Braves Announcer Ernie Johnson, Senior Passes At 87

The HQ admits that we used to grow up listening to Pete, Skip, and Ernie Johnson, Senior...

And when Ernie go the chance to finish a game, it would always be with the following phrase: "On this winning night from Atlanta, so long everybody..."

He retired and came back when the Braves needed a fill-in back in the early 2000's... but the former Braves pitcher that became a broadcaster will always be remembered by a generation of fans as one of the soundtracks of the youth...

It sadly loses another piece...

Here's a story that John Patrick and the old "PM Magazine" Show ran on, what is now, Fox5 Atlanta WAGA-TV...

Back in 1982...
((HT: tkia1979/youtube))

10-Year-Old Talks About Cancer And Singing National Anthem

((HT: MyFoxAtlanta))

FOSG Karen Graham got the chance to sit down with Lily Anderson. Anderson is fighting neuroblastoma, but had the chance to sing the National Anthem at a Braves game last week...

She sang the National Anthem on behalf of the Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research. She is currently undergoing treatment for a relapse of the disease.

10-Year-Old Fights Cancer, Sings Before Braves Game: MyFoxATLANTA.com

For more info...

Lily Anderson and the Rally Foundation -
Official site: http://www.rallyfoundation.org
Rally for Lilly T-shirts: http://www.active.com/donate/rallykidtshirts/rallyforlily

Braves win in 19; Pirates robbed

Okay. We make no secret of our affinity for our favorite baseball team, the Atlanta Braves. We've been a fan since we attended our 1st game at Fulton County stadium at age 10. Even when they sucked.

That being said, they got a break Tuesday night. The Braves played the Pittsburgh Pirates and sparing you the details of the early part of the game, it went 19 innings. Yes, 19 innings. Not the longest Braves game ever, that would be the 1982 game that Rick Camp hit a walk-off homer in, but the longest in Turner Field history.

Anyway. Bottom of the 19th inning, the light hitting Julio Lugo is somehow on 3rd base with 1 out, Jordan Schafer is on 2nd and pitcher Scott Proctor at the plate.

Proctor hits a chopper to 3rd and for some reason, Lugo heads home, the throw beats him there by roughly a week, he brushes against the catcher Michael McKenry and touches home plate...and is ruled safe by umpire Jerry Meals.

Needless to say, bedlam ensues, the Pirates blow a gasket and the Braves celebrate the win. The ump, he later admits to MLB.com reporter Mark Bowman  he thought the catcher "Olayed" the tag, but then admits after looking at replays McKenry may have tagged Lugo on the shin. Meals said, "I just saw the glove sweep up. I didn't see the glove hit his leg."

This is camera video from TV of what happened...from Pittsburgh...



And the other TV version from Braves broadcasting- until it gets pulled...
((HT: MLB/FSNSouth/youtube))

Today's Ballpark Sign of the Day: Freeman's Seamen

Freeman's Seamen/Courtesy: Todd Oakley/Twitter

((ht: toddoakley//twitter))

Again, there's just some things that we can't make up.

Atlanta Braves fans, while not known for their devotion, sometimes come up with some pretty creative fan names for their favorite players. There was "Gary Sheffield's Chefs" "Frenchy's French guys" and a few others.

Now there's this. Rookie Freddie Freeman now has his own group--"Freeman's Seamen" (yes, they went there), though we don't know how long they'll be around. (Freeman will be there awhile, he's a rookie of the yr. candidate, playing really well.)

The reason, look at the photo and the name. Too damn funny. And a big thanks to Todd Oakley and Twitter for posting it.

Fireworks At 4AM: 26 Years Later

((HT: WXIA-TV 11Alive))

Some parts of the HQ were around in Atlanta more than a quarter-century ago when the Braves and the New York Mets played for 19 freaking innings and more than 6 hours in length- plus rain delays...

As is the norm when the Braves would play on Independence Day, there are a post-game firewarks display- which was usually pretty cool, pretty loud, and pretty long. Once the Mets beat the Braves, the fireworks still went off...

Freaking out an entire neighborhood as they thought the end of the World was nigh...

The Hull Man caught up with one of the catalysts of the evening that kept it going and going and going a lot longer because of the most improabable of outcomes...


That generations of Braves fans still know and revere Camp is beyond cool...

