Morning Chop: Braves 7/31
Jul 30, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves catcher Brian McCann (16) talks to starting pitcher Alex Wood (58) against the Colorado Rockies in the second inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Well folks, today at 4:00 PM EST the non-waiver trade deadline will have come and gone, and of course there will still be time for waiver moves before the end of next month. So far, the Atlanta Braves have made only one move we know of as of this morning’s chop – lefty reliever Scott Downs for Cory Rasmus. Most opine that this trade greatly fills one major “right now” need for the Atlanta, and I concur. While losing Rasmus long term might hurt if he develops into the kind of reliever he can be, Atlanta really needed a veteran left-handed specialist (LOOGY) with post-season experience. The Braves filled the bill perfectly with Downs. We’ll keep you updated throughout the day if the Atlanta Braves make any last moment moves. For now, here’s some items you might be interested in….
Juan Nicasio crushed as Rockies’ second-half slide continues
ATLANTA — This loss was not measured in runs, but noise.
The Atlanta Braves had a lot of loud hits in their 11-3 victory Tuesday night, each increasing in volume in a deflating fourth inning. The idea of the trading deadline was to force management’s hand into acquiring a bat or a starting pitcher, not provide a reason to surrender….
…There was thunder at Turner Field on Tuesday, and it was coming from an Atlanta offense throwing haymakers on its bare-knuckle march back to the playoffs. Everything unraveled for the Rockies in the fourth inning as Juan Nicasio continued his puzzling season.
Some Quotes After Tuesday’s Victory
Fredi Gonzalez on Alex Wood
"He was nails. On a night when we needed some length from our starter, for a young pitcher to be able to do that, that’s nice growth right there for him."
Alex Wood on his outing
"I felt a lot more comfortable. I told [McCann] before we started warming up in the bullpen that it was the first time I had that feeling where we could go out there and have some success and I felt normal."
Freddie Freeman on his hot bat
"I do look up there and see my career numbers against them. I don’t know what it is. I credit everything to [hitting coaches Greg Walker and Scott Fletcher]. They pulled up some video before [batting practice] today and they said I was loading backwards. I wasn’t even on my loads. So that’s what we worked on today and it carried over."
You know about Todd Cunningham’s 1st MLB hit. But did you see his video?
ATLANTA, Georgia – At 11:16 Monday night, Brenda Cunningham’s telephone rang in Jacksonville, jolting her awake.
“I got the call,” said the voice on the other end, belonging to her son Todd.
“What call?” Brenda responded.
It was the one he’d dreamed of for a lifetime, the call telling him he’d been promoted to the major leagues. Less than 24 hours later, Cunningham, a former Jacksonville State star, made his big league debut with the Atlanta Braves and singled in his first at-bat.
As he came into the clubhouse after the game, the TVs were playing a Christian-rock-rap video Cunningham created in the 2011-12 off-season called “Rock Yo’ Jock.” In the video, he was wearing a jewel-encrusted athletic supporter. He produced the video as an icebreaker of sorts for his various speeches to church youth groups.
“You hear all the horror stories and you know it’s coming,” he said of the teasing, “but if you own it, it’s not so bad. They (teammates) were expecting a little more embarrassment than they got (after playing the video).”
Take a look at the video we found on YouTube