View My Seats

At the Intersection of Sports and Culture

Photo Credit for Header: Alex Foucre-Stimes

Monday Morning Musings: Day Old Coffee Edition

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I’m not proud to admit it, but I ran out of coffee Sunday morning and of all the days of the week, Sunday is the last possible day I can afford for this to happen. I have no problem reusing day old coffee on a Thursday or for some sort of iced beverage but Sunday is a totally different story. If I don’t get a fresh cup of hot coffee on Sunday morning then I can’t possibly be expected to complete the New York Times crossword puzzle. And if I can’t complete the New York Times crossword puzzle I certainly shouldn’t be expected to execute any of the assigned chores for the day which usually includes cooking, cleaning, mowing, and just being an all around helpful husband/father. Needless to say, yesterday was not a very productive day.

A Quick Trip Around the Bases

1B – Arizona keeps chugging right along, even after being swept by the Atlanta Braves over the weekend they still remain 1.5 game in front of reigning World Series champions the San Francisco Giants. Many are crediting the turnaround in the desert to the coaching staff full of ex major leaguers led by manager Kirk Gibson. And while I’m sure the “been-there-done-that” mentality from the coaching staff has helped, the real reason the D’Backs are contending this season is because of players like RF Justin Upton and P Ian Kennedy. How many of Kennedy’s 15 wins are you going to chalk up to pitching coach Charles Nagy? How many home runs has Matt Wiliams hit for Upton? Coaches matter but players matter more and it’s about time we gave this group of relative no names the attention they deserve.

2B – Now onto something not so surprising, how historically bad are my Baltimore Orioles? With all the elbow and shoulder issues the team has had to deal with, club orthopedist Dr. Lewis Yocum is about to become as synonymous with the city of Baltimore as Johnny Unitas and Detective McNulty.

At this point, general manager Andy MacPhail should consider hiring famous actors who have previously played baseball players on the big screen to come to Camden Yards and reprise their roles for the Orioles. Because I’m pretty sure there are plenty of Baltimore fans who would rather see Nuke Laloosh on the mound than the Class-AAAA slop they have been wheeling out there these last few months.

3B – Can we take a quick pulse of the current AL MVP race? Leading my list are four players: Adrian Gonzalez, Jacoby Ellsbury, Curtis Granderson, and Justin Verlander. Verlander is the clear leader for the AL Cy Young award but there are plenty of people now rumbling for his name to be included on the short list of MVP candidates as well.

How in the world do you put Jose Bautista as your AL MVP favorite, especially when you also openly acknowledge that he, along with the rest of the Toronto lineup, has been the beneficiary of a phantom sign stealer sitting alone in the Rogers Centre Hotel. I’ll give you that Bautista does hit a lot of home runs, but if this is our only piece of criteria for determining an MVP award, why not give the NL MVP to Dan Uggla?

Me, I’m going to go with Granderson who has more than made up for the fading power of ARod and the substandard average of Mark Teixiera. Of course, if the voting were to be determined by the female population of Revere, MA, Jacoby Ellsbury wins in a landslide.

HR – After weeks, if not years of speculation, the Chicago Cubs finally fired GM Jim Hendry. Now all anyone can talk about is who is line to become the next GM of the Cubbies. And according to the Courier-News, one of the primary qualifications to even be considered for this position is if you were either born in Chicago and/or remain a loyal Cubs fan. What is this, fantasy baseball? If we applied this same logic to say.. flying an airplane, we’d all be stuck with some sort of John Travolta type as our pilot and that wouldn’t be good for anyone. Last night on the Cubs/Cardinals SNB broadcast, Cubs owner Tom Ricketts said that he is looking for three main qualities in his next general manager: player development, analytical approach, and tradition of winning. Ricketts went on to add that all interested candidates should submit cover letters and resumes to: The Chicago Cubs, Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL 60613.

view from Turner Field courtesy of @GABuckeye311 

Talking Shop with Talking Chop

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Martin Gandy is the lead writer for Talking Chop, a baseball blog dedicated to the Atlanta Braves and their fans. The Braves are once again competing for a spot in the NL playoffs, and with a big series opening tonight vs the Pittsburgh Pirates, the blogging business is booming. We asked Gandy, known throughout Talking Chop circles as “gondeee”, about the View from Your Seat feature on his site as well as his feelings on Turner Field and the secret to the Braves success in 2011.

