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Braves vs Blue Jays Series Wrap
Photo by Steshka Willems on Pexels.com
Well, the Blue Jays have been a good team so far this year, and they proved it with a series sweep against the Braves. Injuries have continued to be a very concerning problem for Atlanta. Not to mention the starting rotation needs to become more consistent — along with the bullpen. Hopefully, when Fried and Soroka return (crossing my fingers that it's sooner than later), the rotation problems will dwindle down. Injuries, we all know, will happen. The Braves have just had an extremely high amount for the first month of the season.
Game One: Drew Smyly vs. Robbie Ray, Braves lost 13-5
After hitting a ton against the Cubs, the Braves bats were not as lively in this game. Smyly's pitching problems continued in this game. He has a tough time controlling the strike zone and giving up multiple long balls. In just four innings of work, he pitched into the fifth inning but could not retire a Blue Jay batter. He gave up seven hits, six runs, and three home runs. He threw a total of 84 pitches in those few innings of work. Only 46 of them were strikes. His command so far has proven to be his biggest problem along with getting batters out after he gets them to two strikes. The Braves did have a home run of their own. That was courtesy of my man, Ozzie Albies! He hit an absolute bomb in the top of the seventh inning to left center. It went a total of 424 feet and gave the game a score of Toronto 10, Braves 2. The Blue Jays however, kept scoring. Their bats were hot and stayed hot throughout the entire game (and series). They scored three more after Ozzie's home run, and the Braves scored three more in the top of the eighth on RBI singles to bring the final score of the game to 13-5 with the Blue Jays on top.
Game Two: Charlie Morton vs. Blue Jays Bullpen, Braves lost 6-5
If you told me that Christian Pache would hit a grand slam in his first at-bat in his first game back after being on the injured list, I don't think I would've believed you. But guess what, he did it! After three straight Braves singles to load the bases in the top of the second inning, with two outs, Pache came up to the plate and gave the Braves a huge second inning lead of 4-0. This was Pache's first career grand slam, and it left the field in left center. That was a very exciting way for him to return and for the Braves to start the game!
But of course…Pitching, pitching, and pitching. That is something the Braves need to figure out. Morton has been the consistent guy on the mound for most of the season for Atlanta. Today wasn't awful for him, but he wasn't as "on top" of his game like we have gotten used to seeing. He gave up five runs in 5.1 innings of work. He didn't qualify for a win, or ultimately the loss. In the top of the fifth inning, Ronald Acuña Jr. went long-ball again with an absolute missile over the left field wall. Man, this kid's got some serious power!
Injuries. The Braves have gotten hit with the injury bug big time in the early days of the 2021 season. They had another one in this game, and it happened to Braves catcher, Travis d'Arnaud. In the bottom of the sixth inning, on a bad base running play by the Blue Jays' center fielder, Randal Grichuk, he was thrown out at home plate on a relay throw from Marcell Ozuna to Dansby Swanson to d'Arnaud at the plate. Something happened to Travis' thumb on his catching hand when he tagged out Grichuk at the plate. Obvioulsy that isn't good for someone who has to catch 150+ baseballs almost every single day. He was taken out of the game and is now on the Braves 60-day IL with a torn thumb ligament. What a loss! Game 2 remained tied, so it went into extra innings. So far this season, the Braves have not done well in extra-inning games. They have only won one, and that didn't come in this game. It was the bottom of the tenth inning, game is tied 5-5, and Nate Jones was on to pitch for the Braves. He started out well, retiring the first batter he saw and then, after an intentional walk to Vlad Guerrero Jr., he got a force out. Two men out, one more to get. But that didn't happen. The next batter he faced, Randal Grichuk, had an RBI, game winning single. The Blue Jays won 6-5.
Game Three: Ian Anderson vs. Ryan Borucki, Braves lost 7-2
Ugh. Another Braves loss. Once again, the Braves started out looking like the game was going to go in their favor. William Contreras started off the second inning for the Braves with an RBI single, which scored my man Ozzie Albies, who reached base on a double. That 1-0 lead didn't last long. The Blue Jays tied it in the bottom of the second, and they kept scoring from there. Anderson only went four innings. He gave up six hits, four runs, and three walks. Then it was up to the Braves' bullpen. In the top of the fifth inning, Acuña hit a sac fly to score the second (and final) Braves run of the game.
Sometimes it just gets down-right hard to come up with something to say when you have to talk about a Braves loss. Again. On paper everything looks great for Atlanta. They have a good lineup, there's no doubt about that. The main problems are 1) the Braves players can't stay consistent in the positive. You will have some games where the whole lineup can't stop hitting, and the others where they can hardly make any contact with the ball at all. 2) They have had too many injuries, and some of them are coming back to bite big time. And 3) Pitching. Pitching is a HUGE component of any baseball game, and if your starters can't go at least five to six innings, that puts a ton of pressure on your bullpen and requires more work from them. The pitching is what is showing to be the biggest problem for the Braves. Hopefully, once Max Fried comes back, it will add more depth to the rotation and the Braves will start wining games more consistently.
Author braveschopchatPosted on May 3, 2021 Categories 2021 season, Acuna, Atlanta Braves, baseball games, Braves bench, Game days, Ozuna, Ozzie Albies, pitchers, Riley, Series Wrap Up, Soroka, starting rotation, SwansonTags Atlanta Braves, baseball games, braves baseball 2021, Covid-19, MLB, mlb fans, Ozzie Albies, starting rotation, travis d'Arnaud4 Comments on Braves vs Blue Jays Series Wrap
Braves vs Marlins Series Wrap
Braves country, put it this way, we may not have won the series versus Miami, but at least we didn't get swept. And we can thank Dansby Swanson for that! The main thing that led the Braves to lose three out of four of this series was the bullpen. The bullpen gave up multiple late inning runs in every game versus Miami, and that cost the Braves big time.
Game One: Huascar Ynoa vs. Sandy Alcantara, Braves lost 5-3
Ynoa pitched very well. He went six innings, only giving up one run on three hits. He had one walk and struck out ten. The Braves actually scored before Miami on a RBI single in the top of the first that scored Ronald Acuña Jr. The Braves scored two more runs after that on sac-flies by Ozzie Albies. The bullpen was not at its best in this game. A.J. Minter and Nate Jones gave up two runs in the top of the eighth inning, and then Jacob Webb blew the game and the save in the top of the tenth inning, giving up a single and a double. Those two runs led the Marlins to win.
Game Two: Max Fried vs. Pablo López, Braves lost 14-8
The Braves started this game off with some excitement. Freddie Freeman doubled, and then Marcell Ozuna hit a two run blast. Note that Brian Snitker changed the lineup to where Freeman was hitting second, Ozuna batting third, and Ozzie Albies batting fifth. Speaking of Albies, he got in the home run fun too, hitting a solo shot in the first to give the Braves a grand total of three runs scored in the first inning. However, that lead did not last long. Brain Anderson led off the top of the second inning with a solo home run for the Marlins, and they scored two more after that. Fried is really having a hard time controlling the strike zone and commanding his pitches. He pitched a total of four innings. He gave up nine hits, eight runs, and two walks. He only had three strikeouts. The Braves had to go to their shaky bullpen for the rest of the game, and they had a rough outing once again. The Marlins ended up scoring a grand total of fourteen runs. Fourteen. And do you know who scored/drove in most of those runs? That would be former Brave, Adam Duvall. He had four hits, scored four times, and had seven RBI's. Oh, and he hit two home runs. The Braves did score two more on an error by Duvall in the bottom of the ninth, bringing their run total to eight. Overall, this game was a stinging blow to the Braves and their fans. It was almost too hard to watch.
Game Three: Charlie Morton vs. Nick Neidert, Braves lost 6-5
Another extra innings game, another Braves loss. Morton wasn't at his best today. He went six innings, with seven hits and allowed five runs. Ronald Acuña Jr. hit two more home runs today. One in the third inning and the other in the seventh. Both were two run shots. With his two run homer in the seventh, the Braves tied the game. The game remained tied and went into extras. In the top of the tenth inning, the Marlins scored on a double by Jesus Aguilar. They held onto their late inning lead and won. Acuña gave the Braves multiple chances to score, but the bullpen could not keep the Marlins bats inactive, so it didn't matter.
Game Four: Ian Anderson vs. Trevor Rodgers, Braves win 7-6
If you were looking for a close nail-biter for game four of this series, you got it. This was a good game, with an even better end result. The Marlins once again scored early on the Braves. They got a three-nothing lead on the Braves, all runs were scored off of Ian Anderson. The Braves made it a 3-2 game in the bottom of the fifth inning on another home run by (can ya guess?) Ronald Acuña Jr. This kid has continued to show huge amounts of consistent power in this series against the Marlins. And then, in the bottom of the sixth inning, with two Braves on base, two out, Pablo Sandoval is at-bat. And he does it again! He crushes a three-run homer to give the Braves a 5-3 lead. Man this guy has serious power off the bench. He is turning into a huge asset for the Braves! I think if Austin Riley can't improve offensively, the Braves will let Sandoval play more games at third base since that is his natural position. Starling Marte hit a solo home run for the Marlins in the top of the seventh to make it a 5-4 game.
Top of the ninth inning, A.J. Minter is on the mound for the Braves to try and earn the save and a Braves win. Instead of sealing the win, he blew the save. He allowed to Marlins to cross the plate. One on a double by Adam Duvall and the other on a single by Garrett Cooper that scored Duvall. Man, the Braves bullpen is having serious problems keeping a lead. That has to change if the Braves want to win games and ultimately clinch the division and be successful in the postseason.
Bottom of the ninth inning. Dylan Floro is on the mound for the Marlins to try and get them into extras so they can have a shot at winning the game and sweeping the Braves. The Braves had other ideas. Ender Inciarte leads off the inning with a single. Acuña does the same thing, and Ender moves to second. No body is out, and Freddie Freeman is up to hit. He ends up walking to load the bases, still there is no one out. Travis d'Arnaud strikes out and then my man, Ozzie Albies, gets walked with the bases loaded and the tying run comes in to score. And then…Dansby Swanson is up to bat. On the first pitch he sees, he lines it into left field, the Braves walk it off and win!!
Hopefully the walk-off will give the Braves more momentum going into the series with the Chicago Cubs and they will start to liven up more and win more ball games.
Author braveschopchatPosted on April 16, 2021 Categories 2021 season, Acuna, Atlanta Braves, baseball games, Braves bench, Duvall, Fried, Game days, Newcomb, Ozuna, Ozzie Albies, pitchers, Riley, SwansonTags Atlanta Braves, Baseball, braves baseball 2021, Covid-19, Dansby Swanson, marcell ozuna, MLB, mlb fans, Ozzie Albies, Pablo Sandoval, second base, walk-off wins2 Comments on Braves vs Marlins Series Wrap
Braves Home Opener vs. Phillies Series Wrap
Nothing is better than Braves baseball. Well, except maybe Braves baseball at home and with fans. This series was a fun nail-biter for the Braves to open up the season with.
Game one: Charlie Morton vs. Zach Wheeler, Braves win 8-1
Nothing better than a Braves win, with fans, for their home opener. Let me just tell you, having 14,000 fans in the stadium after not having any for such a long time, makes it sound like a sell-out crowd with 45,00+ screaming at the top of their lungs. Charlie Morton pitched very well in his second appearance as a Brave. He pitched six innings, had four hits, surrendered one run, and had seven strikeouts. He also impressed at the plate with an opposite field single. The Braves went long ball in this game. Acuña hit an absolute BOMB in the fifth inning, Ehire Adrianza hit a three-run shot off the bench in the bottom of the sixth, and Freddie Freeman finished the night out right with a home run. Every one of those homers gave the fans something to scream about, not to mention they enjoyed booing Harper every time he was up to bat! This was a great game and made everyone truly realize how much they missed fans.
Game two: Ian Anderson vs. Zac Eflin, Braves win 5-4
This game was a whirlwind and a nail biter. In the top of the first inning, the Phillies scored two runs. Then in the bottom of the first inning the Braves scored three. Acuña doubled, Ozzie doubled and scored Acuña, and then Freddie decided to hit one out of the park. Anderson still hasn't gotten into his pitching grove yet. He threw a lot of pitches and couldn't always find his mark and. He pitched 5.1 innings, gave up four runs, five hits, and two home runs. Anderson did strike out five and he only walked one. Let me paint the picture for you. The game was tied 4-4 in the bottom of the seventh inning. Ehire Adrianza leads off the inning with a double, he has really shown his ability to hit with power off the bench. Acuña singles, Adrianza goes to third. Ozzie gets out 😦 and then Freddie Freeman is up to bat. He grounds into a fielders choice which is fielded by the pitcher. The Phillies pitcher, Jose Alvarado, doesn't know where to throw the baseball. No one was covering second base. He froze, and in that moment Adrianza saw an opportune moment and he scored. It was an embarrassing play for the Phillies that turned into an absolute gift run for the Braves. The Braves held on and won that game 5-4.
Game three: Drew Smyly vs. Matt Moore, Braves lost 7-6
This was a good game to watch. The end result, not so much. The Braves had such a great opportunity to win this game, and honestly they should have. Bottom of the first inning, first pitch he saw, Acuña leads off with a double. The very next pitch that Phillies pitcher Moore threw, which was to Ozzie Albies, left the ballpark and it left in a hurry. That's my man! He has had a slow start but he's continuing to get better and more life is coming off his bat at the plate. The Phillies took the lead in the top of the fourth inning, scoring four. The Braves weren't gonna have that so they tied it in the bottom of that inning. Freddie Freeman hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning. He hit three home runs in this series, one in every single game. He's starting to heat up as well! Top of the sixth inning, Bryce Harper hits a solo shot. Phillies lead 6-5… but not for long! In the bottom of the seventh inning Acuña got in the home run fun, too. Launching a solo shot, he tied the game 6-6.
Okay, this is where things get frustrating. Top of the ninth inning. Phillies third baseman, Alec Bohm leads off the inning with a double. He gets advanced to third by second baseman Jean Segura on a ground out. Now, here is when things go whack. Didi Gregorius sends a fly ball out to Braves left fielder Marcell Ozuna. Ozuna catches the ball, and Bohm tags up to try and score. Ozuna's throw is right on the money. The baseball and runner get to home plate at the same time and Bohm is… safe? The home plate umpire says he was at least. Honestly I don't think anyone, including the umpires, were sure about the call. It was an official review on whether Bohm was safe or not. The review took five minutes, and they still got the call wrong. Alec Bohm's foot NEVER TOUCHED THE PLATE. You can look at review after review, and I don't know how it wasn't clear to the people in New York and the umpire that his foot didn't touch the plate. Because of this horrible call, the Braves lost their chance to place some payback on the Phillies and sweep them.
Overall, it was a good game for the Braves. Except of course, the bad call at home plate. Hopefully the Braves bats will continue to come to life in the next few games and they will keep on winning.
Author braveschopchatPosted on April 13, 2021 Categories 2021 season, Acuna, Atlanta Braves, baseball games, Game days, Ozuna, Ozzie Albies, pitchers, Riley, starting rotation, Swanson, Third BaseTags Atlanta Braves, Covid-19, MLB, mlb fans, umpiresLeave a comment on Braves Home Opener vs. Phillies Series Wrap
Braves vs Nationals Series Wrap
After the first series, the Braves played and lost against to the Phillies. The first game of this series against the Nationals was postponed due to Covid protocols. I wasn't exactly sure how this game would play out for the Braves, but I do think that the day off was good for them all around.
Game one: Drew Smyly vs. Max Scherzer, Braves lost 6-5
This game started off with an absolute bang *literally* when Ronald Acuña Jr. belted a home run on the first pitch he saw from Scherzer. Then, Freddie Freeman hit a solo home run in the same inning, and Swanson got in on the fun, too, hitting a solo shot in the top of the second. Now, for Acuña, one home run off of Scherzer wasn't enough. He needed another one. So in the top of the third inning, Acuña sent a bomb into the sky for another solo home run in BACK to BACK at-bats. Wow! Drew Smyly pitched well over his six innings of work — he gave up four runs, only walked one, and struck out eight. Overall the thing that killed the Braves in this game was ultimately their bullpen. This was not the bullpen's day at all. Surrendering two runs late in the game (the eighth and ninth innings), the bullpen allowed Juan Soto to walk it off for the Nats. The positive thing that came out of this game for the Braves was that their offense started to perk up.
Game two: Max Fried vs. Erick Fedde, Braves win 7-6
Because the original first game of the series with the Nationals was postponed, the Braves played in a doubleheader. In those doubleheaders, the two opposing teams only play seven innings. I personally really enjoy the doubleheaders because they seem more exciting and every inning really counts…and the Braves always seem to do very well in them ;). Once again, pitching wise for the Braves, Fried didn't have his best stuff. In just two innings of work he gave up eight hits, five runs, a walk, and a home run. He also got a come-backer to the leg in the second inning while pitching. He was removed from the game for precautionary reasons. For the remainder of the game the bullpen did a very good job, only surrendering one more run and it was in the bottom of the seventh inning… the final inning of the doubleheader, scary! But they held on, and the Braves got their first win of the 2021 season…finally!!! Another thing that made this game even better was that my man, Ozzie Albies, had his first hit of the season. A lead-off single in the seventh inning, and he scored too!
Game three: Huascar Ynoa vs. Stephen Strasburg, Braves win 2-0
Doubleheader game two. Who would have imagined that out of all the Braves starters, that Ynoa, who wasn't even scheduled to pitch until a few hours before the game, would come out and produce the best start of the year for the Braves' pitching staff. I know I certainly didn't! Huascar threw five scoreless innings, only surrendering one walk and two hits. He also struck out five National batters. It was a scoreless game all around until in the top of the seventh inning Pablo Sandoval was up to bat as a pinch hitter Then he did exactly what he did in the opening day game against the Phillies. He sent an absolute missile over the center-field fence. Wow! He is showing BIG TIME power. Overall this was a great game. Braves are starting to get all the gears clicking and showing their talent. Albies also picked up his second hit of the season in this game. 🙂
