saintswhodi

papzy, Kyle Davies. Where did he come from? Kid beat the Red sox and the Mets.

papz

He's now 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA. He's the organization's top pitching prospect. I've written a lot about him in the other Atlanta Braves thread. This is the guy that Oakland wanted in the Tim Hudson trade but we denied them and gave away Dan Meyer instead. He's got a good looking arm doesn't he?

I have noticed whenever I start talking good about one of our guys then they start struggling. Hopefully I did not just jinx Davies. On the side note our experiment with Mondesi has officially ended. You pretty much called that one. We called up Kelly Johnson to take his roster spot and he made an outstanding throw throwing out Thome at home plate. Johnson was a thirdbase prospect and highly touted a couple of years ago with Wilson Betemit but he had a couple of inconsistent seasons afterwards. He was hitting over .300 for Richmond with 8 dingers so hopefully he'll be able to stay contributing in Atlanta. I don't know if you noticed Pena our backup catcher. He's a very good looking prospect who can hit.

saintswhodi

You didn't jinx Smoltz when I was down on him, so there's no curse there, but damn Davies!! That kid has looked nice. I haven't noticed this Pena kid, I will have to be on the lookout. Thank God no more Mondesi.

papz

Damn Braves need a big bat... so many injuries. With Hampton and Thompson out, and Chipper and Furcal hurt... we are in trouble. Kelley Johnson hasn't hit a lick since he's been called up. Sigh. I wonder what our masterful GM is thinking and who he'll trade for.

On the bright side, Davies has been lights out. And we are finally seeing Betemit show glimpses of the talent he has. Langerhans is also heating up. I think it's time for us to fire Pendelton as hitting coach no matter how much he's meant to this organization over the years. Time to go after Paul Molitor or some other established hitting coach who's had good results with other teams.

saintswhodi

I agree on Pendleton. Time to move on. It's obviously not working out. Half the time I feel like we are the damn Astros.

papz

This is kinda weird but the 4 prospect I've been telling you about before the season started, 3 of them have been promoted to Atlanta. Davies, Marte, and now McCann. I'm pretty sure if Jordan continues to struggle, Jeff will be up soon too. Is the Braves youth movement beginning? Is our run of 13 straight divisions titles in jeopardy? Stay tuned as we return to the episode of Braves of Our Lives. :P

saintswhodi

I am more concerned now about the injuries to our pitchers than calling up these young players. It's good they get the time in the majors, but pitching is our calling card. And what's the latest on Estrada?

papz

He'll be back in a day or two. Yea pitching has always been the backbone of this team. Even in the years where we had no offense, we were still able to win the division title. Hopefully Hudson will get out of this mini funk he's in. Davies goes tonight.

saintswhodi

Man, I like this Davies. Let me propose a question though. We both know Leo is a GREAT pitching coach, probably one of the best ever. But in thinking about Huddy's struggles, I found myself wondering, in order for a pitcher to fit into what the Braves want them to do, could a pitcher who has done well come here and actually be made worse, at least for a season? Think about it. Huddie was a stud before we got him, and he seems to be funking now. Kolb was a stud closer and a good addition, but he seems to be funking now. But Leo takes pitchers like Jaret Wright and Mike Hampton, or the young guys coming up in the system and makes them better. Could it be that new pitchers who come here and have been successful elsewhere struggle initially with Leo? Not saying Huddy and Kolb won't be straightened out, it's just a thought I was having though.

papz

I agree... not every player needs to be fixed or change his style of pitching. I mean Huddy looks like he's dropped a couple of mph on his fastball... maybe his oblique muscle or whatever is still bothering him from last year. His ERA is still under 3.3 which is still in-line with what he's been doing throughout his career. They lack of run support by the Braves has affected him though... he did have a DH in the American League which helped.

I've been following Kolb ever since he was drafted centuries ago as a Texas Ranger. To be honest with you, his best year was as a Brewer. Every other year he's been either injured, in the minors, or inconsistent in the pen. Could last year have been a fluke? Maybe. Does he still have a 95 mph fastball? Yes. Is he effective? No. His numbers after the allstar game last year was absolutely HORRIBLE. I was in favor of the trade that brought him here because it would lead to Smoltz going back to the rotation... and the fact he's been a Ranger for a long time, but now if I really had to think about it... one good half season out of an injury-prone inconsistent career wasn't such a great move after all. Look I'm eating all my words from the beginning of the season. I guess there are some people in which Leo can't reach.

I laugh at Jaret Wright... look where he's at, the disabled list. What a sucker! He might had gotten some nice change, but he won't amount to anything in New York and will be a big bust.