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Consistency put Braves back on top of East heap
We're taking a tour of October as the playoffs approach, with an in-depth look at those who are postseason-bound.
We began with the American League East champion Boston Red Sox, continued with the National League West champion Los Angeles Dodgers and continue now with the NL East champs, the Atlanta Braves.
We're taking a tour of October as the playoffs approach, with an in-depth look at those who are postseason-bound.
We began with the American League East champion Boston Red Sox, continued with the National League West champion Los Angeles Dodgers and continue now with the NL East champs, the Atlanta Braves.
On April 4, the Braves lost to the Phillies. They managed just three baserunners off Cliff Lee, paving the way to a tough-luck 2-0 loss for Kris Medlen.
With that loss, the Braves fell to 2-1, a game behind the 3-0 Nationals. They wouldn't trail in the division again.
A 10-game winning streak immediately followed that April 4 defeat, and Atlanta used it to build an NL East lead it would spend the rest of the season securing.
Within the context of preseason predictions, the Braves' division title is certainly surprising, as the Nats were the heavy favorites. But the outcome is more impressive when one considers all the adversity that surrounded it.
Indeed, the losses of two key cogs in the bullpen (Jonny Venters and Eric O'Flaherty ), the gruesome Tim Hudson injury, the extended absence of Jason Heyward, the regression of Paul Maholm, the first year of the B.J. Upton contract, the sub-.200 struggles of Dan Uggla were all developments that, in hindsight, wouldn't have led many to believe Atlanta would be runaway winners of the club's first division crown since 2005.
But the 2013 Braves were steeled by their impressive stash of starting pitching, a Craig Kimbrel-led bullpen that, though recalibrated, has remained one of the best in baseball, the great gains of the Justin Upton /Chris Johnson addition, the hug-worthy output of Freddie Freeman, the defensive magic and power of Andrelton Simmons, the steadiness of Brian McCann and, yes, the Legend of Evan Gattis.
All these things combined to make Fredi Gonzalez's club an elite one in the first year of the post-Chipper Jones era, and the sting of the way his career ended -- in a Wild Card Game gone awry -- was avoided by the dutiful trek toward division glory. Once summer came, the Braves were never up by fewer than four games, and they essentially sealed the deal with a 14-win parade that began at the end of July.
Now that the Braves have again locked up a division that used to routinely belong to them, they can focus on October, a source of continual franchise frustration. Only one of the 14 consecutive division titles in the Bobby Cox era resulted in World Series pay dirt. More to the point, Atlanta hasn't captured a postseason series since the 2001 NL Division Series sweep of Houston.
Reversing the trend will require fortitude from a rotation largely untested on this stage, and that's what makes this installment of the Braves so interesting. With Hudson out of the picture, a rotation led by Medlen, Mike Minor and rookie Julio Teheran has a combined 6 1/3 innings of October experience -- all logged by Medlen in the Wild Card Game loss last year.
But don't mistake inexperience for ill-preparedness. The Braves have had one of the best rotations in baseball this season, with Medlen surging in the second half, Minor taking a huge step forward and Teheran and Alex Wood making major rookie contributions. By and large, Atlanta has the ability to protect leads early and late. And we've seen the success of this club come in bold streaks when the bats get hot.
With the potential for home-field advantage at hand, this could be the year the Braves not only crack the first round of the playoffs, but make like the 1995 club and go the distance.
After all, this is not a club accustomed to being anything other than the lead horse in the race.
The bats: The Braves rank fifth in the 15-team NL in runs per game (4.26). Their bread is buttered in the power department, where they have five players -- Justin Upton, Freeman, McCann, Uggla and Gattis -- with 20 or more homers this season. With great power, though, comes great strikeout totals. And Atlanta's susceptibility to the strikeout (only the Astros have struck out more frequently this season), along with the team's middling .248 average with runners in scoring position, is something that will have to improve on the October stage.
The arms: The names aren't nearly as nationally recognizable as they were in the days of Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and John Smoltz, but the Braves have an impressive assortment of weapons and the best overall staff ERA (3.19) in the game. The exact alignment of the rotation is the question at hand. Wood will be moved to the bullpen, a proactive move that will limit his innings and keep him fresh, and he could possibly provide some length in the middle of games, if need be. It remains to be seen if Gonzalez will go with a three-man rotation or if Maholm, who has really struggled this season, might get the nod in a Game 4 setting.
The MVP: Ninth in the NL in batting average (.314), eighth in on-base percentage (.392), eighth in slugging (.500) and third in RBIs (105), Freeman has been Atlanta's most steady offensive presence in a season of extremes. He's the MVP, though special consideration is also given to Simmons (who, because of what some consider an historic defensive season, ranks ahead of Freeman in WAR) and Kimbrel, who would be worthy of some NL Cy Young Award love if not for the sensational season of Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw.
The ace: The Braves lost their time-tested ace when Hudson went down. Gonzalez hasn't publicly announced who his Game 1 starter would be. Minor might be the most deserving choice based on 2013 track record, though Medlen is finishing the season stronger. Whatever the case, the true ace of the Braves is not a starter but the pitcher who routinely thrives in the ninth. Kimbrel has a 1.27 ERA, an absurd 93 strikeouts in 64 innings and 49 saves.
The unsung hero(es): Atlanta's bullpen -- and, ergo, the season itself -- could have really gone off the rails when Venters and O'Flaherty got hurt. But right-hander David Carpenter and lefty Luis Avilan have been instrumental in patching those holes. Carpenter has had a breakout season at 28, posting a 1.84 ERA in 63 2/3 innings. Avilan has a 1.57 ERA and, like Kimbrel, a sub-1.00 WHIP.
The pressing question: Heyward really sparked the offense when he moved to the leadoff spot in late July, and that's what made his broken jaw such an unsettling sight on so many levels. But Heyward has recovered in time to rejoin the lineup, and the question is whether he'll find his footing in time to spark the Braves again. He went 1-for-7 in his weekend return in Chicago.
Anthony Castrovince is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his columns and follow him on Twitter at @Castrovince.