Roger McDowell suspended for 2 weeks for comments

Roger McDowell/Courtesy: laglcc.org

((espn.com))

Atlanta Braves pitching coach Roger McDowell won't be doing any coaching for at least the next 2 weeks. The reason, he's being suspended by Major League Baseball without pay after being accused of making homophobic slurs and crude comments and gestures towards some fans at a game in San Francisco on April 23rd.

Read the story from Jeff Schultz of AJC.com RIGHT HERE

If this is all McDowell gets, he should consider himself lucky. People have lost their jobs for what he's being accused of doing and saying. Particularly in his business.

What may have sealed the deal here, is a report out of San Francisco that backs up what McDowell is being accused of. This came from another person seated near the man (Justin Quinn), who retained Gloria Allred and filed a lawsuit. 

You can read that story from the San Francisco Chronicle RIGHT HERE

Hmmm. We've interviewed McDowell our ownselves a few times during our run in Atlanta and he didn't come across as someone who would randomly fly off the handle. But...he was also known as a bit of an oddball when he was a player.

Like we said, the fact he's still going to have a job--at least for now, makes him a lucky man. What payment or settlement or agreement the Braves and/or Major League Baseball has come to with Mr. Quinn and attorney Allred, remains to be seen.

Braves McDowell Placed On Leave

((HT: KTLA-TV Los Angeles))

Atlanta Braves pitching coach Roger McDowell has been placed on administrative leave pending the resolution of charges that he shouted homophobic slurs and used obscene gestures toward fans in San Francisco during the Giants-Braves series last week...

Olga Ospina catches up with the Gloria Allred presser...
 

Any time Allred is involved, it's not good...

McDowell has already apologized in a prepared statement, and Major League Baseball is publicly disappointed...

It's the HQ's opinion that McDowell is done... regardless of investigation...

Developing: Braves pitcher Derrick Lowe arrested for DUI

Derrick Lowe/Courtesy: atlanta jail

It hasn't been a particularly good week off the field for the Atlanta Braves. The latest problem. Starting pitcher Derrick Lowe was pulled over and arrested for Driving While Intoxicated (DUI) in Atlanta late Thursday night, an off day for the team.

Lowe, was stopped around 10 p.m by the Georgia State Patrol on a side street and refused to take an alcohol test.

Along with the DUI charge, he faces charges of reckless driving and failure to maintain lane. At this point there has not been any comment released by the Braves, who are also dealing with the fallout of pitching coach Roger McDowell allegedly screaming homophobic slurs and profanity at a family during the Braves/Giants baseball game in San Francisco this past weekend.

**UPDATED**AJC.com has more details...including a statement by the Braves

There is some video of Lowe, shot by Friend of the OSG Mark Melvin and the folks at CBSAtlanta News, showing Lowe leaving Atlanta's city jail, you can see it by clicking HERE

Roger McDowell could be in a lot of trouble

Roger McDowell/Courtesy: braves.mlb.com

 ((ht: hardballtalk.))

Why? Because apparently, while the Atlanta Braves pitching coach was in San Francisco with his team over the weekend, he got into an apparently heated exchange with a group of fans and made a rash of homophobic comments towards them.

According to profile chasing attorney Gloria Allred and the website TMZ, a story which developed earlier this afternoon. Said Allred; "The coach in question is Atlanta Braves pitching coach Roger McDowell – who allegedly targeted a group of male fans at San Francisco’s AT&T park last weekend … asking them, “Are you guys a homo couple or a threesome?"

It also appears that the group in question had a child with them. And McDowell apparently said to them: “Kids don’t belong at the f***ing ballpark.”. One of the men involved, Justin Quinn also said McDowell threatened his group with a bat.

For his part, McDowell issued an apology, saying..."I am deeply sorry that I reacted to the heckling fans in San Francisco on Sunday. I apologize to everyone for my actions".

The Braves also apologized for the comments and the commissioners office has opened an investigation. Unfortunately, these are the types of comments that get people fired. Right or wrong, McDowell should never have said it. But he can't take it back. Anytime something like that is said by someone in even a remotely public position, generally the price is their job. We hope that isn't the case, but it doesn't sound good. 

Braves coach stable after getting drilled during game (ambulance video)

This is an update on a story that happened on Wednesday.