The Atlanta Braves now have a 2-4 record and will play again tomorrow on their home field, in front of their home fans as they take on the Phillies for the Home Opener. Go Braves!
Author braveschopchatPosted on April 9, 2021 Categories 2021 season, Acuna, Atlanta Braves, baseball games, Fried, Game days, Newcomb, Ozuna, Ozzie Albies, pitchers, Riley, starting rotation, SwansonTags acuña jr, Atlanta Braves, Baseball, baseball games, Covid-19, MLB, mlb fans, Ozzie Albies4 Comments on Braves vs Nationals Series Wrap
Braves vs Phillies Series Wrap
Okay Braves fans, I know, this series was not what we wanted the season to start with… a sweep — with us being swept. I really don't know how to put it in words except disappointment and a shock. However, in 2019 the Braves started off the season on the road against the Phillies and they got swept then, too. Yet, that didn't stop them from winning the NL East for a second year in a row and playing the rest of the season very well!
While this series was a tough pill to swallow and not what anyone in Braves country wanted to start out with, there was still some hope sparked and potential shown in this series!
Game one: Max Fried vs. Aaron Nola, Braves lost 3-2
What a game to start the season. Extra innings and everything. The only thing that would've made this game better is if the Braves had won. Let's start off by discussing the "good" stuff from the game, shall we? Fried pitched well. He had eight strikeouts over five innings, and he only gave up two walks. He did give up six hits and two runs, which isn't awful but not exactly what I expected from him. We do have to keep in mind that it was his first real start of 2021, and he is still filing in for Mike Soroka in the number one spot in the rotation until Soroka returns. The Braves did have some late inning sparks as pinch hitter Pablo Sandoval hit a two-run blast off of Nola in the top of the seventh inning. That is definitely something that the Braves were happy to see from him. He has big time power in the bench role, and it showed. There were a couple minor things like Freddie's error in the fourth, and Ozzie's aggressive base running in the top of the tenth. Maybe if those things were different, the game's end result would have been as well… but it's too late for that now.
Game two: Charlie Morton vs. Zack Wheeler, Braves lost 4-0
Whew. Game one was tough to watch, this one might've been even harder. I wish I could talk about the Braves' offense and how it really came through for this game, too bad they didn't score anything. They didn't really do much of anything at the plate. They had one hit courtesy of d'Arnaud and struck out a total of 14 times. Morton's pitching wasn't top notch. He gave up three of the four runs that the Phillies scored, he gave up two walks, but he did strike out five. One of the toughest things about this game for me besides that the Braves didn't score, was that the Phillies pitcher had two hits, two RBI's, and scored once. That just shows how hot the Phillies lineup was — even the pitcher had something to say at the plate.
Game three: Ian Anderson vs. Zach Eflin, Braves lost 2-1
Once again offensively the Braves weren't exactly there. However, they did get one run on a solo homer by Travis d'Arnaud. Pitching wise, Ian Anderson had a very decent start against the Phillies. He went five innings, gave up one earned run, walked two, and he struck out seven. Chris Martin gave up the other run for the Braves in the eight inning and then exited the game and hasn't pitched since. He was experiencing numbness in his fingers, which the Braves training staff gave immediate attention to considering he is a key pitcher for the Braves.
Overall this series wasn't a very enjoyable one in Braves' Country. But losing is a part of the game. You can't always win every single game every single day, it doesn't work like that. There is always going to be a team who is hotter than you are when you meet them on the field. That's how it goes. We just hope that the next time two teams meet up on the diamond, it's the Braves who are hot!
Author braveschopchatPosted on April 7, 2021 Categories 2021 season, Acuna, Atlanta Braves, baseball games, Fried, Game days, Ozuna, Ozzie Albies, pitchers, Riley, Soroka, starting rotation, Swanson, Third BaseTags Atlanta Braves, Covid-19, MLB, Opening Day 2021, Ozzie Albies4 Comments on Braves vs Phillies Series Wrap
Opening Day is Here!
Those four words are some of the sweetest words you'll ever hear if you're a baseball fan. The waiting is over, and now it's time for Braves baseball!!!
The Braves will start off the season on the road in Philadelphia against the Phillies. The Phillies organization, like the Braves, will have fans this season. It will be a long awaited, very much missed part of a baseball game. Hearing the fans in the background, and seeing them celebrating when their team scores and hits a home run is what makes it so fun for everyone. Not to mention, it will also be nice to see real people sitting in the stands rather than cardboard cutouts of their faces.
One of the things I love the most about baseball, besides the game itself, is the sounds. Baseball games create such a wonderful atmosphere. You have the fans making noise in the background, the sound of the ball hitting the glove, and the by far the best sound — when the baseball meets the bat. Ahh it's just so wonderful to think about!
The Braves will have Max Fried on the mound as their opening day starter. He will face off against Aaron Nola. The Braves would have Soroka pitching, but he is still not one hundred percent. They do however expect him back as early as the end of April. The two innings he pitched on Tuesday against the Red Sox was quite promising as he struck out two batters and only surrendered one run. The Braves will be more than happy to have Soroka back, but until he is back, the Braves will not have to worry because Max Fried is very capable to pitch in the number one spot in the rotation. He did it last season after Soroka tore his Achilles, and Max proved his worth on the mound.
I cannot describe how excited I am that today is Opening Day. The wait is over, fans are back, and it's time for the Braves to PLAY BALL!!!
The game today is a 3:05 pm eastern time… you don't want to miss it!
Go Braves!
Author braveschopchatPosted on April 1, 2021 Categories 2021 season, Atlanta Braves, baseball games, Game days, The Battery, Uncategorized, Upcoming SeasonTags 2021 season, Atlanta Braves, Baseball, baseball games, braves baseball 2021, Covid-19, MLB, mlb fans, Opening Day 20213 Comments on Opening Day is Here!
Player Production so Far This Spring Training
Even though Spring Training games don't exactly count, they are none the less fun to watch and important. Spring training is a time for Minor Leaguers to show their stuff and try to make the roster, and for veterans to try and earn a spot on the bench. Spring Training is also super important for the everyday players to warm up their bats, sharpen up their defense, and face other teams' pitchers.
As a manger, in this case Brian Snitker, you watch player production carefully to see which Minor Leaguers and Spring Training invitees are showing great skill and production. They also look at the shape that their everyday players are in and how well they are preforming during the spring.
The Braves have had a very impressive Spring Training so far this year. Their young players have really shown out in their talent, and the every day players have continued to be strong, reliable, and have proven their talent levels. Here are a few Braves players who have had a good Spring Training so far:
Ronald Acuña Jr.
This kid. His amount of talent continues to grow with every season. He has hit four home runs so far this spring…four! And they haven't been cheap little line drive home runs either. Another thing is his strikeout rate hasn't been as high as we normally see, which is encouraging. He has also gained more patience at the plate, not swinging at every pitch or getting an out after only seeing a couple of pitches at the plate. Acuña will be an exciting player again to watch this year, and I can't wait to see what he has in store for the Braves in 2021!
Ozzie Albies
My man! Ozzie has continued to show his talented ability as a switch-hitter. He has improved from the left side of the plate, and continues to be great from the right side. Albies has hit two home runs this spring and has a .250 avg. so far this Spring Training. He was 1 for 2 yesterday with a single and a stolen base. We can't forget to mention his defensive abilities. It surprises me greatly that Ozzie hasn't won a Gold Glove in his career. (He should've won one in 2019.. but don't get me started on that!). Albies has been and will continue to be a Gold Glove worthy, powerful switch-hitter in his career, and I cannot wait to see him play in 2021!
Marcell Ozuna
Like last year, Ozuna had a slow start to his Spring Training. However, his bat has started to come alive within the last few games. In 31 at-bats he has a .226 average, has six RBI's, and has hit two home runs. In yesterday's game against the Rays he was 2 for 3 with a home run. With the National League not having the DH this season, Ozuna will be the Braves left-fielder. His defensive skills aren't the greatest, but he has worked on them this spring and has done a good job in left field. Obviously, given how he hit last year, he has a big time power bat. He will once again be such a bonus hitting cleanup behind Freddie Freeman in the lineup. He will be a fun one to watch for sure this season!
These are just three of the Braves players that have really shown up this Spring Training. Obviously Braves manager Brian Snitker isn't worried about how well Ozzie, Acuña, and Ozuna have preformed this spring. He knows their abilities and that you can't have your best stuff every single game.
One thing to point out is the empty spot on the bench. In my opinion the Braves are either going to add Jake Lamb or Jason Kipnis to the bench. Lamb is currently riding on a .188 average in 32 at-bats. He has hit one homer, has had 6 hits, and has five RBI's. He has also struck out 11 times. Kipnis isn't doing much better.. he has a .240 avg. in 25 at-bats with one home run, six hits, and three RBI's. He has struck out 7 times.
Neither of their spring stats are eye-opening. They have both struck out a good number of times and have hit the same amount of home runs — one. It will be interesting to see who the Braves go with in the end…if they go with either of them! Like I said, they are just my two predictions for who will round out the Braves bench.
Author braveschopchatPosted on March 27, 2021 Categories 2021 season, Acuna, Atlanta Braves, baseball games, Camargo, Fried, Game days, Ozuna, Ozzie Albies, pitchers, Riley, Soroka, starting rotation, Swanson, The Battery, Third Base, Upcoming Season, WrightTags Atlanta Braves, Baseball, baseball games, Covid-19, MLB, mlb fans, Ozuna, Ozzie Albies, spring training 20214 Comments on Player Production so Far This Spring Training
My 2021 Opening Day Starting Rotation Predictions
Now that I have done a post on my lineup predictions for Opening Day, I thought I'd do one on my starting rotation predictions. With Mike Soroka's return not yet known, he most likely won't be pitching on Opening Day. Note that this rotation order doesn't include Soroka given he is still on recovery.
Here is my projected Starting Rotation:
Max Fried
Charlie Morton
Obviously, when Mike Soroka does return, he will be the Braves number one starter. Upon his return, one of those guys would have to leave the rotation and would only really be used as a backup pitcher, and most likely in the bullpen. Depending on how Spring Training goes, and his work on the mound during the beginning of the 2021 season, I think Kyle Wright will be the one guy who gets "kicked off" the rotation once Soroka returns. I have nothing against him, I just think, considering his experience level and his troubles in the majors, he will be replaced by Soroka. Or the Braves could do a six man rotation. That way he will still be in the starting rotation, and it would give the other guys an extra day's rest.
Last season, after Soroka got hurt, it was hard to imagine the Braves being able to have such a strong rotation with him gone. But, Max Fried really stepped up and proved how good he is, and the younger guys did their part, too. Not to mention Ian Anderson who came on the scene and in his fist Major League appearance, got a win against the New York Yankees!
Author braveschopchatPosted on March 15, 2021 Categories 2021 season, Atlanta Braves, baseball games, Fried, pitchers, Soroka, starting rotation, Upcoming Season, WrightTags 2021 season, Atlanta Braves, Baseball, baseball games, brian snitker, charlie morton, Covid-19, drew smyly, Max Fried, mike soroka, MLB, pitchers, spring training 2021Leave a comment on My 2021 Opening Day Starting Rotation Predictions
My Braves 2021 Opening Day Lineup Predictions
With less than a month until the start of baseball, and Spring Training already underway, I decided it was time to start thinking about the Opening Day lineup!
The Braves have so many amazing players! I would think it gives Braves Manager, Brian Snitker, a little bit of ease when it comes to creating the lineup on a day-to-day basis. Along with with what order I think the players will hit in, I'm going to list what position I think they'll play. Let's get started!
Ronald Acuña Jr. position: Right Field
Ozzie Albies, position: Second Base
Freddie Freeman, position: First Base
Marcell Ozuna, position: Left Field
Travis d'Arnaud, position: Catcher
Austin Riley, position: Third Base
Dansby Swanson, position: Shortstop
Christian Pache, position: Center Field
This is how I believe it will be, but there are a couple of spots that Snitker could swap players. Swanson and Riley could easily be swapped. However, I put Riley before Swanson so there could be a little more power at the bottom of the lineup, so it can have a lot of depth to it. And Albies and Swanson could be changed, but I personally don't think they will be. Ozzie has proven how capable he is in hitting second. He can easily drive a run in early if Acuña were to reach. Also, I do want to note Christian Pache. He made his debut last year for the Braves and did very well. He also proved his defensive abilities in the 2020 postseason. I don't think the Braves will start Ender Inciarte this season. I think he will be a bench player. His numbers aren't what they used to be and he has become injury prone. Yes, he is still good defensively, which is why I think the Braves will give him a spot on the Opening Day roster, just not on the starting lineup.
Author braveschopchatPosted on March 8, 2021 Categories 2021 season, Acuna, Atlanta Braves, baseball games, Game days, Ozuna, Ozzie Albies, Riley, Swanson, The Battery, Third Base, Upcoming SeasonTags 2021 season, Atlanta Braves, Baseball, baseball games, catcher, center field, Covid-19, first base, left field, MLB, right field, second base, short stop, Third Base2 Comments on My Braves 2021 Opening Day Lineup Predictions
My Thoughts on the Braves Off-season Acquisitions
With spring training underway and the start of the 2021 season a just little over a month away, I've decides to revisit and give my thoughts on the Braves' moves and signings this past off-season.
At the beginning of the off-season, the Braves association was once again active from the get-go. They signed Drew Smyly to a 1-year, 11 million dollar deal on November 16, 2020. Smyly is a 31-year old left-handed pitcher. He has played seven major league seasons, where all but two were in the American League. With that in mind, considering the DH will not be in the National League in 2021, he will have to get used to hitting. His numbers and stats look pretty good with a 35-35 win and loss record. One thing that sticks out about him is his ability to use his curveball as a weapon. Like Max Fried, he has the talent of a good curveball and fast ball, and they are both left-handed pitchers. I think having them on the same team could be used as an advantage for the Braves.
Their next signing was on November 24, 2020, when the braves inked a deal with veteran right handed pitcher Charlie Morton to a 1-year, 15 million dollar contract. I personally like this move. His numbers through his career are pretty good, with a win and loss record 93-89 over a span of twelve major league seasons. I also feel that he will add a good, strong veteran presence to the mound and in the clubhouse. The Braves starting rotation is full of young guys with Soroka, Fried, Anderson, etc. so having Morton will give the young guys someone to grow and learn from.
Marcell Ozuna. That man was a HUGE part of the Braves 2020 season. But, like the Braves did with Josh Donaldson in 2019, they had only signed him to a 1-year contract. Ozuna showed tremendous power with his hitting abilities in the 2020 season, and he even played some games in left field when he wasn't the designated-hitter. He almost won the triple-crown with the Braves! But his fellow teammate, Freddie Freeman won the NL MVP, which I might add, he well deserved. Once the Braves 2020 season was over, it was a waiting game to see if the Braves would re-sign Marcell. He was SO amazing for the Braves last year and brought great depth to the line-up hitting behind Freddie Freeman, with Ronald Acuña Jr. hitting in front of him. And then finally, on February 6, of 2021 the Braves announced that Marcell Ozuna was back with a 4-year 65 million dollar contract WITH a fifth year, 15 million dollar option! I was so glad that the Braves re-signed him, and I cannot wait to see what he has in store for us in the 2021 season.
Another "signing" they did was with Jason Kipnis. I could not find an amount of money he got, but that is probably because he is a non-roster player for the Braves who has been invited to spring training. Kipnis is a 33-year-old veteran second baseman, who can play the outfield if necessary. To be honest, I don't know if I like this signing or not. Yes, the Braves could use him as a back up second baseman if Ozzie (my favorite player) gets hurt. But wouldn't that be Johan Camargo's spot on the roster? Isn't he supposed to be our infield bench player?? I would just assume that is his role for the Braves this season, because they are obviously going to try Austin Riley at third base again. But the Braves are probably giving him a chance this spring training to see if he has enough quality stuff to add extra depth to our bench besides Camargo to play the infield, especially since the Braves no longer have Charlie Culberson. I guess only time will tell what the Braves do with him, but as we all know, no one can replace the Braves' amazing second baseman, Ozzie Albies!
And finally, the Braves last signing of the offseason was Jake Lamb. Lamb is a 30-year-old third baseman. The Braves signed him to a 1-year 1 million dollar deal. However, his deal is a non-guaranteed Major League contract. Jake is very injury prone, having only played 165 games over the last three seasons. Once again with this signing, if he makes the opening day roster, I believe the Braves signed him to add more depth to the infield part of our bench. He is a left handed batter, but he fields right handed. That could be a very useful weapon for him.
The Braves made some good moves this offseason, but I think the best one was when they re-signed Marcell Ozuna. And not just to another one year deal, but to a four-year-deal, with a fifth year option! I think that was a very smart move, and if the DH were to come to the NL within the next year, that will just be an even bigger bonus for the Braves!!
Author braveschopchatPosted on March 1, 2021 Categories 2021 season, Atlanta Braves, Upcoming SeasonTags 2021 season, Atlanta Braves, Baseball, Covid-19, Designated Hitter, marcell ozuna, MLB, Ozzie Albies, pitchers, spring training 20214 Comments on My Thoughts on the Braves Off-season Acquisitions


