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© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
1,958 comments Add your comment
cabravesfan
May 28th, 2009
1:30 pm
Supes-
Norton can play third, but it’s kinda like Adam Dunn at 1st…just because he can doesn’t mean he should. 1st base is Norton’s best position…
Fred
May 28th, 2009
1:31 pm
I really hope these rumors about signing Edmonds are false. Granted, he will likely perform better offensively than Shafer, but the Braves can hopefully do better than Edmonds. The last thing we need is another bargain basement, over the hill player.
Willy Wally
May 28th, 2009
1:33 pm
all I’m implying is that you aren’t painting the entire picture. Thanks to MFin04 we get a better idea of the imbalance between the run support of the rotation. (WHATEVER THIS GUY’S NAME IS)
Any starting pitcher who allows 5.44 runs per 9 innings has absolutely no right to cry about a lack of run support. There are only two teams in the National League scoring more than 4.91 runs per 9 innings. The league average runs a game is 4.63. The Braves offense is closer to the league average runs a game than Kawakami. I’m kinda glad they’re not wasting any runs when that clown Kawakami is allowing that many runs ….. save the run scoring for the starting pitchers who actually give you a chance to win by not allowing 5.44 runs per 9.
MFin04
May 28th, 2009
1:34 pm
The Braves need a few pieces and we have a lot of open roster spots. We have Infante’s spot, Norton’s spot, possibly GA’s spot, Escobar’s spot, Chipper’s spot. Edmonds is a good fit for what we need right now. We need an outfielder that can play all 3 positions.
Edmonds isn’t the last piece, but it is a piece that could be very useful
35YrBravesFan
May 28th, 2009
1:34 pm
DOB – I love it when you talk like that. GREAT article. That’s why you are there, and we are here.
GO BRAVES!!!
Chipper Murphy
May 28th, 2009
1:36 pm
Good power is going to be hard to get without giving up a lot. This team could have similar effects by trading for two guys with good OBP who can also steal bases (Josh Anderson was not the one). Chone Figgins is batting .298 with 19 SB’s(would be a great addition since he could play 3rd when Chipper is on the DL or needs rest). He can also play CF while JS gets needed experience in Trip-A. Michael Bourn is batting .286 with 16 stolen bases. These guys come come for a reasonable deal, whereas big bangers are going to cost you.
Doc Holiday
May 28th, 2009
1:37 pm
ElonBrave,
Keep dreamingabout pedroia………
Anders,
Not a good time for your jokes………….
Willy Wally,
It is offense, open your eyes……….it is offense……….we have none.
timthebrave
May 28th, 2009
1:37 pm
I think not having Yunel has really hurt the offense. He seemed to be in the mix of almost every big inning. Need to take 3 out of 4 from the backs and get back to their winning ways. Playing against Tim Lincecum and Randy Johnson can make a lot of teams look bad. Mets troll you can brag about coming in second ahead of the braves for the last 2 years only because you must have only been watching baseball for 2 years so you are new to the game. 14 division titles in a row compared to two 2nd place finished in a row and a division lead in may. You must be glad elementary school is out for the summer so you can annoy us. Go Braves!
CB
May 28th, 2009
1:38 pm
Yeah the idea of not being willing to trade prospcts or excess talent is kind of like the man with money in his pocket digging in trash cans for food- kind of stupid,eh? We, in order to improve this team may have to make some tough decisions.
TnBrian
May 28th, 2009
1:39 pm
Edmonds? FU** NO! Wren can’t be that dumb…no way. He’s just another GA and might be even worse considering he hasn’t played since last year. Spare Schafer, yeah, but not with Edmonds.
McFann :Ô:
May 28th, 2009
1:41 pm
Mets Troll–
um…yeah, sure…
MFin04–
You’re welcome! Yeah, KK should have a much better record. And he’s still winless when Ross catches for him.
brewdawg
May 28th, 2009
1:41 pm
I do not frequent the blog as much as I used to, as the negativity simply turns me off. So I’m pretty certain this is a topic that has been breached. However, after reading up on John Smoltz, I found this article. The Braves situation with Glavine/Hanson has an amazing similarity to Bostons with Smoltz/Buchholz. Here’s the link:
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2009/05/27/patient_progress_for_smoltz/
Willy Wally
May 28th, 2009
1:42 pm
Okay, so, it’s ridiculous to point out that they win 60% of the starts of the good pitchers, and only 31% of the starts of the bad pitchers because you just can’t expect that much more out of these bad pitchers. So, what’s your answer? To get 3 HOF pitchers at the top of the rotation, winning 70% of their starts to make up for the two scrub starters at the back end? Okay, so they go 70-30 in the starts of the big three aces. In the other 62 starts, the back end scrubs continue to win 33% of their starts. They go 20-42 in those 62 starts, barely getting you to 90 wins. It’s completely unreasonable to ask your top 3 to pitch like Pedro, Koufax and Maddux in their primes by winning 70% of their starts, while not asking the back end to do anything but show up and get their brains beaten in to the tune of 6.6 runs per 9 innings.
ncscoots
May 28th, 2009
1:42 pm
Chone Figgins is batting .298 with 19 SB’s(would be a great addition
The blog has now officially dive-bombed into the Seventh Ring Of Proposed-Trades Hell. Always good to get a Chone Figgins mention here, and, paired with a Jim Edmonds blurb on the same page, well, we can only go up from here. Or not.