Luis Salazar, a minor league manager for the Atlanta Braves is resting in stable condition at Orlando Regional Medical Center after being hit squarely in the left eye with a foul ball, while in the dugout.

According to Braves GM Frank Wren, Salazar suffered no brain damage, but has facial fractures and the area around his eye is seriously damaged.

The Orlando Sentinel interviewed a fan at the game who said Salazar was talking to outfielder Nate McLouth when catcher Brian McCann was at the plate and fouled off the pitch. According to the witness "Luis didn't mover or anything because he was talking to Nate" and "It was as solid as you can get hit by a baseball. He fell straight back as though somebody had punched him."

The story from the Orlando Sentinel is RIGHT HERE

Needless to say, the entire Braves team was shaken by the incident. It was an accident and in the video at the bottom of this story, you can hear just how quiet the stadium was after it happened.

The aforementioned video was shot by a fan and it shows Salazar being lifted into an ambulance before being flown via helicopter to the hospital. We wish Salazar nothing but the best.



Here's a story done by MyFoxOrlando, with reaction:

Braves' Salazar hit by liner;  airlifted: MyFoxORLANDO.com

Former Braves pitcher lucky to escape House Fire

Mark Wohlers/Courtesy: rollingweb.com

The use to say that former Atlanta Braves relief pitcher Mark Wohlers brought the heat. Tuesday, the heat came to him.

Wohlers and his family narrowly escaped a fire in their home in Milton, a small suburb north of Atlanta. The fire broke out just after midnight Tuesday morning. It was Wohlers's wife who discovered there was a fire and got the family out of the house.

The story from AJC.com RIGHT HERE

Investigators are still trying to figure out the cause of the fire, which pretty much leveled the home.

For those unfamiliar, Wohlers was the closer for the Braves in the mid-90's. He got the clinching save for the Braves when they won the 1995 World Series.

Here's the TV Version of the story from Darryl Carver of WAGA-TV:

Fire Destroyes Ex-Braves Player's Home: MyFoxATLANTA.com

 

And so it begins: Pitchers and Catchers report

If you could only see the smile. Baseball begins. It's the time where the centers of the baseball universe are Florida and Arizona.

It's the time that everyone has hope, it's the time where you know the god-awful cold winter is just about over. It's time for Major League Baseball's Spring Training.

FOSG Buck Lanford, Sports dude for FOX 5 Atlanta,  is with the Atlanta Braves at the Disney Wide World of Sports complex outside of Orlando.

With the Braves During Spring Training: MyFoxATLANTA.com

DEVELOPING STORY: Fredi Gonzalez New Braves Manager

OSG Sports has learned that Fredi Gonzalez will be the new manager of the Atlanta Braves succeeding Bobby Cox. A news conference is scheduled for Thursday to introduce Gonzalez.

At the OSG HQ, we have anticipated this. Gonzalez has close ties to Braves general manager Frank Wren. He's a close friend to Bobby Cox and was the Braves third base coach from 2003 to 2006.

One might say Gonzalez aced his managerial audition to succeed Cox in his three and a half years as the Florida Marlins manager. Despite a low payroll and working for an impossible owner, Gonzalez managed the Marlins to a 276-279 record.

It seems it's no secret in the Braves clubhouse that Gonzalez was the pick to succeed Cox.

"Fredi Gonzalez is always first in my mind that pops up, just because this organization has been run the same for so long," Braves pitcher Derek Lowe told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. "I can't imagine, especially since [Braves president John] Schuerholz is still here and Bobby's going to go upstairs, so you're going to have that same group of guys that have been running this organization successfully for so long, I can't see them all of a sudden saying, ‘Hey, let's go in a completely different direction than we've ever been in.'"

Those of us at the OSG HQ feel its a no brainer and Fredi Gonzalez is a great hire.

Photo Courtesy: Daniel R. Harris/Icon SMI

Here's the Gonzalez presser, thanks to our friends at MyFoxAtlanta...
FOSG Ken Rodriguez takes over from here...

Braves lose and Bobby Cox walks off into the sunset....

Bobby Cox says goodbye/Courtesy-Jamie Squire/GettyImages

Admittedly, this was hard to watch. I grew up a Braves fan and have been one my whole life. Seeing the greatest manager the team will ever have end his career is tough. It's even tougher since I got to spend 10-years covering him.