I am honored to announce today that the Business Intelligence Group has awarded Valimail a Best Places to Work award.
The organization's award recognizes "companies that are actively working to improve their own performance through efforts to challenge employees in environments that make work fun and engaging." As part of the process, the Business Intelligence Group administered an employee survey, and I was especially proud of the results and to learn that 100% of our employees participated. That's the kind of participation and dedication that we strive to cultivate every day at Valimail.
The results were humbling: People who work here feel they are doing meaningful work, they understand the company's mission and believe in it, they have immense respect for their peers, and they are happy with their jobs.
I asked Business Intelligence Group to tell me why they selected us.
I am proud of this award because it's a reflection of the values that Peter Goldstein and I strove to instill in Valimail when we started the company three years ago. We constantly keep in mind the three pillars of our culture: We are action-oriented, ownership-driven, and authentic/optimistic. The result: Valimail has become a place where passionate and ambitious people work to advance a common mission every day and where we take pride in our work.
If you've seen the news from earlier this week about our $25M series B funding, it will come as no surprise to hear that we are hiring — rapidly. We currently have more than 20 open positions, in engineering, marketing, sales, customer success, and more. And there will be more openings soon.
We are looking for talented, passionate individuals who want to join a team that is making a real difference in the way the world communicates — and who want to join forces with a company that truly is one of the best places to work. If that's you, we want to hear from you.