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There was a major development yesterday in the nation's collective desire to send at least one Wall Street bigshot to jail after the financial crisis.
Normally, after a financial collapse and crash like the one we had, Wall Streeters are rounded up in packs, vilified, and incarcerated.
This time, however, no bigshot has been so much as charged with anything, let alone sent to jail.
(The reason for this, which no regulator or Congress-person will admit, is because the vast majority of what happened in the years leading up to the financial crisis was legal, courtesy of silly laws championed by the industry and enacted by Congress. But Congress can't admit that, so Congress instead blames prosecutors and regulators for being too wimpy.)
But now it has become clear that at least one crime was committed at a major Wall Street bank.
MF Global used customer funds to pay off non-customer debts while frantically trying to save itself.
That's illegal.
So the question is whether the government will be able to prove that MF Global knew it was misusing customer funds when it did it (I'm not an attorney, but as with other financial crimes, I believe that, to be considered a crime, this action has to be intentional--the "perp" has to know what he or she is doing and know that it's wrong. If you know more, please add your thoughts below.)
New evidence turned up by government investigators suggests that MF Global did know what it was doing. It also suggests that, more importantly, MF Global's CEO, Jon Corzine, personally ordered MF Global to transfer client funds.
In the memo below, Congressional investigators describe the chain of events and evidence in these findings.
In reading the memo, it seems clear that at least some executives at MF Global knew that what they were doing might be wrong: The assistant Treasurer, Edith O'Brien, was apparently reluctant to sign a letter attesting that the transfer did not involve client funds.
The letter also makes clear what Mr. Corzine's defense will probably be:
Financial firms are allowed to transfer money from customer accounts as long as there is enough "excess" cash in those accounts to cover regulatory requirements. So, Mr. Corzine's defense will presumably be that he thought there was enough "excess" cash in the customer account that $175 million could be transferred out of it without breaching the level required by regulators.
If that is, in fact, what Mr. Corzine thought, that's a perfectly reasonable defense.
Anyway, this new evidence will make next week's Congressional hearing into the MF Global collapse much more exciting.
Read the memo and see what you think:

