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Last week’s Bravescast will go down as one of the most memorable for me. After shooting the show on Sunday evening I got home and settled in. I decided to cut on the news and see what is going on over the weekend. That’s when I got the shock that everyone else received. After watching the news story, I had such a mix of sudden emotions at once. I was feeling Sadness, denial, confusion and more. For most people they lost a great sportscaster and long time voice of the Braves and Hawks. For me, Skip was that and a whole lot more.

I grew up in a small town outside the Atlanta area. Much like Skip, I shared an enormous passion for sports. It is a passion that grew more and more as I got older. I was only 8 years old when I started keeping up with the braves in 1991. The worst to first year was some of my first memories as a braves fan. Throughout my early childhood the only time I was not planted in front of a tv at game time was when I was at practice. Like most kids in sports, I wanted to be a pro athlete. As the years pasts I knew that it was not going to happen and started thinking what do I want to do when I grow up? My parents and other relatives always mentioned to me that if I really should try to become a sports broadcaster. There came a certain point in my life where I decided to change my role models and idols. I stopped “wanting to be like Mike” and started “wanting to be like Skip”.

Skip Caray was the biggest influence I had in wanting to be a broadcaster. There were many nights when my bed time came around at 10:00pm, my mom would make me cut my tv off but allowed my radio to be on. I would always stay up till early in the morning when the Braves were playing on the west coast. Skip was there day after day and game after game. As I entered High School the Braves were still in the middle of the greatest playoff run pro sports has seen. As I got older I really began to respect Skip and the other Braves broadcasters more and more. I think we had the best in the business. I also began to get more of the jokes and sarcastic things that made Skip who he is. He was a very clever broadcaster who could always keep you entertained no matter what the score was. I hated missing a Braves game because there was no telling what Skip may have said that I missed. After I graduated high school I went into broadcasting school and took up a high school writing position at a local newspaper. This was the point in my life where I really started paying attention to broadcasters and their styles. Skip had a style all to himself. There will never be another Skip Caray. When I got my first play by play job I tried to take all the positive things from broadcasters that I have learned from over the years. Skip use to give some occasional advice during broadcast and on his “ask Skip” segment. He made me realize that you don’t have to have an outstanding voice to make it. He mentioned that it was all about passion and being able to make someone feel as they were there. Skip was the greatest at that.

When I watch all the great calls he has had on tv I can still imagine I was there. I knew that as bad as I felt after getting knocked out the playoffs he felt the same. He was honest and always told it like it was. I always wanted to be able to tell Skip how much he meant to me. I wanted him to know he is the main reason why I became a broadcast journalist. I thought about writing a letter or e-mail, but I decided I would do it in person. I got to see Skip at fan fest. My friend Chris and I waited to the end of the autograph line so we would have a chance to really talk with him. Skip autographed his shirt and I never said anything to him about his influence on my life. I thought maybe it wasn’t the right time or it might sound corny or something. I sure wish I would have said something now! I will never ever forget Skip Caray and what he meant to both me and the city of Atlanta. I am grateful I am living in the “you tube” times. I can flip on a computer and hear his voice with only a few short clicks. We will be having a special Skip tribute of our own this weekend. It should be ready on Monday. Please feel free to leave you comments and special Skip moments of your own.

Here are some great places to hear other tributes to Skip:

Skip Caray Braves Video Tributes
Skip Caray Hawks Broadcast Highlights
Skip Caray Radio Tribute Braves Radio Network
Skip Caray Radio Tribute WSB