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[instagram-private-api](../../README.md) / [responses](../../modules/responses.md) / AccountRepositoryLoginErrorResponsePhoneVerificationSettings

# Interface: AccountRepositoryLoginErrorResponsePhoneVerificationSettings

[responses](../../modules/responses.md).AccountRepositoryLoginErrorResponsePhoneVerificationSettings

## Table of contents

### Properties

- [max\_sms\_count](AccountRepositoryLoginErrorResponsePhoneVerificationSettings.md#max_sms_count)
- [resend\_sms\_delay\_sec](AccountRepositoryLoginErrorResponsePhoneVerificationSettings.md#resend_sms_delay_sec)
- [robocall\_after\_max\_sms](AccountRepositoryLoginErrorResponsePhoneVerificationSettings.md#robocall_after_max_sms)
- [robocall\_count\_down\_time\_sec](AccountRepositoryLoginErrorResponsePhoneVerificationSettings.md#robocall_count_down_time_sec)

## Properties

### max\_sms\_count

• **max\_sms\_count**: `number`

#### Defined in

[src/responses/account.repository.login.error.response.ts:25](https://github.com/Nerixyz/instagram-private-api/blob/b3351b9/src/responses/account.repository.login.error.response.ts#L25)

___

### resend\_sms\_delay\_sec

• **resend\_sms\_delay\_sec**: `number`

#### Defined in

[src/responses/account.repository.login.error.response.ts:26](https://github.com/Nerixyz/instagram-private-api/blob/b3351b9/src/responses/account.repository.login.error.response.ts#L26)

___

### robocall\_after\_max\_sms

• **robocall\_after\_max\_sms**: `boolean`

#### Defined in

[src/responses/account.repository.login.error.response.ts:28](https://github.com/Nerixyz/instagram-private-api/blob/b3351b9/src/responses/account.repository.login.error.response.ts#L28)

___

### robocall\_count\_down\_time\_sec

• **robocall\_count\_down\_time\_sec**: `number`

#### Defined in

[src/responses/account.repository.login.error.response.ts:27](https://github.com/Nerixyz/instagram-private-api/blob/b3351b9/src/responses/account.repository.login.error.response.ts#L27)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Right? So it wasn't just me. I guess since I love blues I see more blue everywhere hehe.
I just got this in the mail two days ago. Can't wait to try it.
Congrats! Isn't it fun to have your own domain?
This looks so great on you Mihaela!! And the stamping is gorgeous! I love this polish so much! Congrats on your own domain!
Thank you! Well, the term is used by a lot of nail bloggers and such. I didn't even think about it but yeah, it's funny. It actually became "undies" in the meantime but I still use underwear so people know what I'm talking about, sort of, haha.


