Sunday, July 15, 2007

Jaso still on bench

Catcher John Jaso is out of the lineup for a third straight game today. He said Saturday that he planned to play today after dealing with an aching hand that took a foul ball. (Remember: Every player has something hurting by this time of year.)

On a lighter note, Chris Mason broke a ping-pong paddle today after Jon Barratt rallied from a point-10 deficit to beat him. High entertainment.

Your lineups ...
BISCUITS
Fernando Perez, cf
Brooks Badeaux, 2b
Reid Brignac, ss
Evan Longoria, 3b
Gabriel Martinez, 1b
Shaun Cumberland, rf
Patrick Breen, dh
Erold Andrus, lf
Matt Spring, c
Jon Barratt, lhp

BRAVES
J.C. Holt, 2b
Carl Loadenthal, cf
Brandon Jones, dh
Matt Esquivel, rf
Diory Hernandez, ss
Van Pope, 3b
Clint Sammons, c
Greg Creek, 1b
Josh Burrus, lf
Brad Nelson, rhp

UPDATE: Biscuits manager Billy Gardner lasted 15 minutes. Kicked out in the second by first-base umpire Manny Gonzalez for arguing a second balk on Barratt.

MORE: Bryan Eubank, Mississippi's sweet-lunged broadcaster, shared this about new Braves pitcher Sung Ki Jung. Jung didn't pitch the last three years because he was fulfilling the required military service of his native South Korea. He started his professional career in 2002.

Jung didn't come back too rusty. He had 12 saves, a 1.85 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings at Class A Myrtle Beach when he was promoted to Mississippi late last week.

MIDDLE OF 4TH: Since it's already 9-1, let's list some goals for Mississippi. The 19-4, 21-hit spanking Huntsville administered May 30 stands as the 2007 standard. The Braves already have three homers (two by Matt Esquivel), two shy of Mobile's effort June 8.

MIDDLE OF 5TH: Esquivel will lead off the sixth. He's going to get a few swings at tying the record for the most homers a player has hit off the Biscuits. Mobile's Tagg Bozied hit three May 16, 2005, hitting a solo shot in the sixth, a two-run blast in the seventh and a three-run circuit clout in the ninth.

It was Bozied's season debut. He blew out his knee the previous year. After he hit a game-winning grand slam, he stomped on home plate and hurt himself.

MIDDLE OF 6TH: Esquivel with a pitiful effort. He grounded to third. Boooooooo.

EIGHTH: Esquivel with a piddling single to right. Booooooooooooooo.

6 comments:

Mr.LevesqueToYou said...

Hi Stacy,

I enjoy gathering info from and reading your writings about the Biscuits since I love to follow my boy Johnny Jaso whom I grew up playing ball with in Northern California. It's nice because you are obviously very close in covering the team. I'm just curious what you are suggesting by Jaso not playing on Sunday after stating he planned to play previously? Do you think there is something even deeper going on here, possibly with the injury? I dont have the chance to watch live Biscuits games, however it seems it's possible the Biscuits coaching/training staffs are just being careful with Jaso. What do you think? Also, if you have the time where do you see Jaso playing in 2008?
Thanks and Best Regards,
Alan L.

Stacy Long said...

Alan,

Jaso has an aching hand that he has said is minor, but he has missed three straight games and was supposed to see a doctor today.

At this time of year, every player has something that doesn't feel quite right. It's up to each player to decide if they can play. If taking four days off (the Biscuits were off today) gets Jaso back to 100 percent, then that's a good move.

If it's something major, Jaso has kept it to himself.

For 2008, I'd think Jaso has to go to Class AAA Durham. The Devil Rays signed a catcher from an independent league after having some injury troubles that depleted their catchers and Durham's. Jaso is showing he can excel at hitting Class AA pitching, so a higher level is due.

Thanks for the question.

Mr.LevesqueToYou said...

Stacy,

Thanks alot for taking the time to write me back!

I hope the hand injury is nothing major. Knowing Jaso he will play through pain until it's really affecting his play. It seems his at bats in the past week haven't been as quality suggesting maybe the hand isnt healing or possibly getting worse. I'm curious to know if any info from the doctor visit will be available to you?

Is there any TV coverage of Biscuits games locally in Montgomery or just radio coverage? What are the best ways to get Biscuits news? It seems that it is from you and your writings. Once again, I enjoy reading your writings about the Biscuits and look forward to reading more and hearing back from you.

Best Regards,
Alan L.

Stacy Long said...

Alan,

I won't hear about the doctor's visit until next week when the team returns home, but Jaso did play today (Wednesday), so that's a good sign.

Of course, I'm going to say the Advertiser is the best source of Biscuits information. The TV stations do show highlights of the team, though.

There's also raysindex.blogspot.com and the raysbaseball.com message boards for info on the entire Tampa Bay system. The posters can be very insightful.

Mr.LevesqueToYou said...

Stacy,

Thanks alot for the helpful info, I really appreciate it!

Alan L.

Brew said...

Stacy,

I'm actually writing to say hi to my buddy Alan L. Whats up Lev, this is Brunner. If you want to see Jaso play you might be able to catch an archived video of this years All Star game. 2-2 with a couple flares, but it's still fun to actually watch him play instead of constantly looking at box scores and logs.

Question for you Stacy. How do you view Jaso's defensive skills? I've read some negative comments online, but those same people call him a switch hitter, so they can't know that much.

Thanks,
Travis B.