The Braves offense picked a great time to awaken for a year long slump. It could not have been a worse time for the bullpen to struggle though. Things on the injury front were starting to look up with the return of Hampton and Soriano plus Glavine not far behind. The lost on Sunday to me, means that the Braves should now start to put their focus on 2009. A possible trade of Texeria would mean possible filling some whole on the roster. Where do you turn though? The Braves have the best hitting catcher in baseball, a multi –time allstar at third base, young pitching in the starting rotation and 2 possible great closers in the bullpen. If Tex is gone, there will obviously be a whole at first base and also the cleanup spot. The Braves have a ton of talent in the minors and it is always refreshing to see the young guns. This series was one that could have built a ton of momentum. Instead the Braves loose 2 of 3 and see their all star catcher injured. Most people are scared of the word “rebuild” when it come to pro sports. For the Braves it is a different scenario. The nucleus will stay in tact. For those of you who think that the Braves should keep Tex and resign him, look at the Money that Andruw Jones got after having a very disappointing season. The Braves will always pride themselves in building from within. 2008 will go down as a year with ton of potential but an unreal amount of injuries and lack of clutch hitting. In reality the Braves, Marlins, and Phillies are only on good streak away from taking control of the division away from the Mets. Can this Braves team win 6 in a row or 8 out of 10? To me the answer is no. Win series and play 500% on the road are the keys to winning in the MLB. It was also the Braves calling card more the 90’s and early this decade. I welcome your thoughts on my comments and whether you think it is now time to be sellers and not buyers.

Bert’s Trivia Question of the Week

Last week:Who was the first DH in MLB history?

This week:What year did both leagues in MLB first count a foul ball as an official strike? 

This Week’s Question:Would went on the DL to allow Hank Aaron to be called up & what average did Aaron hit that season?

10. The Five Minute High Five In The Dugout

Some of the greatest feats in baseball has been done by the most gracious ball players.  Then you have a guy that gets a solo homer in the third inning in a six to nothing game and he acts like it was the end of the cold war.  That type of celebration is way too much!

9.  Time Of The Game

Baseball has taken some measures in correcting this problem.  I do not mind a one to nothing ballgame that takes two and a half hours.  I just hate the games that are prolonged by pitchers that take a tour of the mound after every pitch and batters adjusting their batting gloves and helmets even when they watch a pitch go by. (Nomar)

8.  The Shift

You can make all the changes in the world on defense but here is my opinion.  By doing that you are forcing your pitcher to throw the ball where the batter wants it.  Smart?  And it seems to me every time a grounder is hit it would be right at where the second baseman should already be at.

7.  New Ballparks

They are great, they look nice, they bring in a ton of money and they make baseball so different than most other sports.  They should not build them to specify one hitter on your team  This is one of the main reasons people want replay in baseball.  The walls are so different and they have such crazy angles and corners that even the umps don’t know what call to make.

6.  Pickoffs

Not the normal throw to first.  I hate the fake to third and fake to first move.  Can anyone remember the last time that worked?  If you fake to more than one base that should be a balk.

5. Schedules

I said before I think a third grader is in a dark room throwing darts at a schedule.  I say no more two game series and no more interleague.  You are taking away time with your respective league.  Not to mention the whole world series thing.4. All Star Game

4. All Star Game

Suppose to be an exhibition between the best in both leagues voted by the fans.  Then our friend Bud makes it count by awarding the winning league home field advantage in the world series.  If they end in another tie who gets it then Bud?  How about the winners get extra sunflower seeds in the dugout.  I know since the fans put the teams together give them something.  Obviously they did better putting a team together than over half of the general managers in their careers.

3.  Ticket Prices I say the real fan only makes about 30000 to 40000 a year.  Tickets for a good seat start at about thirty right here in Atlanta.  Don’t forget about parking and food prices.  If you out price yourself the game will look a lot better on that HDTV you got at your house.  Why charge more for the games on Friday and Saturday, are the teams going to put better players on the field than say Monday or Tuesday?  I can tell you no on that one especially in Atlanta.

2.  Day Night Doubleheader

Doubleheaders use to be the best thing in baseball, until lights and greedy owners came along.  The first game usually starts about twelve or one o’clock, everyone is at work so who is going to show up?  How about the real fan, yes the guy who cannot afford a good seat is usually in the nose bleed section screaming his lungs out on the close play at first.  Then you want to clear the stadium wait an hour or so and do it again and charge twice.  How about the first game be charged ten bucks and let it be a first come first serve on all seats and give a nice discount on the “nightcap.”  That may smooth things over with the average Joe.

1.    Designated Hitter

Since the start of the 1973 season I have hated this rule.  Well I would if I was alive since the start of it.  A team over pays for their star pitcher, he plays once every five days and he plays half of those games?  Oh yeah and to pick up that mess you have to pay millions for a guy to sit and drink water or Gatorade, stick gum on someone’s cap, light a teammates shoe lace on fire and finally come in and hit?  I always thought pitchers were athletes too.  Only in half of Major League Baseball!

