My Birthday WIthout Her...

Another year has been added unto me.

Today, I turned 23 years old. It's not loud around here. After all, it is 1:30am. My cat, Angel, is sitting at my feet, as I lay in bed typing this blog on my Mac. I look at that old cat, and think, "I got you when I was in the 5th grade. Now, look at me... 23 years older planning a wedding." I wonder if she'll let me take her with me and Drew.

Today will be an exciting day for me. It will also be a sad one.

Exciting... because I can celebrate another year. I'm truly blessed. I don't have cancer. I really don't have any physical ailment to my body. My mind is in good shape. I'm on the President's List at my college. I will graduate as a Cum Laude (Cumulative Average of A minus and above) with a Bachelors of Arts in English from Macon State College in less than 2 semesters. I am marrying the most beautiful person on the planet in less than 12 months. Both of my parents are lying in bed snuggled up in absolute love for each other. I have one grandmother left. My future-in-law's are the two coolest people I could ever hope of having as in-law's. I serve in a church that is very much alive and moving to bigger and better things. With the help of God, I'm able to lead a group of young people into a closer relationship with their Father. God has given me a personality that helps in making others laugh and see the lighter side of life. I have some of the best friends in the world. As a matter of fact, as soon as the clock struck 1 minute past midnight, I got a text from my best friend (Cole) wishing me happy birthday. It doesn't get much better than that. People love me.

Sad... because this is the first birthday that I won't be able to call Jessie Mae King to say, "Jessie, guess what?! I turned 23 today! Can you believe it?!" Folks, if you don't know her through my stories, she is a little, black lady who raised me. She kept me when my parents were working their tails to provide for us. She lived to be 100 years old. In raising me, she taught me everything there is to know about God. She was Jesus to me...as I was growing up. My ministry today carries its roots in Jessie Mae's wisdom that she instilled in me at a young age. I really miss her tonight. Tears stream down my face as I type this. I'm generally not a crying person, but God reminded me tonight of the impact this woman of God, Jessie Mae, had on my life.

Jessie Mae, this is for you:

[Taken from my journal]

*This was written the night of her passing.

"I miss you"

When I got the call after you took your last breath,
I didn't think it to be true, not you.
They said you went away in your sleep, no pain.
Well, was that true?
You were supposed to live forever and not go.
Remember when I used to say, "You'll never die..."

What was it like when you saw the face of God?
Not a day went by while here on Earth that you didn't thank Him for life.
What was it like to finally see the face of God?
You served Him so well. I bet you jumped in His arms.
You must be so happy, Jessie.

I miss you...
I miss you, my Jessie.
I miss you...
You were the love of my heart and still are...

Do you remember those stories you told
when you tucked me in at night?
I thought you ruled the world.
You called yourself a nurse, a private nurse.
You said, "God gave you healing hands."
And boy did He use those hands to heal many a people.

What was it like when you saw the face of God?
Not a day went by while here on Earth that you didn't thank Him for life.
What was it like to finally see the face of God?
You served Him so well. I bet you jumped in His arms.
You must be so happy, Jessie.

I miss you...
I miss you, my Jessie.
I miss you...
You were the love of my heart and still are...

Hope for Next Year?

Obviously, the Braves haven't provided much inspiration to write a blog. To be honest with you, I find myself struggling to watch a game these days.

I did find this section of an article on www.braves.com rather interesting:

"If the Braves are supposedly going to be big spenders in the offseason, I was wondering who the big-name free agents are going to be."
--Chris L., Fountain Inn, SC


Braves Beat writer, Mark Bowman responds, "Braves general manager Frank Wren's wish list will include two frontline starting pitchers and a power-hitting outfielder. CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets headline the list of frontline starters that could be available. Take one step down and the likes of Andy Pettitte, Jon Garland or Brad Penny could find themselves on Wren's radar.

In terms of outfielders, the Braves could go after Adam Dunn, Raul Ibanez, Bobby Abreu or Pat Burrell. If Vladimir Guerrero's option isn't exercised, he might also find himself on Wren's radar."

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That's all here, folks. Thanks for reading.

Okay, now back to my Braves strike.

I Am One Nervous and FRUSTRATED Braves Fan...

After being swept by the defending division champions, the Philedelphia Phillies, the Braves find themselves between two rocks and a hard place. After tomorrow's off-day, the Braves find themselves leaving the Ted on a sour note, only to face some of the toughest teams in baseball-- the Cubs, the Angels, and the Rangers. I think we all know that this upcoming road trip would be a challenge for any team. But, given the Braves have won just seven of their previous 28 games outside of Atlanta, this could be a two-week stretch that defines the remainder of their season.