subset: commoncrawl


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Recycle your SanDisk mp3 player
With the days of the once-stylish Walkman long gone, everyone looks towards the latest mp3 player that perhaps does more than just play music. But as SanDisk mp3 players get more and more updated, the old ones end up sitting in the desk drawer for many years to come.
Once you transfer your mp3's off your old player and onto your new one, there isn't much else you can do with it. However, Compare and Recycle will help you get cash in return for your old SanDisk mp3 player and at the same time, allow you to dispose of the player in an environmentally friendly way. Even if the SanDisk mp3 player is broken, you can get cash back for it. We look at several UK based companies to get you the best prices, which in turn can maybe even contribute to getting you a brand new mp3 player.
So find out how much your SanDisk mp3 player is worth, by viewing the list below, or type in the model number in the box above.


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- This event has passed.
Wacky Wednesdays
March 7, 2018 @ 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
|Recurring Event (See all)
An event every week that begins at 4:00pm on Wednesday, repeating until March 28, 2018
Event Navigation
After School actives! Legos, Snap Circuits, Kitchen Science, Bubble Science, Magnet Science, Yoga, Shoe Golf, Solar Power, Physics Workshop. We will have different activities each week. A great way to make learning FUN!


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Last night I was at an opening at LoBe art space, at a small project space in Wedding. After closing the gallery we went to a pub across the street. Some of the kids running the place asked me whether I was conscious of we were accelerating gentrification. By showing art that is of no interest to the people who live in the neighborhood we would attract people with money who would start moving there. Well, probably true. They explained to me that they had bought the house with the pub and were running it as an alternative space and that that they were showing art too, but only art produced by locals. They pointed out that the neighborhood management had communicated in flyers that they were trying to "improve" the neighborhood by giving cheap space to (non-commercial) art galleries. In other words: The clueless artists are being used. Point made. However, I thought that the place with the alternative kids did just as much to make the area attractive for people like myself. More so anyway, than some of the other establishments in the neighborhood, like the gambling place next door, which again are probably a lot more popular amongst a majority of the neighbors, than a bar with windows covered with wooden panels and a lesbian band playing in the back. Catch 22.
Note: The space of LoBe is actually not rented but privately owned and–while probably very welcome–not funded or aided by the neighborhood management.


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Helping those affected by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines
The organizations below are or will be involved in relief and recovery work in areas affected by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, which impacted millions of people in the region. As relief and recovery efforts evolve, these organizations tailor their work to meet the changing needs of people and communities. Monetary donations enable these organizations to react with speed and specificity in critical sectors including search and rescue, health and medical, water, sanitation, communications, veterinary care and others. Even a small donation can have great impact. Monetary donations save lives and money.


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We're excited to announce that Squarespace is heading back to Newport Folk Festival for the second year in a row! From July 25 to 27, the already sold-out festival will feature an eclectic lineup of talented artists, from Jack White and Jeff Tweedy to Jenny Lewis and Sun Kil Moon.
This year, we'll be hosting the Squarespace Studios, located within the festival grounds of Fort Adams State Park. Festivalgoers can contribute to a sixteen-foot mural by artist Trey Speegle or catch tintype photographer Giles Clement in action as he photographs the musicians in the lineup throughout the weekend.
In addition, intimate acoustic performances will take place on both land and sea as Squarespace and The Wild Honey Pie team up on a brand new original video series called "On the Boat". The series will capture five bands and their performances, providing an exclusive peek into the weekend's events.
For more information, visit the official website of the Newport Folk Festival. Be sure to follow us on Twitter @Squarespace for live updates – or check out newportfolk.squarespace.com, launching today!