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Home Uncategorized Who will be the driving force for India in the World Cup? Can India win the World Cup 2019?
Who will be the driving force for India in the World Cup? Can India win the World Cup 2019?
Comments Off on Who will be the driving force for India in the World Cup? Can India win the World Cup 2019?
There cannot be a single driving force for such a powerhouse like the Indian Cricket Team. The Indian team is blessed with superstar batsmen, bowlers, and 'the wicket-keeper'.
India's prime batsmen are Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Shikhar Dhawan. Virat and Rohit are ranked first and second in the ICC ODI Rankings for Batsmen, while Dhawan is not much behind at the 13th spot, they together should make sure India ends up within the top 4 spots in the World Cup points table at the end of the round robin stage.
Along with the batsmen, the Indian bowlers have also grabbed some spots in the ICC ODI Rankings for Bowlers. The world's best death bowler Jasprit Bumrah is ranked numero uno. While the spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal are ranked seventh and eighth respectively.
If one talks about the driving force of the Indian team, there have to be three players and not just one. It would be deserving enough to consider Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, and Jasprit Bumrah to be the forces that will lead India to a World Cup win.
The skipper has been terrific with the bat for a long time now. Kohli recently played in the IPL 2019. He scored 464 runs in 14 innings including a century which is a good tally to have in a single IPL season, he also scored the most runs in world cup for India after Shikhar Dhawan. However, these numbers were not considered to be enough by his standards.
This is how high he has raised the bar for the others in his team. In the last 12 months, Virat has averaged over 70 with the bat in ODIs. He has amassed 1255 runs in just 19 matches. He has managed to score 6 centuries and 3 half-centuries in this period. That is one conversion rate to praise!
Virat will need to continue this stellar form in the World Cup in order to keep India's hopes alive.
The former Indian skipper is arguably the best wicket-keeper in the world. He has been exceptional behind the stumps. He has clocked reaction times of 0.08 and 0.09 seconds to affect stumpings.
His piece of advice to spinners are precious for them as Chahal, Kuldeep, Jadhav, and Jaddu have all praised Dhoni for his mentorship during the match. He predicts the batsman's thinking and his plans to a particular bowler and helps the bowler to foil his plans.
The 37-year-old has been at his best while batting in the death overs for the last 12 months. He has scored 533 runs in 17 innings since May 2018. He averages 41.00 and has scored 4 half-centuries since then.
Apart from his batting and keeping skills, his advice to Kohli related to field placements helps him a lot. His cricketing mind is also what he brings to the table.
Bumrah has emerged as the best ODI bowler in the world in only three years. He has the skill set to bowl the opening spell as well as in the death bowlers. He swings the ball like a banana in the first 10 overs and bowls the yorkers with great accuracy.
He was a major factor in India's success in overseas Tests and also the success of Mumbai Indians in the IPL. He has been considered to be one of the best ever by some cricket legends. In IPL 2019, he picked up 19 matches in 16 matches. Another stat to note is his economy rate, which was just this 6.63 this IPL.
Since May 2018, the 25-year-old has picked up 21 wickets in 12 innings for India in ODIs. He has also been miserly in this period conceding runs at just 4.11 runs per over. He has been Kohli's go-to bowler and the partnership breaker for India.
It will be very important that Bumrah has a good tournament if India wants to win the World Cup.
If these three players have a good tournament according to their standards, India will have a very less chance of not lifting the trophy. Along with them, India has many good players who are currently in good form. They will have to complement the top 3 well to avoid any hiccups. India will have to finish the round-robin stage on either of the top 4 positions in the World Cup points table. Going with their ability, India will definitely finish on top and win the World Cup 2019.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Style Edit Hair Filler Is one type of hairstyle. A Hairstyle, or haircut identifies the styling of wild hair, usually on the individual scalp. Sometimes, could also suggest an editing and enhancing of beard mane. The fashioning of head of hair can be viewed as an element of personal grooming, fashion, and makeup products, although practical, ethnic, and popular concerns also impact some hairstyles.
Style Edit Hair Filler is having a significant point in time right now. there are so many hair styles to choose from.
We've chosen the coolest, most stylish Style Edit Hair Filler from our preferred catwalk shows, Instagram girls and celebrity encounters.
See our best new Style Edit Hair Filler hair styles ideas and tendencies for 2017.
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Animation class. The animation class is used in maps.
enabled() Animation state (enabled or disabled).
Getter for the animation duration.
number - The animation duration in ms.
Setter for animation duration in milliseconds. See sample at anychart.core.Chart#animation.
anychart.core.utils.Animation - Self instance for method chaining.
Getter for the animation state.
boolean - The animation state.
Setter for the animation enabled state.