(Chipper Murphy, it’s an old joke here, don’t take offense. Or do, either way, LOL)
MFin04
May 28th, 2009
1:42 pm
The per 9 inning stat is another stat that doesn’t paint the whole picture. No 4th or 5th starter is ever going to pitch 9 innings. The bullpen is specifially designed for starters that don’t go 7,8,9 innings. Those would be the 4th and 5th starters.
Look at the real numbers of what KK has given up (McFann’s #’s), not the ones that are expounded upon.
DAP
May 28th, 2009
1:43 pm
willy wally 18-12 when Lowe, Vazquez and Jurrjens start. 5-11 when they don’t. It ain’t just the offense.
actually, yeah, it is. 2.5 runs per game on average when jojo, kawakami, or medlen have started.
Supes
May 28th, 2009
1:45 pm
cabravesfan –
Yeah, I think I remember him playing parts of a game at 3B last year, which is why I thought he maybe able to cover, but it may have been b/c the Braves had absolutely no other options at that time. I’ve seen him play 1B (alright there), and LF (not so much).
I guess if both Chipper and Yunel had to be DL’ed…we’ll be forced to have
SS Hernandez
3B Prado
2B KJ
on permanent basis until they got back. Matchup be dammed at that point and you pray you don’t have any more injuries on that side of the infield.
Doc Holiday
May 28th, 2009
1:46 pm
Braves are 24th in runs scored and 26th in HR in the majors.
There are 4 players with half the HR braves have as a team………….thats how bad it is.
Jeff R
May 28th, 2009
1:46 pm
Who would suggest keeping every prospect? Or, should I say, what serious fan? Value for value is one thing. Rental player deals that involve giving up premium prospects is another.
A power bat would certainly improve the Bravos, but deliver a post season? I doubt it. The Braves have other challenges with their line up and pitching that needs to be addressed as well.
Watched ESPN’s coverage of the Yanks/Rangers game last night. The broadcast team commented that the Rangers had “fleeced” the Braves in the Super Tex deal. Geez, that’s the truth.
Shaun
May 28th, 2009
1:46 pm
Edmonds may be okay but he’s certainly not going to provide significant production. He would only be a LH part of a platoon and at this point he’s not at all valuable on defense or on the bases. It would depend on how much it would cost. Anything much more than the league minimum would not be worth it.
flange1
May 28th, 2009
1:47 pm
I wanted Edmunds over GA before we signed either. But that was before Spring Training.
Edmunds cannot play CF every day, in fact, I don’t think he can play LF every day.
He is also not in playing shape.
Little late to be going to the scrap heap if you ask me!
Murph 3
May 28th, 2009
1:47 pm
We all knew at the beginning of the year that the team leader in HR would be 25-30. I thought we would have a bunch of 16-18 HR guys in the lineup but that aint happiening. We also need to get the lineup to play everyday without injuries. We are all frustrated watching the ineptness of the lineup. Raul Ibenez has 17-18 bombs already.
cabravesfan
May 28th, 2009
1:47 pm
Supes-
He’s better at 3rd then he is in LF but like you said- not exactly a ringing endorsment! Let’s just hope Yunel gets back (very, very) soon and Chipper can gut it out a little longer…
"The balls are bigger and slicker here," -Kawakami
May 28th, 2009
1:48 pm
Kawakami’s ERA is 4.73. I still am very confused about what runs allowed/ 9 innings is…?
Plus, Wally, you do realize that an average is not exact, right? Like when you say NL teams score 4 runs/game, that means that sometimes they score more and sometimes they score less…
MFin04
May 28th, 2009
1:50 pm
What did everyone think of Di-Oreo hitting leadoff?
Doc Holiday
May 28th, 2009
1:50 pm
willy wally,
If you are not an ace (which is the case for KK, jojo and medlen), it is hard to give up 1 run or 2 before the2nd inning is over and when the game gets to the 6th inning you are still down 2 -0. You can add to that the fact that its easier to pitch when you are ahead 3-2 by the 3rd inning and not down 0-2 or 0-3. So if you help our pitcher, he might be in better shape to win or leave the game tied and not losing 4-0.
PWHjort
May 28th, 2009
1:50 pm
ncscoots,
Great post at 1:30.
BravesfaninWis
May 28th, 2009
1:51 pm
With the Nats out of the running, I hope the Braves look at obtaining Adam Dunn like they should have done to begin with.. Then trade Francouer and bring up Jones to play RF or stick Diaz there on a full time basis.. That gives us our power bat to stick behind Chipper..
CB
May 28th, 2009
1:52 pm
I know Hanson is the future superstar but nobody should be above being part of any trade. There, I said it.
