washington, however did, and he was voted in as the kick returner.  If you aren't a pro-bowl running back, then why do you get to run the ball?

I just believe that the guys that make the team should all get playing time, and players voted in as special teamers should be just that, special teamers in the pro-bowl.

I didn't notice him on the field against the Rams, and I know he had zero tackles.  Is he okay, or were they just getting Boley more rest because he will be the starter against the passing Arizona Cardinals?

Also, on an unrelated topic, the schedule is set for the Falcons next year, and it's tough:

Home against: Eagles, Redskins, Bills, Dolphins, Bears, NFC South

At:  Cowboys, Giants, Patriots, Jets, 49ers, NFC South

Not wanting to look ahead to next year, but just throwing that out there.

Alright everybody.  Beat the Rams, pray for a Carolina loss.

But there are some things I believe we should do and I believe will do during the final game of the regular season to get ready for the playoffs.  First of all, start fast.  Let's establish a big lead early to make sure we defeat the lowly Rams.  We can't take them for granted because Bulger, Jackson, Holt and young receiver Donnie Avery can, at times, prove to be a formidable offense.  Let's put the game away early and get some guys ready for the postseason.  Ryan should be able to carve up St. Louis's defense and build confidence after a couple of mediocre performances the last two weeks.  Then, Chris Redman needs some snaps.  God forbid something happens to Matty Ice, he needs to get some game experience in case he's called upon in the playoffs.  I also believe Snelling needs some rep's.  If Turner were to go down, I believe he would be the feature back in our system.  Norwood is explosive, but I'm not sure that he can carry the load every down.  Next, if Jamal Anderson is still injured, experiment with different defensive ends and try to find someone who can rush the passer not named John Abraham.  This weakness was apparent against Minnesota.  Overall, let's put a hurtin' on 'em early and get all of our backups some more rep's.  We're gonna need everybody come playoff time.  Don't ya just love hearing the word playoffs in the same sentence as the Falcons?  What a miracle season.  Congrats to everyone involved with the Atlanta Falcons.

THE JOB AIN'T FINISHED YET THOUGH BABY.  LET'S GO FALCONS!!!

... are we going to do now?  We didn't get Peavy, Burnett, Furcal, or anyone even close to our radar.  We just signed a first baseman hoping that he would be a knuckleballer because his last name is Niekro.  We may lose Smoltz, one of two faces of the franchise.  Our relievers are all injury prone and we've done nothing to help in that area.  We supposedly have all this extra money to spend, and we haven't done $hit!!! I hope Frank pulls a rabbit out of his hat sometime soon, or we're going to be the new Nationals.

Earlier I was compiling a list in my head of all the guys that have been hurt in the past season, and it is simply unbelievable.  The list:

Smoltz, Glavine (Both are old, so injuries are expected)

Soriano

Gonzalez

Moylan

Huddy

Bennett

Acosta

Lerew

And I'm not even including Mr. Glass on the list because I don't consider him a Brave.  But good lord that's a DL all-star team (minus the last three on the list).  Why is this happening?  This doesn't happen elsewhere.  And it didn't happen during the 14-year division title streak.  And what was the constant during this streak?  Leo.  When the above mentioned guys are healthy, they still produce, so I don't want to knock McDowell too much, but I think that the pitching program these guys are on needs to be looked at.  Maybe they're throwing too much in between starts/appearances?  Not enough?  Who knows.  But I think it should at least be considered that the slew of injuries may be at least partially Roger's fault.  OR, maybe McDowell is secretly working for Dr. James Andrews, because DAMN that doc is making some bank from our pitching staff.  No, but seriously, I think the off-day routines for these guys should be looked at more carefully.

