BERIGAN

In case use guys thought I was making up how bad attendance was for Braves vs. Marlins games....from beat writer David O'Brien.... Asked a couple of guys about the pitiful crowds they saw at Dolphin Stadium this week. WILL OHMAN: “Coffin Stadium. It had all the atmosphere of a playoff game … in the Arizona Fall League.” When I mentioned to him that I attended a couple of Fall League games last year, including a night game with a fairly enthusiastic crowd, Ohman said, “OK, then it had all the atmosphere of a rookie-ball, extended-spring game.” CHIPPER JONES: “I don’t want this to reflect poorly on the Marlins in any way, but I was embarrassed. I was embarrassed to be playing [in that atmosphere]…. They have a very good team that’s fun to watch. Some guys doing some special things. And nobody’s there to see it. South Florida’s missing a treat.” Rookie BRENT LILLIBRIDGE said the 600 or so that attended Wednesday’s series finale against the Marlins was probably smaller than crowds he played in front of all season at Richmond, where attendance was down in the Braves’ last year at that old relic of a ballpark

That was some game...at one point, the braves were up 10-3, then I checked back and they were down 13-10, In the 5th I think!!!! Braves won 16-14.... By the way, I am usually against contraction, but the Marlins need to be contracted. They are playing in front of I'd guess less than 1000 fans today, no joke!!! I don't even know if they have drawn 5000 for this 3 game series. Just pathetic. I know they have blown the team up a few times, but horrible teams can draw 10,000 fans a night, this is a good, fairly exciting team, every infielder has 20 Homers.... Well, move them somewhere then.... Just now, the braves announcers are talking about the team moving somewhere....they can't stand no response no matter what happens in a game....so quiet.

A truly amazing year!

I flipped by at one point yesterday, and saw 46 Million had already been raised...middle of the day. Don't know what it ended up at. Americans are quite generous when you get right down to it....

jj johnson&kai winding it's alright with me, Japanese TV in 1982

Well, fortunately, the storm never regained it's strength after going over Cuba, perhaps it's been moving too fast to bulk up over the warmest waters.....I am sure there will be some damage, and flooding(Chad Myers said that it might be the side of town that didn't flood during Katrina that will flood this time from the way the storm hit) but I imagine that if the storm stalls out in Texas, flooding will be the big story there.

One of the camera angles they showed on baseball tonight, showed that at the moment CC grabbed the ball, Andy LaRoche was about halfway down the line. The stupid scorer should have asked for video footage of it around the 6th or 7th inning, when it clear CC wasn't going to give up another hit, and just overturned his ruling. Hits are turned into errors and vise versa all the time during games....

A fairly old looking Joe Sullivan playing Squeeze Me-nice to see such close up shots of his playing!

Juggs quarterly. Junk the Trunk weekly.

Gee, never seen a purple one!!! We just have some clear ones, and perhaps a green one, I think..... Heh,heh, you said bone up! Well, it does look like a bit phallic, don't it???

Let's hope like some other storms in the gulf,that it gets huge, then weakens a lot before hitting land. It's lost some steam hitting Cuba, but they still think it will be back up to 145 MPH winds soon enough. Oh, and there are STILL idiots near N.O.(Don't think too many in N.O.) that are not going to leave.