I am happy that Bobby Cox has committed one more year for the ‘09 season. Here is a list of things that I think this means for the Braves. Terry Pendelton will have to wait one more year or move on to another team to manage. This kind of sucks for Terry who I think would be the best successor to Bobby Cox I hope he waits it out and becomes or next manager. There will be one less thing to worry about over the off season. The past few years the Braves have went through many changes. They have changed general managers, ball park reservations, tv stations and broadcasters and even major sponsors. Bobby staying means that there will still be that one consistent thing that we have had since the run starting in the 90’s.

Bobby staying also means that on any given night we are able to see the best manager of all time at defending his players. Bobby will see him self get tossed from a few more ball games but will earn more and more respect from the players who love his support. Bobby sacrifices himself in ball games to make sure the players remain on the field. Finally we will be able to hear the positive comments from Bobby after even the worse of losses. Bobby always has a way of calming down situations when they seem negative and not letting anything get too far out of line. Bobby Cox will be severely missed when he is gone but luckily not till atlest the end of the 09 season. Thanks for staying one more year!

Bert’s Trivia of the Week

Smoltz #29,Glavine #47, and Chipper #10 will probably all have their jerseys retired after there playing career is over, who were the last players to wear these numbers before the these 3 guys?

The Braves have now won 4 games in a row and seem to have solved some of the problems of the first few weeks of the season. The bats have started to come alive and the pitching seems to be more intact but everything is not in great shape. The injuries are now starting to pile up with key pitchers Glavine, Soriano, Moylan and Hampton on the injured list.

In today’s ball game Chipper reaggravated his quad muscle and will be further evaluated after the ball game but was again pulled early. If the Braves want to make a playoff run in ‘08 they have to get healthy quick. The injuries to Hampton and Chipper are to be expected because of their history but filling the gap for the other guys is a major issue. Still, the Braves have the youth in the minors to bring up quality players to fill in. Hopefully this will be what keeps them in the race all season long!

Bert’s Trivia of the Week

Last Week

What was the first year for the hall of fame? Who was in and with the most votes?

Answer

1936; Ty Cobb 222, Walter Johnson 189,Christy Mathewson 205, Babe Ruth 215,Honus Wagner 215

This Week

Who was the 1996 HR leader for the Braves?

John Smoltz pitched a gem while on the mound Sunday afternoon. Smoltz pitched shut out baseball in his first start of the year but left the game after completing the 5th inning. At the very beginning of the season the bullpen struggled slightly but was also over used. The win over the Mets allows Atlanta to get back at the top of the East standings after one week of play.

This will also be the first time the Braves fans will get to see Hudson, Smoltz, and Glavine in three consecutive starts. With Hudson, and Smoltz getting the job done over the weekend it will now be up to Tom Glavine to carry the momentum over to the weekend. This week that should also see the 2008 debut of Chuck James. We are also expecting to get a late week update on the Mike Hampton injury. Hampton will hopefully be able to head to the minors and make a few starts before giving it another go in Atlanta. Well this first week is in the bag now and seen a couple of games get away. Will it cost the Braves late in the season and will the bullpen hold up all season long? Give us your thoughts by e-mail at hosts@bravescast.com or call the v-mail at 678-08-2721

Bert’s Trivia

What Atlanta Braves led the Braves in runs scored in 1991?

The Braves have announced there opening day roster for the 2008 season. The unusual thing about this year’s roster is that it will have a totally different look as soon as later this week. Both John Smoltz and Chuck James are officially on the DL this week and can be set to return in time to be inserted in the 6th spots in the rotation. This basically means that they will have to clear room for two more pitchers after James and Smoltz are back. My guess is that they would remove 1 starter and 1 reliever. The question still remains…who?