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Posts Tagged ' Cyprus '
Symth Eyes Victory In Slovenia
Versatile midfielder Shannon Smyth wants the Republic of Ireland Women's National Team to finish 2013 with a win when they face Slovenia in their FIFA Women's World Cup Group 1 qualifier in Velenje tomorrow at 4pm (Irish time).
Sue Ronan's side have lost just once in seven games this year after wins over Northern Ireland, South Africa and Slovakia and draws against South Korea, Austria and Croatia. The only defeat was a 0-1 loss to Finland in the play-off for seventh and eighth place at the 12-team Cyprus Cup in March. Continue reading →
Amazon Grimstad
Denise O'Sullivan
Dora Gorman
Rachel Graham
Seana Cooke
Shannon Smyth
Toppserien
The World Turns Green On March 17
With St Patricks Day fast approaching Irish News Review takes at look at parades that will be taking place worldwide. There's estimated to be 80 million people worldwide who claim to be part of the Irish Diaspora and even if people aren't they still get involved in the celebrations. Everybody is Irish on March 17th.
This year imparticular will see St Patricks Day take on greater significance for the people of Ireland who have been forced to emigrate such is the plight at home.
Check out the list we have compiled to see where the nearest parade is in your part of the world.
Every state across America
Australia- Sydney, Brisbane
Austria-Vienna
Canada– Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg
Caribbean-Montserrat
China-Beijing
Denmark-Copenhagen
England-Birmingham, Crawley, Halifax, Huddersfield, Kent, Leeds, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham
Germany-Munich
Greece-Thessaloniki
Hungary-Budapest
Italy-Rome
Japan-Tokyo
Netherlands-Amsterdam, Den Haag
Norway-Oslo
Russia-Moscow
Scotland-Coatbridge, Glasgow, Edinburgh
South Korea-Seoul
Turkey-Istanbul
UAE-Dubai
Irish Footballtennis Team to Take Centre Stage in Cyprus
The Irish squad will be heading off to the European Championships a lot sooner than you think. With Euro 2012 over six months away, get behind the other boys in green who are representing Ireland in the European Footballtennis Championships this week. The Irish footballtennis team – Jamie Mulrooney (captain), Steven Conway, Emmet Ó Mordha and Liam Hynes – have just landed in Cyprus to compete against nine other teams in what promises to be an exciting tournament of an ever-growing sport.
Footballtennis or 'Futnet' is a football-based game played on a court with similar dimensions to that of a tennis court. Despite its links with soccer and tennis, the sport holds its own identity and unique style of play. It originated in central Europe in the 1930s and remains most popular there. However, it is gradually becoming more popular in countries such as Ireland. Footballtennis has three basic disciplines – singles, doubles and triples – and is played competitively by men (over 18) , women (over 18), juniors (16 – 18), youngsters (13 – 15), children (12 and under) and veterans. The Irish team play in all three disciplines. Flexibility is imperative in the sport, especially in the groin, hamstring and the legs as the net used in the game is a meter in height. The whole body receives a workout as players utilise somewhat dormant muscles and also engage their backs, arms, hips, gluts, calves and ankles as they block and spike the ball over the net.
The Irish squad received a baptism of fire as their first competitive foray into the sport just so happened to be last year's World Championships in Instanbul. However, team member Steven Conway acknowledges that the European Championships will be a tougher tournament as the sport's best teams hail from eastern and central Europe. He says, "We are expecting a tough competition but we are looking forward to seeing how far we have actually come in the last year!"
The team split their training between Maynooth in Co Kildare and Ballina in Co Mayo, playing up to four times a week.
It's fair to say the Irish footballtennis team had a somewhat unlikely but quite serendipitous start. Steven remembers how, in September of last year, he and a group of his college friends where heading home from the astro turf pitch in Maynooth, bemoaning the fact they missed out on their weekly game of football as the pitch was booked out. They happened to pass by a couple of empty tennis courts and started to knock the ball around there. Before long, a proper game was in progress. Steven recalls, "That evening back at the lads' house we were talking about how we all used to play football on tennis courts when we were younger and we wondered if there was anything on the internet about it." An online search led to the discovery of FIFTA – the international governing body of footballtennis. On the organisation's website there was mention of a world championships coming up three months later in Istanbul. Better still, there was free accommodation and food for the participating teams, and, at the time, no Irish team to take part.
Steven says, "We laughed about entering a team and our friend Jamie [Mulrooney] sent a hopeful email explaining how we would love to compete in the tournament. A week or two later, to our surprise, the president of FIFTA replied to our email and explained that there were two wildcard places up for grabs. The cost of flights to Istanbul was €360, a bit steep for students, but this was an opportunity to represent our country at an international level – we didn't care if we had to eat peanuts for the next few weeks to afford it, we were going!"
Nine weeks of intense training ensued in what was by far the coldest winter Ireland had seen in years. Not knowing what to expect when they landed in Instanbul, the team were happy enough to just win a few points per game. Twelve teams in total competed in the championship and Ireland were pitted against some of the best on their first day of professional playing. Despite a few heavy defeats, the team also won a game and pushed host nation Turkey to the very limit. Steven notes, "We had now found our feet and knew our place. The next day we were put into a play-off to see which teams would finish from 8th to 12th. This was between ourselves, Serbia, Georgia, and India. After a close game with the Serbs we managed to actually beat the Georgians and Indians to give Ireland its first international footballtennis victories and claim 10th spot in the World Championships!"
Having competed against some of the best football tennis teams in the world, the squad realised they had a responsibility to lay a foundation for the sport in Ireland. They spoke to some of the players, coaches and president of the sport in order to get some advice. The general consensus was to apply to the national sports council for funding and to continue promoting the sport in Ireland. The team compiled a 20,000 word funding application for the Irish Sports Council in which they outlined their constitution, aims and beliefs. They also documented the physical and psychological benefits of the sport and how they planned to utilise it as an integration tool for the sizable eastern European community in our country due to the sport's popularity there.
In order to spread the footballtennis word, the team set up a website, uploaded a number of YouTube videos and kept in regular contact with the media. A documentary following the team's story will be released online shortly.
In May of this year, Steven and Jamie attended the Footballtennis World Congress in Hungary. At this meeting the FIFTA president and existing members voted the Irish squad in as a full member of the organisation and so the Footballtennis Association of Ireland (FTAI) was now officially recognised. FIFTA went one further by offering Ireland the chance to host the next Footballtennis World Championships. As many of the team originally hail from the west of Ireland, it was hoped that the tournament could be held in Castlebar, Co Mayo.
However, the Irish Sports Council have since informed the FTAI that they are not eligible for funding as they haven't been an organisation for the necessary two years. The hosting of such a championship would have brought vital revenue to the country and further promoted this upcoming sport – a missed opportunity that will hopefully come to fruition at a future stage. Despite this disappointment, The ISC has put the FTAI in contact with the Football Association of Ireland whose grassroots development officer is exploring ways in which he can help develop the sport here. Steven says, "With the right financial backing we could host a World Championship in this country and have the first Irish women's and junior footballtennis teams compete along side our men's team. Bringing over 16 different countries in three disciplines would bring over 400 people from the teams alone. To support a national team as they host a world cup is an opportunity any business should be proud to be part of."
Notwithstanding the setbacks incurred due to financial and emigration woes, the team are now thriving under the skilful watch of coach Juraj Holkovic – a former footballtennis player and coach from Slovakia (one of the top two footballtennis teams in the world). Juraj now lives in Longford and got in touch with the Irish squad after he heard about them in the media following their participation in last year's world championships. Steven feels Juraj's input now ensures the team are being trained to the very highest standard, saying their knowledge of the game has increased hugely.
The Irish team are now top of the recently established monthly Northern Ireland Footballtennis League in Belfast. They are also in regular contact with the new English footballtennis team so there is the possibility of a Tri Nations Cup sometime in the future. The FTAI also hope hoping to set up a club in Sligo in the new year in order to strengthen the foundations of the sport in this country so that footballtennis will remain a sport here for years to come.
For further information about footballtennis, check out the FIFTA and Futnet websites.
FIFTA
footballtennis
FTAI
futnet
Irish Sports Council


Add premium warmth to your wardrobe with this men's Mittellegi Full Zip Hoodie from The North Face. Exclusive to JD, the grey hoodie is made from premium polyester fleece, and is designed to lock in heat to keep you comfortable on urban adventures. This is helped by the added coverage of the hood, ribbed cuffs and front zipped pockets, which keep valuables safe. The hoodie is finished with The North Face branding on the left of the chest, for a recognisable sign of quality. | Our model is 6'0" and wears a size medium.