Economy at 60-year low, says Darling. And it will get worse Chancellor says Labour failing to communicate with voters Nicholas Watt, chief political correspondent The Guardian, Saturday August 30 2008 Britain is facing "arguably the worst" economic downturn in 60 years which will be "more profound and long-lasting" than people had expected, Alistair Darling, the chancellor, tells the Guardian today. In the government's gravest assessment of the economy, which follows a warning from a Bank of England policymaker that 2 million people could be out of work by Christmas, Darling admits he had no idea how serious the credit crunch would become. His blunt remarks lay bare the unease in the highest ranks of the cabinet that the downturn is making it all but impossible for Gordon Brown to recover momentum after a series of setbacks. His language is much starker than the tone adopted by the prime minister, who aims to revive his premiership this autumn by explaining how he will help struggling families through the downturn. The chancellor, who says that Labour faces its toughest challenge in a generation, admits that Brown and the cabinet are partly to blame for Labour's woes because they have "patently" failed to explain the party's central mission to the country, leaving voters "pissed off". In a candid interview in today's Guardian Weekend magazine, Darling warns that the economic times faced by Britain and the rest of the world "are arguably the worst they've been in 60 years". To deepen the sense of gloom, he adds: "And I think it's going to be more profound and long-lasting than people thought." The economic backdrop presents Labour with its toughest challenge since the 1980s. "We've got our work cut out. This coming 12 months will be the most difficult 12 months the Labour party has had in a generation," he says. But Labour has been lacklustre. "We've got to rediscover that zeal which won three elections, and that is a huge problem for us at the moment. People are pissed off with us. "We really have to make our minds up; are we ready to try and persuade this country to support us for another term? Because the next 12 months are critical. It's still there to play for." Darling was given a personal taste of the austere climate when ticked off by a waiter for ordering a second bottle of wine during a meal with his wife, Maggie, and another couple. "The waiter came over and said 'too much wine' in a loud voice. So we stuck to one bottle for the entire meal." Darling admits that he was recently challenged at a petrol station by a motorist struggling with the rising cost of petrol. "I was at a filling station recently and a chap said: 'I know it's to do with oil prices - but what are you going to do about it?' People think, well surely you can do something, you are responsible - so of course it reflects on me." But he has some words of comfort for Brown when he predicts there will be no leadership challenge against the prime minister. He also reveals that Brown has no plans to carry out an imminent cabinet reshuffle as he delivers a defiant put-down to critics who have said that he could be replaced as chancellor. "You can't be chopping and changing people that often," he says. "I mean, undoubtedly before the end of the parliament he will want to do a reshuffle, but I'm not expecting one imminently. I do not think there will be a reshuffle." Darling does not name names, but says some people want his job and have been trying to undermine him. Many in the Treasury believe that Ed Balls, the schools secretary, has been less than supportive. "There's lots of people who'd like to do my job. And no doubt," he adds, half under his breath, "actively trying to do it." The chancellor's remarks about the economy - in an interview conducted over two days at his family croft on the Isle of Lewis - highlight the nerves at the top of the government after the loss of Labour's 25th safest seat in Britain in the Glasgow East byelection in July. The Tories are comfortably ahead in polls as leaders return on Monday after the holiday. Darling, who speaks about how the prime minister is one of his oldest friends in politics, admits Brown has struggled to connect with voters. Asked whether Brown can communicate Labour's mission, he says: "Yes, I do think he can." Asked why Brown has not done so, Darling falters as he says: "Er, well. Well, it's always difficult, you know ... But Gordon in September, up to party conference, has got the opportunity to do that. And he will do that. It's absolutely imperative." Darling even describes himself as "not a great politician". Saying how he usually avoids personal interviews and photographs, he says maybe "that's why I'm not a great politician. You know, I'm not very good at looking at pictures and subjecting them to the equivalent of textual analysis". Today's interview was designed to show the chancellor in a more personal light after a year in which he faced criticism over Northern Rock and the loss of discs with details of half the population. He says nothing of tensions with No 10 after he was reportedly rebuffed by Brown when he pointed out the dangers of abolishing the 10p tax rate. His press adviser tells Darling, whose relations with Downing Street have been tense over the past year, to speak his mind in the interview. "Now Alistair," the adviser tells the chancellor as Decca Aitkenhead begins the interview. "Tell her everything. Make sure you tell her everything." http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/au...alistairdarling

CUBS WIN! CUBS WIN! HOLY COOOOWWWW!!!! Be prepared for the October let down. Now, now, they are now a team that has a monster budget like the Yankees or Red Sox, one of the best teams money can buy, they should go far. Money talks, and all that....

Very strange after the whole team was hitting right after Manny got there.....