Last night, the San Francisco Giants beat the Braves 3-2, winning their National League Division Series 3-1. It was also the last time that #6, the 4th winningest manager in the history of baseball would take the field.

Even though the Braves lost, this may have been Bobby Cox's best managing job. Somehow, someway, he took a beat up an injured team, a team that nobody thought before the season would be in the playoffs and won 91 games and made it. The NLDS lineup looked like a Spring Training split squad with holes, but they competed, they made every game close and still had a chance to win.

In the end, Bobby's loyalty to his guys may have gotten the best of him. Derrick Lowe probably stayed in one batter too long. The game before, he changed pitchers when he probably shouldn't have. But he was, until the end loyal to his players. He expected them to produce, to do their jobs.

At the end of the game, the fans who stuck around gave him a standing ovation. So did his players. And so did the Giants, who stopped their celebration, to acknowledge him. Classy.

Apparently after the game, his final speech to the team was very emotional. That's not a surprise. You could still hear a little of that in his post-game press conference. But it didn't get the best of him. It never would.

There are a segment of Atlanta fans who never understood the guy. They didn't appreciate what they had. They said he underachieved with "talented" teams. And no, they won't understand what they had. To know the guy, to see him interact with his players over the years is the only way that you could. And for those fans who think they'll be better without him.....Don't be so sure, you never realize how good you had it until you don't.

Here is a good wrap up of last nights events from our friends at WAGA/MyFoxAtlanta:

Bobby Cox retires soon...we pay our respects

Bobby at Spring Training with FOSG Eric Hager shooting video/Courtesy: Rob Carr/AP

We've been trying to figure out a good time to do this and decided that as we hit the last full week of the Major league baseball season, now is as good a time as any.

For those who want a good, national perspective, here is a nicely done article by Jayson Stark of ESPN.com RIGHT HERE

I got the opportunity to cover Bobby Cox for almost 10-years and am proud to say so. I can say without a doubt he was one of the most interesting yet honest people that I ever covered.

There are so many stories that I can tell. Stories that some may know and some may not. Sure, everyone has given perspective of how much of a players manager he is--and was. There is no questioning that nor should there be. But I think that probably the toughest thing that both he...and his players are going to have to deal with is...a new routine.

Bobby, without fail did the same things...at the same time, every year. At Spring Training, he didn't push his guys hard. His only rule. Be there on time, ready to take the field promptly at 9am. He always started the 1st full day the same way. A locker room speech. Not a long one, but always a speech. Once he finished, the team would make its way to the dugout and on cue, the field.

Mark Harmon and Me at Braves Spring Training 2006/Courtesy: Eric Hager

Shortly thereafter, he would waddle out to the field and we'd interview him. Always, always the optimist, he'd be excited by that years team, he'd say they "Should be really good". The interview would last a good 5-minutes or so and then we'd all move on.

He really didn't have a lot rules for the players. No boom boxes/loud music in the locker room. If you had your uniform on, make sure the team logo could be seen. Show up on time and give your best effort. If you did that, you were good. The stories about his loyalty are all true. If he liked you and respected you, he'd fight for you with his last breath.

Bobby's Spring Training places were three...either on a golf cart, under a tent in the right field bullpen or on a bench behind the batting cage. He was always in one of those three places. Without fail. The players, they did their work. They were expected to. It didn't have to be said and wasn't.

There are several other stories that stood out to me. In 2001, Bobby had bad knees, they hadn't been replaced yet. I would, weekly during that season, shoot an interview with him for a show that aired on the station that I worked for. Didn't do the interview, just shot it. But always, we'd help Bobby up on top of the dugout where we did the interview. He never complained, patiently sat there and took our help getting him up. Always...the professional.

When I worked Braves games, the 1st place we went after the game to get sound was his office. His office was just down the hall from the dressing room and had/has a big plasma TV on the wall facing his desk. On Sunday's, after the day game, he always would ask where the race was on TV. And I always would tell him, sometimes before he asked. He'd light up a cigar and then either me, or one of the writers would ask him a question or two, he'd talk about what happened and how well his guys did and we'd proceed to the locker room.

Before the games, he always was in the same place. Once BP started, he was on the end of the bench, nearest to the tunnel and would be talking to whomever sidled over to talk. Sometimes it would be a writer, sometimes Braves PR guy Brad Hanjie, sometimes it would be the Atlanta Police officer working the game from the dugout.