With the deadline looming and the Bravos seemingly out of it, it is dissapointing that we are going to finally have to be sellers.  This is depressing, but an optomist would look at the situation with much enthusiasm.  Assuming that a Texieria trade gets done, we will probably get a good young first baseman in return, and the offseason will see the Braves freeing up a TON of capspace:

1.  Tex will be gone.

2.  Glavine will be gone/retired.

3.  Barring a miraculous comeback, Smoltz will retire.

4.  Finally, the Braves will be freed from Mr. Glass's huge contract.

In all, this is about 50 million in capspace that we will have to sign some huge free agents this winter.  Holliday, Manny, CC, Harden are only a few of the names that will be out there.  I would like to know who everyone thinks the Braves will pursue in the offseason.

All this being said, I am not quitting on this year, only excited about the future.  Hopefully we will get Loney, Jackson, Youk or Kotchman in return for Tex, so we will still have a serviceable first sacker with some pop.  We will probably get a good prospect in return for Ohman also.  So what do you guys think we will look like next year?

When we lose all these one run games, it is almost always because we couldn't get the timely hits or Acosta/Boyer give up runs late.  I really begin to wonder why these two guys throw almost every game.  What is even more mind boggling is the fact that when one of these guys have a good inning, Bobby leaves them in for a second inning and they seem always give up something in their second inning of work.  My question is why we even carry 12 pitchers if about 3 of them are only there in mop up duty.  I mean tonight against the Phillies down 5 runs, Acosta comes in and pitches an inning.  And then another!!! With a switch hitter (Victorino) and two of the best lefties (Utley and Howard) in the game!! Now granted Acosta got out of the inning unscaved somehow, but I just don't see the logic in how we are handling the bullpen.  If Phil Stockman ever comes in the game it's because it is completely out of hand, and in that case it doesn't matter if Corky Miller takes the mound.  It just seems like we are wearing down our main three relievers (Boyer, Acosta and Ohman) and just setting them up for even more struggles in the later months when their arms are falling off.  Are the other guys in the pen just that much worse?  I know we use Bennett often, but mainly in long relief or after the others can't get it done.  Is it bothering anybody else how we are using the pen??  I don't mean to be negative, and I am very optomistic about this team, but this really does bother me.

Braves fans love bashing this guy, and I'm usually one to defend him because he's a major leaguer and I'm not--but can someone please tell me why we keep this guy?  Let's consider the facts: he starts maybe one of every 8 or so games (if we're conveniently facing a lefty on a day game following a night game) and he only pinch hits if there's no one else on the bench.  He's not a very good defensive catcher, and we let go of Brayan Pena (who was our primary pinch hitter at the beginning of the season!)  I know that Bobby and FW know a lot more than I do, and I'm sure there are intangibles involved.  BUT CAN SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT THEY ARE???  It just frustrates me because I can't figure out why we waste a roster spot on him.  I don't think it would be considered an exageration to say that he is the worst player on a major league roster right now.

On Mark Bowman's most recent Mailbag on Braves.com, a fan asked why the Braves haven't sent down Matt Diaz to bring up a more consistent player.  Bowman answered that Cox's patience has to be running thin with Diaz.  The man has hit .327 and .338 the last two years.  Yes, this came in a limited role, but oh my god the guy can stroke it.  Yes, he has been scuffling to the tune of .250 this year, but give the guy a break already!  Diaz didn't hit poorly enough at the beginning of the year to lose his everyday job in the first place.  Yes I understand the Blanco has done well and has played a great left field, but a lot of rookies hit .300 their first few weeks until major league pitchers figure them out.  I don't understand why Matt Diaz continously has to prove himself to everybody.  I mean he probably hits better lefty than Porky Miller does righty but Pena gets DFA'd and Diaz gets fewer and fewer at bats.  Baseball know-it-alls like to say that Diaz's career .310 batting average is skewed because it is a small number of at-bats, but they want him sent down after hitting .250 in 128 AB's.  He also has 2 outfield assists this year (Kots has 2 and Blanco has 1); Diaz also had 4 assists last year, more than Andruw Jones.  I understand that he's not the best defensive outfielder, but he has an above average arm and makes all the routine plays.  I would love to argue all day with any Diaz bashers.  And p.s: Don't call him slow.  He's tied for the team lead in steals and he is in a platoon role.