Bobby Cox has elected to go with 12 pitchers, 6 infielders, 3 catchers, and 4 outfielders. Bryan Pena will serve as the backup for Teixeria at first and will also back up the other two catchers (Brian McCann and Corky Miller). The last and final outfield spot went to Gregor Blanco. This is the only move that the Bravescast crew has not agreed with. Bert and I both would have gone with Josh Anderson as the backup. We feel he has more big league experience and is a faster runner who can play slightly better defense. So with all that being said here is the 2008 Opening Day roster:

Pitchers (12)

Tim Hudson (RH)

Tom Glavine (LH)

Mike Hampton (LH)

Jair Jurrjens (RH)

Jeff Bennett (RH)

Manny Acosta (RH)

Blaine Boyer (RH)

Will Ohman (LH)

Chris Resop (RH)

Royce Ring (LH)

Peter Moylan (RH)

Rafael Soriano (RH)

Catchers (3)

Brian McCann

Corky Miller

Brayan Pena

Infielders(6)

Chipper Jones

Yunel Escobar

Kelly Johnson

Mark Teixeira

Ruben Gotay

Martin Prado

Outfielders (4)

Matt Diaz

Jeff Francoeur

Mark Kotsay

Gregor Blanco

Every year the Braves and other MLB organizations invite way more kids than will every fit on even a 40- man roster. By opening day it is at 25. The 25-man roster is unusually not as important as it is made out to be. By the end of the year normally we see most of the protected 40-man guys anyway due to injury, trades, or lack of production.

This year the Braves are faced with a few guys who are out of contract options. Players like Thorman and Pena may see their Atlanta careers come to an end at the end of this week. For some guys they will make the final jump into the majors and never look back. This weeks show breaks down all the moves that took place this week.

Next week we will each pick out our 25. We want your help to do so. Let us know which one of those bubble guys are going to make it and why. To do so just e-mail us at hosts@bravescast,com or call the voice mail line at 678-698-2721. We welcome your opinion as always.

We will debut our new rosters the middle of this week and will have the final one this upcoming Sunday “sounds good to say” for opening day! This weeks Pat’s Pet Peeve covered “OPTIONS” in contracts and how guys always get put on the final roster not because of their ability or potential but just because they are out of options.

Bert’s Trivia

Who wrote the baseball poem “Spahn and Sain and pray for rain?”

It certainly can, which is what the Braves are hoping and many fans are ready to believe. There are a few slots that have to be worked out before opening day and many players have shown up. It is like a job. Three openings and six hundred applicants show up. Well, not that many but you see where I am going. The interview process has been a good one for Bobby and the gang…maybe too good.

Only one or two spots in the rotation need to be filled but four pitchers have had great starts. One centerfield spot and a backup in left are also up for grabs. Five have come out and staked a claim. What to do? Keep playing. Kotsay or Shaffer? Don’t forget Anderson. Diaz and who? Anderson? What about Jones? That is just a small problem in the field that I bet Bobby is glad to have.

Hudson, Smoltz, Glavine, fourth and fifth spot. Hampton already with a small injury, Jurrjens, great spring, James is late on spring but going strong. Can we really forget about Bennet and Carlyle? We can all remember the things they did for us in ‘07.

Just about two weeks left to go and it seems like we have too many players. Stay tuned to see what happens next. We may find out we don’t have enough. Who will be eliminated next week on…..? This isn’t a reality game show, but it’s as close as it could be. I’m just glad Jeff Probst isn’t managing the Braves.

After suffering without baseball for months we can now get our first glimpse of what things will be like for the ‘08 season. Week one has almost concluded and most things are right on target. Hampton made a nice opening return and Glavine looked as great as I remember him. There a few players who are being cautious — one of those is Chipper Jones. Jones suffered a hamstring injury and is day to day for the Braves. It should not be anything major but is one of those nagging reoccurring injuries.

Josh Anderson is impressive in the outfield with not only his defensive play but also his speed. He is showing just why the Braves traded for him in the offseason. Javy Lopez is trimmed down and looks great and should be a good addition to the team. He has also been working hard on defense and should step in well when McCann needs some off time. It will not be long and the Braves will be making their return to beautiful Turner Field. I passed by yesterday and thought to myself, “It’s been too long and won’t be much longer now.”

I can’t wait and I know you can’t either. I want to thank our two correspondents from spring training, Braves Insider Grant McAuley and also Baseball Paul who will be doing some updates soon. If you are headed to spring training and want to call-in an update feel free to leave us your update on our “hit or miss” voicemail line at 678-608-2721 or e-mail us at hosts@bravescast.com.

Bert’s Trivia of the Week

Name five all time baseball commissioners