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The Two Messiahs
I didn't want to write more about good and bad technology, or about magic and the metaphysics of property, and certainly not more about the Messiah of Beverly Hills, but I fell victim to fate. Walking to Westwood through Holmby Park I crossed paths with one of the two women I know in the neighborhood who wander around alone dressed in fine high fashion clothing with the added peculiarity of long hair matted in a dense pile atop the head in the form of a truncated cone, rather like a volcano or rounded pyramid. When I stop and chat she usually talks about the ghosts that inhabit regions of the city we both pass through on our walks, and today she did too, with the difference that she said she'd been thinking of me, and wanted to let me know the Defense Department was waiting for me to contact them. Why? I asked. They have something for me. Ok, I said, see you, and went on up to the UCLA campus. Where, chance would have it, I met the other woman of the neighborhood who wears fine clothes and the volcano on her head. She informed me there was a set of lectures she was going to on the subject of "Philosophy And Religious Experience", in commemoration of the retirement of a UCLA professor who'd made his name writing on the subject. I should attend, she said, I didn't need to have religious experiences to appreciate, she didn't herself, and the professor didn't either, he'd previously told her himself. Hearing that how could I resist going? The following dialog is the result.
- Do you know what?
- It occurs to me that you both live with a Messiah and are one yourself, sort of. How are things at the Messiah's by the way? His eighty year old mother still attacking you as you try to leave in the morning, bug eyed and foaming at the mouth, raving about her lost chicken leg?
- Yes. I slip in late at night and hope she doesn't see me, leave at six in the morning before she is awake. It doesn't always work. Sometimes she lies in wait for me, keeps waking vigil, and when I scramble for the door she goes on the attack. While she rages, shouts, tries to close in on me, the Messiah looks up to see what is happening, then goes on reading his Torah or playing with his telephone. If it goes on too long, five or ten minutes, the disturbance comes to his attention. He gets to his feet, shouts. This has no effect, as he knows. He shouts again, to no effect. Finally he does what he knows will work, goes into the dining room and starts swiping with his hand at the crystals dangling from the chandelier. That does the trick. Nothing is more important than property, shows of rage have to be forgotten.
- You lead an interesting life.
- Getting more interesting all the time. As I was coming home last night a neighbor told me the police had been there.
- Yes. As I was coming home last night a neighbor told me the police had been there.
- What about?
- Some woman visitor.
- One of the crazy prostitutes from the strip clubs the Messiah frequents?
- The neighbor didn't know. The Messiah grabbed the visitor, or maybe grabbed his mother. Police were called. No big deal, police are there once a month, usually called by the Messiah himself to eject the crazy prostitute he's taken home to live with him and his mother. Proudly declaring his disdain for the world and his detachment from people, he can't be still, is always stirring things up. He goes in and out of the apartment all day long. There's always a crisis, or one brewing. Once you get used to it though being there can be quite enjoyable, restful even, reassuringly regular.
- You like these people.
- What does the Messiah do when he goes out?
- Gives away a few dollars here, a few dollars there, to people he meets on the street, at Ralphs or Starbucks, until his allowance runs out.
- Didn't you ask him what had happened?
- No. Besides, he wouldn't tell me the truth. He is the savior because he follows god's rules. But one of god's rules is what he calls the 'Wisdom of Solomon', that is, lying.
- God allows lying when it makes following god's rules easier?
- Yes. So tell me why I am a messiah.
- Around a month ago you told me this story. Computer scientists were having trouble getting robots to search out in an unfamiliar place the things they were programmed to operate on. One computer scientist had a brother who was a philosopher, a phenomenologist, and explained the problem to him. The philosopher taught the computer scientist that we learn to see by moving through the world. What computer scientists had to do with the robots was get them to do what we do, they had to move them through the motions that they wanted them to perform and have them associate those movements with the images cameras recorded of the room as they were moved through it, which images later could be recognized and responded to. It worked.
- As that research was supported by the U.S. Defense Department so is research I just heard about into what is being called "blending", previously known to philosophy in the practice of dialog and imitation. According to this theory, civilization started when human beings could "blend" themselves with others, put themselves in the position of other human beings. They - the blending researchers - have been given millions of dollars to work out how to use this idea to facilitate communication between robot soldiers.
- That's what I was getting at. If philosophy is being mined by the military to make machines of destruction placed in the hands of a government no one in his right mind could possibly say is well intentioned, can't philosophy be enlisted to do some good instead?
- And I'm supposed to be the messiah of philosophy-used-right and save the world?
- The job is open.
- What I can do is something like the computer scientists did, mine the history of philosophy, not to develop technology but to understand how technology is likely to be misused, find a language to describe that misuse.
- Go ahead. Save us from technology.
- It's philosophy that's going to do the saving. The enemy technologist found weapons in philosophy of "seeing by doing" and of building up "blends" of different individual's ideas. Our saving philosophy is going to offer us "matter", and "magic". We go back to the ancient view of Parmenides in which there are two worlds, one real and one imitation. The real one we see when we stop moving, and in that world there is no movement or separate things. All is one.
- Religious experience.
- Yes. The other world is the one we see when we are in movement. It isn't real, but we need to learn how to move through it to get out of it to the real world. Are you with me?
- Learning how to move through the world of appearance is a matter of technique: mastering ways of doing things that lead you to love, to beauty, to truth. You stop moving in the sight of these good things because you are out of the world of separate things. There is no place to go, and no time to get there in: there are no events in the fullness of the experience of being at one with the world. Now there is another, fundamental technique of life, opposed to this one. When an ape scares another ape by making faces, or a king scares his subjects by a show of his magnificence, the king and ape rest from their labor of show and sign making. Ape and kind have practiced the technique of arranging people or apes with each other, and when they look at lower ape and subject they see "material", they see a sign of their own power to use them. The technique of arrangement they practice is a kind of magic, in which power resides in the "matter" or capacity of the lower ape or human to do the upper human or ape's bidding. The rest from movement is in this world of separate things, so is not really rest. The seeming rest is filled with the imagined movement that can be released out of the matter, the imagined future movement of that matter, the "form" the matter can take on.
- I don't understand.
- When the king looks at his subjects he sees his power. He imagines future movement of the subjects, separate things in the world. The subject can take on the "story" of whatever work assigned to him. Getting the subject to respect his power is a kind of magic. An ape doesn't understand why making faces and threatening gestures gets the other apes to accede to his authority, but it happens. Same goes for kings and subjects. And the same goes for the alchemist, putting one metal in contact with another, saying words which are intended to do exactly what the faces the apes make do: grant power over "matter". Science develops when the relations between things is studied carefully, not left to associations and resemblances of words and appearances. I'll give you an example. When the Messiah's crazy mother had attacked me a few times I discovered the best thing to do was growl at her like a bear. Did I see this as a discovered magic power to be used in the world, as psychological science? No. I laughed. Laughing gets you out of the world. Compare the Messiah's reaction - it turns out the Messiah was in the bedroom he shares with his mother, and sleepy audience to his mother attack on me heard and enjoyed my growling defense.
- Did he laugh?
- No. He gloated. Here was a nice defeat for the old woman who'd dedicated her life to controlling his life.
- Tell me again what matter is.
- Matter is what you see when you gain knowledge and technique and don't get out of the world. And matter itself, going by the name of god, becomes the ultimate goal.
- Because if you don't have the end of getting out of the world some other final goal in the world has to be found. Power is means to an end. Power for the sake of power is meaningless. You need to have a reason to do something and gain power to do more things. When philosophy left behind the distinction between movement and rest it began to incorporate god, formerly unmoving and undivided in his own world, now as an element among other elements in the world of movement and separate things.
- Lost me.
- Leaving behind the two worlds view, philosophers made hierarchies, charts, of different matters used to realize different powers. Body was at the bottom, realized or actualized by the soul that kept it together. Ideas were a bit higher, realized by groups of ideas, "blends" as the Defense Department researchers would call them. And above all was the matter of the whole world, with god being the realized power of every magical technique practiced in that whole world of matter.
- But why bother with this?
- Because, as I said, there had to be a goal to all the increase of power aimed at. If there was not ever to be a rest, there had to be something fixed in all the movement to be aimed at, and that fixed thing was god.
- Ok. You tell all these stories of your Messiah because he so clearly has god in his corner, in his own world. He is authorized by god to perform his magic on the world, getting power over people by giving them money, doing on a smaller scale what the big power broker in the sky does. Philosophy tells us how the misusers of philosophy misuse it. What do we do about it?
- We do to ourselves what we did for the robots: we move ourselves through the world of ideas looking for signs of absence of rest and signs of matter, we learn the world as the robot learned its room.
- We locate our gods in Beverly Hills, see our gods in raving old woman and their whoring messiah sons.
- Yes. We laugh. We avoid secrets and powers. I wrote a story about girl gangs starting an anarchist revolution in the U.S. I put it on the internet, with the sense that this in itself was a beautiful thing to do. I didn't expect to cause a revolution, though I thought the government might not know it. In fact shortly after writing and posting the story I got a message from one of my Linkedin connections, praising my technique. I'd been getting a lot of visits lately from Arlington, Virginia, site of the Pentagon, and I'd supposed I was being spied on. This LinkedIn connection worked at the Pentagon. I wrote asking what he did there. He responded, did I want to know his official job or his real one, implying of course he couldn't tell me the real one.
- He was admitting he was a spy.
- Yes. He didn't have to worry I was going anywhere with my idea, that is, anywhere in this world.
- He doesn't need to hide because you aren't hiding. There might be secret power in matter ready to be explosively released in a revolution, but you weren't interested. Any kind of direct change is no goal for you. Your use of power is not in the world, but to get out of the world. My question is, if people become able to recognize the wrong way, if philosophy can do with us poor human beings what the computer scientists did with the robots, guide us through the world by giving us experience of it of the kind that gives us sight of what is better or worse, isn't the job of messiah open to us all? Doesn't the practice of the power to get out of the world exert some power on the world we get out of? I mean, would it not be true that the more people who practice the power to get out, the fewer there are to be enslaved by those practicing the power to stay in?
- If the philosophy was good enough, maybe. There have always been people who wanted to live in the right way. How much difference it makes having a better, more high-tech language to describe the right way - that history will have to decide.
- Come on, you can do better than that. You haven't given more than a hint of what that high-tech goodness would look like.
- Our sense of possession, ownership of property is seeing a thing as matter. Without secrets, without magical language, technology can re-evaluate what is an acceptable relation to property in society. Happy now?
- Actually, I am. Could be a beginning like that is all we've been waiting for.
- Tomorrow in Europe is the official Holocaust Remembrance Day.
- As if we could learn from history, as if that particular mass murder was unusual and other mass murders were not a fixture of our history.
- We can't learn from history because it never repeats itself in exactly the same way, but that doesn't mean history can't teach.
- We can't learn from history but history can teach?
- Much of what happens in what we call history is of unimportant things, different varieties of enslavement, degrees of mass murder, innovations in popular deception. Many different models of prediction can be made. It is difficult to learn from them, to know which applies in our own time and place's enslavements, murders, indoctrinations. However...
- However...
- Sometimes, as in the Holocaust, history teaches because it models good and bad in conflict, shows two clear moral models in battle. On one side, a civilization that rewarded those who individually knew what was good but were willing to do bad when the group demanded...
- The Nazis.
- And on the other side, a civilization that required of the individual to do good on his own responsibility while resisting social influence to bad. Good ranged against bad, teaching us not what to do in a particular confluence of events of murder, enslavement, and indoctrination, but in general.
- And you think that technology, the good and bad use of it, are two moral models that have come into conflict in our times so enabling history to teach?
- I do.
- No one seems to have learned anything from the Holocaust so why should we learn from a civil war in technology?
- It may be learning from the model of good and evil in mass murder, by the mere demonstration that such models can exist, leads us to the model of technological good and bad. Technology has been raiding philosophy for its knowledge of how we think and see. Philosophy may be beginning to test and improve models one after another, to mine science for an experimental approach to moral modeling.
The Girls (A Story Of Revolution)


This entry was posted on December 5, 2007 at 12:39 am	and is filed under Freedom to Fascism, History of SPD Abuses, In Collective Self-Defense, Independent Oversight, Know Your Rights, Protest and Free Speech, Spokane Police vs. Youth, Unanswered Questions, Urgent Call, War Abroad & At Home. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.


text:
/ Cory Doctorow / 12:30 pm Mon Aug 20, 2018
Salesforce faces boycott over Border Patrol contract
Evan Greer from Fight for the Future writes, "At this moment in history, it's just not okay for tech companies to support government agencies that are openly violating human rights. But while Salesforce's executives have been speaking out against US immigration policies, the company is maintaining a multimillion dollar contract with US Border Patrol. We just launched DropSalesforce.com, an open letter from tons of organizations threatening to boycott Salesforce (and Heroku) if they don't cancel the contract. We're also crowdfunding BART bus ads to run near Salesforce HQ in San Fransisco during their big yearly conference. Lots of big tech companies have contracts with ICE and Border Patrol. Salesforce could be the first domino to fall."
border patrol / Business / collaborators / dropsalesforce / salesforce
Greta Thunberg: 'You have not seen anything yet,' climate activist says as Davos nears
"To the world leaders and those in power, I would like to say that you have not seen anything yet. You have not seen the last of us, we can assure you that. And that is the message that we will bring to the World Economic Forum in Davos next week." In the Swiss city […]
Ukraine asks FBI for help investigating alleged Russian hack of Burisma
Ukraine is asking United States FBI to help it investigate a suspected state-sponsored hack by the Russian military on Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company at the center of the impeachment of U.S. President Donald Trump.


Early 1950's strap bench on wrought iron hairpin legs by T.H. Robsjohn Gibbings for Widdicomb Furniture Company.
CONDITION: Excellent. Minor wear consistent with age and use. See pics for condition. Hairpin legs not original to the piece.
SHIPPING: Free pickup and delivery available in the greater Grand Rapids, Michigan area! Shipping elsewhere in the continental U.S. via FedEx home delivery available for Free! Simple re-assembly required, please contact us with any questions.