The Braves are right now, worse than the teams of the 80's. Everyone except backups Omar Infante and Martin Prado(Perhaps not backups anymore, they are both hitting over .300) is next to worthless with a bat in their hand. I heard that their team ERA of 6+ since the all star break, is up to this point, the worst in Major League history!!! The worst of the worst... 2nd sacker, Kelly Johnson. Still can't field the position. And as a hitter? At the end of May, he was hitting .300. Hit .250 for June, .224 for July, and .232 for August. 3 doubles are the ONLY extra base hits he has for the month of August. Wait, I lie, he got a triple last night. His slugging percentage is .312 after the triple!!!! The only person with a lower Slugging percentage in August??? Jeff Francouer, .274! He's been outhomered by Willie Harris of the Nationals! After 4 hits in the last 2 games, he has brought his August average up to .214. I think I heard the whole outfield had only 22 homers for the year, and we just traded away 6 of them. Quincy, still think you can win this pissing contest???

Well, it may be a product of wanting to play everyday still. The Woeful braves didn't want Kotsay to play fulltime next year. Just because he's hit for the highest average, and is the best defender as well for the braves of 2007, he'll be 33 next year and has back issues! He knows more than likely he won't be asked back next year by the sox, and may not play much the rest of this year, which will make it hard to show other teams he should be an everyday centerfielder....just guessing. Worded this poorly, but I'm tired, and want to write about other baseball stuff now....not rewrite this crapola. Don't forget, it's a package deal, you get Jamie Kotsay as well!

According to Olney and Gammons, they are talking to him about his no-trade clause. Certainly wouldn't bother me, if the cost isn't significant. I certainly hope not. 6 HR, 37 RBI... he's basically Coco Crisp with less speed. He's a better hitter than Crisp, honest. he may not be the defender Crisp is, but most fans of the Braves think he's better than Andruw Jones was in 2007. He missed a good chunk of the season, got on a roll for awhile , but after everyone on the team went ice cold, he cooled off as well. But clog the bases with runners, and he will do just fine. He's a quality guy as well....from the AJC beat writer David O'Brien... Kotsay left impression: To a man, every uniformed and non-uniformed Braves person that I asked had nothing but praise for Kotsay, all calling him a pro’s pro, a consummate team player who played the game right, etc. They were all also happy for him that he was going to get to go to Boston and play in that Fenway environment for a team with a chance to go a long way in the postseason, perhaps all the way. “I’m gonna miss him a lot,” Kelly Johnson said. “He was always there to keep it light. But at the same time, when you needed to bounce something off someone, he was always there, like mentor-older teammate guy. He was awesome. He could do it all. I’m happy for him, though.” Will Ohman said Kotsay told him in spring training that there were three teams he always hoped he’d get to play for during his career: Braves, Red Sox, Yankees. “Now he’s getting to play for two of them in one year,” Ohman said.

According to Olney and Gammons, they are talking to him about his no-trade clause. Certainly wouldn't bother me, if the cost isn't significant. Oh no, nothing significant, perhaps just the next Jeff Bagwell perhaps?

Mark Kotsay was pulled from the Starting lineup, but see nothing on mlbtraderumors.com yet....Did the Red Sox get him????

Alexander, I was thinking about the living arrangements....is it at all possible to move back with your parents for awhile, or are they too far away??? Just thinking that it would show her what it would be like without you doing whatever you do around the house(Clean, cook, take the daughter outside if the Mrs. has a headache, etc) IF there are still feelings there. It can be a pain to move back into the parents abode, let me tell ya....but it might give you guys a break without having to wait months and months for that chance.... Oh, and from reading this thread, there clearly are some really terrible councilors out there making a good living!!!

Sorry to hear about this Alexander! Don't have any experience in this sort of matter, but I wish you and your family the best. Your thoughts about counciling are interesting.....seems it could be a help if or if not you two stay together.

A.J. Pierzynski is just a sorry player, plain and simple....

Freakin' windy!!!! Just nonstop from Tropical storm Fay, and yet we are hundreds of miles away from it, and have barely seen a drop of rain!