Having people share a view from their seat is such a great way to allow fans to network with other fans. Why did you decide to add this feature to your site? Where do you see this particular idea heading? For instance, do you think non Braves fans visiting Turner Field for the first time will stop by Talking Chop to see where to sit, what to eat, etc?

I got the idea from Andrew Sullivan’s blog and his View From Your Window series. I’m always looking for ways to bring more reader interaction into the blog, and I also like how the View From Your Seat posts break up the page as one scrolls down the blog. Even if you’re in front of a computer screen you’re still able to peek into games, from all angles. Including minor league Views also gives people a window into all the different levels of baseball that exist out there.

I see this series continuing for as long as folks will send in pictures, and there’s been no shortage of late. Last New Years I put together a slide show that scrolled through dozens of Views from the previous year — that was well received, especially during the height of the baseball off-season.

In general, are Braves fans happy with Turner Field? Seeing as how it was built to host the ’96 Olympics, can it sometimes feel a little too multi-purpose/cookie cutter like say Fulton County Stadium?

It was refitted to just be used for baseball after the Olympics, and is one of the better stadiums to watch a game in (I can say that after having been to all but seven current stadiums). Every year they continue to add features to improve the stadium, like the huge HD screen in the outfield. The Braves don’t do the best job of creating a wonderful fan experience, but they do a pretty good job of it. There are a lot of things to like about the Ted.

As far as MLB south of the Mason-Dixon line goes, the Atlanta Braves are pretty much the only show in town. Why is it then that the team struggles to draw fans? I feel like the Braves, one of the top organizations in all of baseball, should be higher than #15 for average attendance this season. Is this just a case of an apathetic Atlanta sports base or perhaps something as simple as say the weather?

Fans can sometimes get spoiled by winning, Braves fans certainly were for a long time. There are a myriad of reasons for not filling the stadium. Traffic in Atlanta can be an obstacle to attending games during the week, especially during the school year. Keep in mind most folks live outside the city, so it’s at least a 20 to 30 minute commute to and from the game, and much more during rush hour. The heat is certainly a factor for some. I would say that Atlanta is also primarily a football town, as is most of the South, so baseball can take a back seat to football even during the football off-season.

The 2011 Braves are once again competing for a spot in the NL playoffs. What has made this particular team so special and what kinds of move do you think the Braves will make before the trading deadline?

The rookies and young players have really shined this year. Craig Kimbrel, Freddie Freeman, and Brandon Beachy are all rookies who will likely compete for the ROY at the end of the season. Other young players like Jason Heyward, Jonny Venters, Jair Jurrjens, and Tommy Hanson have really come into their own as stars of this team. The pitching has been the thing that has paced this team. The Braves go as their pitching staff goes, that was true in the 90s and it’s especially true this year.

views from Turner Field courtesy of Talking Chop

Balk Walk-Off or a Walk-Off Balk

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Just when you think the New York Mets are about to cross over the .500 mark, and in the process sweep a three game series with the Atlanta Braves, D.J. Carrasco balks in the walk off run in the 10th inning. To be fair to Carrasco, it was a poor play by 1st baseman Lucas Duda that allowed the Atlanta runner to move up to 3rd base thus leading to a run scoring on the balk. Even still, balks are fairly uncommon in MLB, but a balk to end the game? I can’t remember seeing that before.

Heartbreaking loss for the Mets who continue to rise above uncommonly low expectations and play some surprisingly scrappy baseball. But what to do about Jose Reyes? As Buster Olney tweets, the Mets SS is on pace for a remarkable statistical season and will likely command Carl Crawford money, in excess of $140 million over 7 years, this offseason. Can the Mets really afford NOT to resign Jose Reyes? If you don’t resign Reyes you are sending the message to your fans that you aren’t willing to spend the money necessary to compete and this will hurt a franchise already dealing with attendance issues at Citi Field.

Trade Beltran. Trade KRod. Do everything you can to resign Jose Reyes – unless he pulls another hamstring between now and the end of the season.

view from Turner Field courtesy of @cdryan