Churchville Photography Club – Embracing It!
Hey CPC members! It's been quite a while since I've written, so now I feel it's time to see how things are going with my conversion to digital two years ago. First off, WOW!! How fast has two years gone by? I'm still constantly amazed by the passage of time and the changes that it brings - and sometimes, doesn't bring.
As the title of this article implies, I don't have to tell you all that I'm more than pleased with the conversion. I haven't even thought about returning to film shooting. Don't get me wrong, I still love my images shot on film. I still cherish every second of every trip taken with film camera in hand. I've simply moved on to a better way of doing the same things I've always done - and that is to attempt to make the best possible image I can. I specifically recall Mary Ann Durso telling me on a trip to the Smokies in 2008, "Michael, with digital you'll be more creatively free". At the time I didn't believe her. I was stubbornly holding onto my ways of doing things, and felt digital wasn't for me yet. I guess we all must move in our own time. Well, let me now tell you Mary Ann was right! Although I've never felt creatively hampered while shooting film, I've come to realize with digital that I am more free to take any chance that I want because of the instant two-way flow of energy I feel while in the moment. With film, it was only a one-way flow because I couldn't actually see the results of my creative attempts. As we all know, with digital, you instantly see your image - which STILL delights me like a child getting a gift - and with this immediate gratification comes the second part of the two-way energy flow: correcting, altering, enhancing or changing the direction of your internal process of image-making. That's where all the freedom reveals itself! With film, I had to remember, sometimes weeks after the image-making process, what I was thinking and doing because of the lag time between making the images and seeing the results. Now it's simply magical to me to be able to adjust not only the actual look of the image, but to adjust my artistic intentions while in the field. Seeing the image immediately facilitates more creative ideas, which only leads to a positive spiral of photographic happiness for me. It also leads to forgetting to eat, forgetting where I've parked, and other common sense, every-day activities - of which I'm more than pleased to do when I'm "in the zone".
I've included with the article two images which have been exposure-bracketed in the field, put into Photomatix for an HDR rendering, then lightly dodged/burned/contrasted in Photoshop CS5. The first is from one of the gorgeous courtyards on the ground of Princeton University from last April, and the second is from one of the iconic overlooks in Great Smoky Mountains National Park - Oconoluftee overlook - from our most recent trip this past October.


Then we learned of another plot. The Red Arrows would, according to this new plot, move to Marham after all, as originally planned, but all the training flying would take place at Sculthorpe, a Norfolk base with a very long runway that had been used by the US Air Force for many years but was now inactive. We were not officially told of the new plot but the gist of it simply 'emerged'. I called around all my RAF sources, official and unofficial, but no-one I asked could remember where the story originated – but they had all heard it! I had to assure sceptics on the Team, that I had nothing to do with the story!
The suggestion was that the Red Arrows would take off from Marham for the first slot in the morning, practice overhead the airfield at Sculthorpe and then land there. In the meantime, the ground crew would leave Marham as soon as they had seen off the Red Arrows, travel to Sculthorpe by road, aiming to be there in time for the Red Arrows when they landed about 35 minutes later. There was a major flaw to that plot that we at the Red Arrows could see immediately but no one outside the Red Arrows had apparently thought of it. The problem was that the distance between Marham and Sculthorpe as the Hawk flies is 15 nautical miles, about 3 minutes flying time, but the distance by road, narrow twisting Norfolk roads, is about 27 miles and would take very nearly an hour. Furthermore, no thought had been given to the provision of crash, fire and medical emergency teams at Sculthorpe during Red Arrows practices.
One day during all those machinations about the closure of RAF Scampton, I received a fax from a senior civil servant at MoD. The official told me that she was drafting an answer to a PQ (Parliamentary Question). The question was a common one: "How much does it cost to run the Red Arrows?" The PQ, addressed to the Minister for the Armed Forces, had come from a member of the public. Normally questions to Min AF didn't come my way: they were, as they say, well above my pay grade. The civil servant told me that she had been advised by "someone in the RAF" to ask me the question; that suggested to me that the "someone" either had great confidence in me or was merely passing the buck. However, an answer was required very quickly and, since the whole of the Red Arrows were on block leave at the time, I had to dream up a response pronto.
In my six years in the job up to that point I had been asked that same question by the media and members of the public countless times and the MoD had, from time to time, come up with widely different answers. The range of quotes, which I always kept handy on a file on my computer, ranged from a high of £34 million (in 1991) to a low of £9 million, a sum quoted in the House by the then Minister at the time of the original MoD 'Options for Change' announcement in 1990. There are two problems with answering such questions as that. Problem 1: you have to know which costs should be included in the calculations and which should not. Problem 2: you have to know why the question was asked and by whom.
The figure of £2.8 million, which the lady who had written to MinAF claimed to have seen attributed to an MoD person, was so much lower than all previous so-called authoritative figures that it really was not credible. The high quote of £34 million in 1994 was possibly arrived at by someone, or some faction, that wanted to see the Red Arrows disbanded. I faxed back to the civil servant as follows; I have slightly redacted my original text but not the facts therein.
"The RAF already have the aircraft, the pilots and the ground crew. If the Team were to be disbanded, the pilots and ground crew would not be dismissed; they would, almost certainly, be deployed on other duties and so there would be no saving there. The RAF already own the aircraft, they are already quite old and there is no other operational use to which they could be put. Therefore, the only substantial sum that would be saved by disbanding the Red Arrows would be the cost of the fuel they use. Usually my questioners accept this argument and, before you ask, I have no idea how much the fuel the Team uses each year costs. I leave you to put my words into Ministerial language!"
At about that time, I had what amounted to an heretical thought, which fortunately I kept strictly to myself. Had a decision to disband the Red Arrows been taken in the early 1990s when all defence costs were being scrutinised under 'Options for Change', I think the MoD might have got away with it – and I would have failed in the task given to me before I accepted the job of Red Arrows PRO. However, so much publicity about the Red Arrows was generated once the announcement that Scampton was to close had been made that it was then too late to tell the great British public that the Red Arrows would also be disbanded – however much they cost. There would have been an outcry – and not only in the UK.
"The team will not, however, be able to practise over Cranwell. Instead, they will be accompanied by fire engines and ground controllers to their old base of RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire, which closes next month, to practise their precision aerobatic routines. The team, which needs a six-mile wide, cone-shaped area free of all other aircraft in which to fly, were originally planned to move to RAF Marham in Norfolk, but other squadrons complained of a possible clash with training. After the transfer, a daily convoy of fire engines, emergency trucks and ground controllers will leave RAF Cranwell to drive the 25 miles to the deserted base at Scampton and stand by in case of problems. They will then drive back to Cranwell where the Hawks of the Red Arrows will land, and the crews return to their quarters."
"The aerodrome and buildings at Scampton won't be disposed of until 1998. Most of the family quarters will be retained by the RAF for people working at Cranwell and Waddington. The Arrows can only do their intricate manoeuvres over RAF premises in the interests of safety. Keeping the Scampton runway open as a standby will cost an extra £1.6 million a year."


text:
Bipartisan group of senators find 'rough going' trying to reopen the government
More than a dozen senators met Monday evening in a bipartisan effort to talk their way out of the government...
Posted: Jan 15, 2019 8:35 AM
Updated: Jan 15, 2019 8:35 AM
More than a dozen senators met Monday evening in a bipartisan effort to talk their way out of the government shutdown, though there's no indication yet the new talks are moving toward a congressional breakthrough.
Two sources with direct knowledge of the bipartisan meeting of the gang of senators said the group had already run into significant hurdles, though senators will likely keep talking.
Government and public administration
International relations and national security
US Democratic Party
US political parties
"It was rough going," one source said, noting President Donald Trump has repeatedly rejected proposals that immediately reopen the government before an agreement to lock in a final border security deal can be reached -- something that remains a central sticking point.
Democratic senators leaving the meeting said they made clear they cannot negotiate until the government is back open.
"You've got to reopen government first, you have to," said Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat. "Because if you reward bad behavior, you're going to get more of it, and we're not going to reward bad behavior from this president."
The sources acknowledged it was just the first meeting and the senators are trying to get something done, but at the moment are largely stuck in the same place.
That said, "people are talking, and that's better than the alternative," one of the sources said.
It's not clear whether anything the group comes up with can gain the approval of the President..
"In the end it's going to depend on whether the President can live with it," Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn, who added that any solution will have to include some wall funding.
Cornyn said that Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was aware of the new talks.
"I wouldn't go so far as to say he's blessed it," Cornyn said. "But sometimes those sorts of things have a way of breaking things loose that are otherwise stuck."
The new bipartisan group, which met in West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin's Capitol office, comes after a Republican effort to find a solution fell apart last week after it was rejected by the White House. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, led those talks, and he was back in the room with the new group on Monday.
North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, who also attended the meeting, said that the group had not pinned down details yet, but he said he believed the solution lies in Congress.
"The fact that were talking, we recognize that the longer term strategy has to be an act of Congress, and we're just trying, part of the group wants to come up with a solution," he told reporters.
Kaine argued that the meeting was productive because Republicans needed to hear directly from Democrats that they would engage, but they also were firm about reopening the government first.
Democrats have previously agreed to bills with border security funding included, Kaine said, and suggested a similar deal could be reached again.
"We're more reliable partners for you on border security than the President is," the Virginia Democrat said they told Republicans, adding that he felt "slightly more confident based on the meeting today."
Graham's plan last week proposed allocating $5.7 billion for Trump's border wall as well as several additions to appease Democrats. That plan would have included support for beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, as well as immigrants from El Salvador and other countries impacted by the Temporary Protected Status program.
Senate passes bipartisan opioid package
Bipartisan group of senators scrambling to draft immigration bill
Bipartisan Senate group nears a limited immigration deal
Bipartisan immigration plan: Where the senators stand
Senators introduce bipartisan legislation protecting Mueller
McConnell touts bipartisan accomplishments
Mitch McConnell blocks Senate Democrats' move to reopen government
Exclusive: Bipartisan House group unveils new DACA proposal
Susan Collins had senators in bipartisan meetings use talking stick