He'd be happy to talk to them. He would get a little more nervous if one of us TV guys came around, but would always talk...always acknowledge the reporter by name. Though he would occasionally get them confused. For a couple of years, he confused my reporter, Mark Harmon with WXIA-TV sports reporter Randy Waters. Mark and I would finish our interview and he'd say "Thanks Randy". It always got a huge laugh from me, Mark's face usually turned red...and then he would laugh too.

I can't say, like Chipper Jones, that Bobby is the only Braves manager I've ever known. I've been a fan since I was a kid. I still remember Chuck Tanner and Joe Torre (early years) and Dave Bristol. I remember the teams with Larvell Blanks and Bob Horner and Buzz Capra and Biff Pocoroba. But he was the only one that I got to cover. And the fact that he was the same guy the first time we talked as he was the last time, speaks volumes to the guy he is.

Yes, it was an honor to have covered the team that I grew up rooting for. It was a bigger honor to say that I got to interact with some of the greats in the history of baseball. The lasting memory however, will always be with Bobby Cox. He is, was and will always be remembered as "THE" manager of the Atlanta Braves.

Matt Diaz Helps Philly Security

((HT: SportsSouth/MLB/MLBAM/Youtube))

The Atlanta Braves season seems to be in somewhat free-fall these days, but left fielder Matt Diaz gave a Philadelphia fan some free-fall of his own last night.

You know those one piece suits that make kids look creepy...??? Someone wore one last night and rushed onto the field at CB Park thinking their anonymity would add speed to their on-field dashing abilties.

It was working for a while, then Diaz stepped in and tripped the kid- slowing him down enough for the tackle by the resident blue jackets...

"I thought he was coming at me," Diaz said, "so I was ready at first. I didn't want to get hurt, and I didn't want to hurt him," Diaz said. "So I stuck my foot out.

"I figured the guy would probably rather I trip him than get tazed."

Here's the outfield assist... before it gets pulled down...


The HQ would have agreed with Homer Simpson for once- the clothesline would have been so choice in this situation...

Chipper Plans Comeback After Knee Surgery

Larry Wayne Jones, Junior ((or "Chipper" to the rest of us)) says he is not retiring without trying to come back from the knee surgery that will end his 2010 season.

Jones tore his left anterior cruciate ligament on the play below Tuesday in Houston, and will have surgery on the knee Saturday.

Chipper says now is not the right time to "make a decision to quit." He says he will go through rehab before making that final decision.

He said earlier this season he would think about retirement after the season after a slow start offensively, combined with nagging injuries, but he has hit over .300 recently to bring his average around the .260 mark.

The expected recovery time is about six months, which would put him ready to participate in spring training in 2011.

Here's the injury again, thanks to our friends at MyFoxAtlanta and WAGA-TV


And here's Chipper's presser in the AuxBox...
FOSG Buck Lanford was present and accounted for...

BREAKING: Chipper Jones tears ACL

Chipper Jones//Courtesy: sportige.com

Reports are starting to come out of the Atlanta area that Braves lynchpin Chipper Jones is done for 2010 after hurting his knee in Tuesday's game against the Houston Astros.

According published reports, Chipper's agent is telling everyone that his ACL was "Torn and needed to be fixed".

Here is more from the AJC Braves Beat Writer David O'Brien RIGHT HERE

To say that this will have a big impact on the Braves the rest of the season would be a huge understatement. Though no longer the best hitter on the team, Chipper was one of the best and considered a threat by everyone the Braves played.

He had struggled early in the year, but had begun to straighten things out, hitting .307 in the past 44 games. Good enough to make the Braves dangerous the rest of the year.

There are two questions sitting out there now: One, what do the Braves do, they have nobody who can jump into Chipper's role. They have had injury trouble and the team has already been struggling to score runs.

The other; what happens for Chipper? A no-question hall of famer, he's already 38 and had been threatening retirement. Is this something he can come back from? Time will, we suppose, tell.

More on this story as the day develops.

Here's the injury... thanks to our friends at MyFoxAtlanta...


In the meantime, enjoy some Chipper Highlights. Thanks YouTube:

Brooks Conrad's Jersey Helps The Cause

At least he kept the guy to an infield hit...
((HT: MLB/PeachtreeTV/emrysx))