Regarding the upcoming road trip, Chipper says, "I don't know about everybody else, but I'm worried. I don't want to come back from this road trip and be out of the race. We're playing the Cubs in first place, the Angels in first place and the Rangers, who are pretty darn good. They're the best offensive team in the American League. It's not going to be easy. Some people in here better start picking it up."

You're right, Chipper. Learning how to catch a routine, infield fly ball would be starters.... [hint: Kelly Johnson]

No Run Support for Jo Jo

Jo Jo Reyes demonstrates pure brilliance against the Brewers on Wednesday night, May 28, 2008. He proves to Cox that he deserves to be in the Bigs. He gives up 2 hits and fans 9. Oh yeah, he pitched until the 8th inning. The offense doesn't help. Guess what happens as a result? Another 1 run loss. I hate this, and frankly, I'm not going to write until they win. They don't deserve to be written about.

Greg Maddux: Back to Atlanta?

It feels like it's been forever since I've written a blog. I had to take a break folks. While I love to write (especially about the Braves), it seems it's most enjoyable when I am in the thick of things. In other words, school has already started back for me, so you should be seeing a post here and there.

I am taking 12 hours this summer at Macon State. I am pretty sure that if I didn't have a girlfriend who is anxious to have a ring on her finger, I would've taken the summer off. She is ready for me to graduate. Heck, I'm ready to graduate. This has been 5 years too long.

My courses this semester are as follows:
-Contemporary Literature (Senior Lit. Class)
-Professional Communication (not what you think... doesn't involve speaking...more like professional writing)
-Speculative Fiction (should be interesting... way too much reading though)
-Spanish 1002 (I hate it)

Okay, now that I've caught you up, let's get to the good stuff-- the Braves.

If you've been keeping up with them while I've been gone, then you've probably noticed that they are red hot. I mean, burning. Now, are they winning every game? No. Do you have to win every game to be "red hot"? No.

I think their consistency as a team has provided much to their success. The Braves have a bullpen that is simply saying, "Go 5 innings, we'll take care of the rest." This is huge, folks. The Braves bullpen are missing 3 very powerful arms that will be soon returning-- Rafael Soriano, Mike Gonzalez, and the man himself, John Smoltz.

So, what happens when the Braves have to make room on their roster for these returning forces?

Get rid of 3 players and simply trade for another. It's as simple as that. Or at least, that's the talk around town.

Bill Shanks from 105.5 the Fan mentioned today that he wouldn't be surprised to see Greg Maddux in a Braves uniform by the end of the summer. To be honest with you, this surprised me. You would think the Braves would be looking for another young arm similar to something like Jair Jurrjens. Well, it's not that easy. Afterall, Mr. Jurrjens is up for Rookie of the Year.

With the Braves bullpen only going to get stronger, why not go after Maddux? Not only would this be an awesome story with Smoltz, Glavine, and Maddux all on the same team again, but it would be beneficial for a Braves starting rotation. Maddux will give the Braves a solid 6 innings leaving the even stronger Braves bullpen (Gonzalez, Soriano, and Smoltz) to finish things off. Plus, Maddux will not be that expensive in the middle of the year.

If Maddux returns to Atlanta, this is my guess of what things will look like:

Starting Rotation:
1. Tim Hudson
2. Jair Jurrjens
3. Greg Maddux
4. Tom Glavine
5. Jo Jo Reyes/Jorge Campillo/Jeff Bennett/who else?

Bullpen:
1. John Smoltz
2. Mike Gonzalez
3. Rafael Soriano
4. Will Ohman
5. Blaine Boyer
6. Manny Acosta/others

Folks, that's pretty solid pitching entering August, September, and yes, October.

No Luck For The Braves...

The Braves are ranked first in the National League in pitching (lowest ERA).

The Braves are ranked first in the National League in hitting.

Normally, common sense would tell us all that if a team is ranked first in pitching and hitting then they are at least ranked first in their division.

Nope. Not in this case.

The Braves are 2.5 games out of first place. They are trailing the Mets by a half of a game, the Phillies by one game, and the Fish by two games.

This simply doesn't make sense. They have lost 11 one run games. Nine of the eleven one run games have been lost on the road. They have the best home record in the National League and could very well have that record for all of baseball. They are definitely struggling on the road though. When they do lose, they barely do. When they win, they tend to put up a lot of runs.

There is no reason why the Braves shouldn't be reigning in the National League right now. Their numbers are juat incredible.

What will it take for them to have some luck thrown their way? Is that what's missing? Luck?

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Watch Chuck James face one of the best southpaws in baseball, Cole Hamels, tomorrow at 7:05pm on Sports South.

Trade Talk

It feels good to be home.

The only thing I miss about Daytona is the beach. Although I hated not being able to watch the Braves, it appears I didn't miss too much. I tuned into 105.5 the Fan to hear the Braves finally win their first 1 run game of the season as Cole and I departed last Thursday. Thankfully, I was able to read up on the Braves' news as I came off the beach each day via the luxury of hotel wi-fi. I didn't let their losing put a damper on my vacation though. Quite honestly, it was actually nice to get away from the Braves too.

But, I'm glad to be back.

I want to respond to a recent email request regarding some management decisions the Braves will be forced to make at the end of the 2008 season.

Let's take a look at some of the players that Braves GM, Frank Wren, will have to take a look at:

(In no particular order):

1) First Baseman, Mark Teixeira:

A cousin of mine referred me to an article that SI.com's Jon Heyman wrote entitled, "Young, talented and in demand, Teixeira is headed for a big payday." In his article, he realistically examined Teixeira's possibilities that will arise as he enters his first free agency. Teixeira will be looking to land a mega contract.

"I think we'll have a better sense of that when the season's over,'' Braves GM Frank Wren said. "We'll see what the market looks like, and we'll see what it will take to sign Mark.'' Wren added that the Braves want to avoid spending too high a percentage on any one player.

One baseball executive who knows Teixeira well predicted, "No chance he stays. He's waited his whole life for this moment.''

2) Starting Pitcher, Tom Glavine:

Depending on what type of numbers he puts up, Glavine will decide whether he wants to return. He certainly hasn't closed the door to returning, but it's pretty obvious he wants to retire in Atlanta. If I had to make a call, Glavine can pack his bags. Although he's been fairly solid for us this year and unfortunately has had to endure a great deal of bad luck (he still hasn't won his first game), I just don't see the Braves resigning him. Wren will more than likely look to spend that 7 or so million elsewhere. Afterall, it's time the Braves make some gutsy moves and move forward. The Braves need change. The Braves need a fresh, young rotation to aid Hudson and Jurrjens. I would be surprised to see Glavine even make an attempt to come back anyways. He's old and frustrated.

3) Starting Pitcher, John Smoltz:

I'm not sure anyone would have predicted that John Smoltz would head to the bullpen after a couple of starts in the 2008 season. Several have predicted that health (and age) would be a problem for these older veterans, but honestly, who would've thought Smoltzie would head back to the pen? In my opinion, it's a good move. With his age an issue, Smoltz can utilize his dominant 4-5 pitch arsenal to return to his role as the game's most dominant closer. But, what about after this year? Now, this is a question that I simply can't answer. I would think he would return, but obviously not as a starting pitcher. You would think Smoltz would want to return as a reliever to at least add to his credentials as a future hall of famer starter/closer. Wren will have to decide whether or not he sees it beneficial to exercise Smoltz's 2009 option. To be honest with you, I'm not sure what the figures are. I don't expect it to be an amount that the Braves won't be willing to pay. Bottom line: If Smoltzie decides he wants to compete another year, expect him in some sort of relief role next year.

4) Starting Pitcher, Mike Hampton:

Mike Hampton retires. A wagon-load of money will be freed up when Hampton crosses the depressing bridge to retirement. The freed up money will be spent creatively. Wren is a very creative GM and has made some great moves during his first off season as Braves' GM. I see Wren making some creative moves with the money. I do not see him spending too much on any one player. He's already showed his opposition towards this idea.

5) Center Fielder, Mark Kotsay:

This will be interesting. Depending on how Braves top prospect, Jordan Schafer, rebounds from his suspension, Wren will then make a decision as to whether he wants to bring him up to be the center fielder of the future or sign Kotsay to a short-term deal. Kotsay has been more than solid this year for the Braves as the replacement for Andruw Jones. Anyone in their right mind would agree that Kotsay never had a chance to replace Jones' defensive abilities, but his offensive numbers have far surpassed Braves' fans hopes. Kotsay is batting a solid .298 with 3 homers, 15 RBI's, and 2 stolen bases. Andruw Jones is batting a forgettable .170 with 1 homer, 5 RBI's, and 0 stolen bases.

While there are several other moves Wren will need to consider, these are just the highlights for me.