Shane
May 28th, 2009
1:52 pm
Anyone calling for Hanson to be called up is not very smart. When you put extra innings on a young arm they dont last very long. Do you want Hanson for 3-5 years or 10+ ?
Jeff R
May 28th, 2009
1:55 pm
To this point, Kawakami has flunked the test. I’ll repeat, his performance against the Bluejays was stellar. Other than that, he’s been a washout. Even in today’s pathetic environment, where starting pitchers who make it into the 7th inning and rack up 200 innings annually are considered “innings eaters,” Kawakami is a five inning guy (typically) and has no command of the strike zone – at least on this side of the Pacific.
Shaun
May 28th, 2009
1:55 pm
CB, right. No one should be above being part of a trade. But are the Braves going to get fair value by trading Hanson? I don’t think so.
DAP
May 28th, 2009
1:55 pm
willy wally Kawakami: 5.44 runs allowed per 9 innings
JoJo: 7.96 runs allowed per 9 innings
Medlen: 9.76 runs allowed per 9 innings
these numbers for kawakami and jojo are false.
the ones for medlen are deceiving.
for jojo and kawakami, you included unearned runs, im assuming. there is already a stat for runs per 9 innings, its called ERA. both KK’s and jojo’s are about a run lower than you cited.
and as for medlen, his inflated ERA has alot to do with a grandslam that he didnt surrender.
besides, like i said 2.5 runs of support per game for these guys on average. you arent going to win many games like that when your 4th and 5th guys are going. it IS just the offense.
timthebrave
May 28th, 2009
1:57 pm
They keep talking about the Texeira deal, but if our pitching holds up and we made the playoffs people would think differently. We traded a good catcher(we have a better one) and a good ss(I’ll take Yunel). We traded from a position of strength. I’m over that deal already, because it made sense at the time
PWHjort
May 28th, 2009
1:57 pm
CB, great post.
Shaun, even better post.
Chipper Murphy
May 28th, 2009
1:59 pm
You need to get on base. You need to get them in. You have to have speed in the leadoffs or power in the 3, 4 and 5. We only have Chipper and Mac. We are 13th in the majors in OBP and Doubles. 27th in the majors in HR’s and 30th in Stolen Bases. That tells me if you had leadoff base speed, you could get them in. We need either more power or some speed!!! I argue that there are guys who cam play the field who can steal bases. It will be harder to trade for power.
AndyC
May 28th, 2009
1:59 pm
MFin04
If you look at McFann’s numbers on KK you will see that besides that one bad start he has pitched reasonably well. I know you can’t ignore the one bad start completely. The only two real knocks against him is that he has walked too many batters and he has not pitched as deep into ball games as the Braves would like, 5.7 innings per start. If this guy were pitching for the Yankees with that offense and he would probably be 6-3 or 7-2.
Noah
May 28th, 2009
2:00 pm
They keep talking about the Texeira deal, but if our pitching holds up and we made the playoffs people would think differently
Agree. If a team is in contention and doesn’t pick up help for the run fans will be upset and rightfully so. You have to go for it when you have a chance and it makes sense. Don’t forget sometimes it works the other way, like getting JJ for Rentaria was a steal in retrospect. And we stole Soriano from the Mariners also.
MFin04
May 28th, 2009
2:00 pm
Glavine pitching:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2009_05_28_indaaa_gwiaaa_1
audio: http://www.wdun.com/
AustinBrave
May 28th, 2009
2:01 pm
Edmonds would be a GREAT signing. He can teach the kid alot and give Francouer a break some. Still need a big bat but Edmonds could get us through until we can get one.
Efrim
May 28th, 2009
2:02 pm
Jayson Stark has an article up on ESPN. Here is what he had to say about the Braves:
Brave old world: You can add the Braves to the list of teams with interest in their old buddy, Mark DeRosa. Cleveland wants pitching back, and the Braves are one club with a pitching surplus. But teams that have spoken with Atlanta say the Braves’ entire prospective rotation (including Tommy Hanson) is off-limits. And they would want a significant return for Jo-Jo Reyes, Charlie Morton or Kris Medlen.
The Braves would obviously talk about dealing young arms for an impact bat, a la Matt Holliday. But they’ve been telling clubs that if they give up young players for any hitter with a hefty paycheck, they would expect the team they’re dealing with to pick up a major chunk of the salary.
As for those reports that the Braves are looking to move Jeff Francoeur, clubs we’ve talked to say they’re mostly listening, in part because they need to add bats, not subtract them, and in part because no one is too sure of Francoeur’s true value anymore, including the Braves themselves.
MFin04
May 28th, 2009
2:02 pm
AndyC – read pages 15 and 16, I started this whole support thing for KK with McFann’s stats. You’re just restating my argument. Check out those two pages though, it’s a great argument. I already said that he “could” be 8-1 with Javy’s or Lowe’s run support.
N8
May 28th, 2009
2:03 pm
While I won’t disagree that Wren/Bobby may have “miscalculated” Schafer’s ability, thus not keeping (or aquiring) a veteran backup. I don’t think they thought Jordan would struggle this much.
But the true crime, was assuming that Francoeur would bounce back and that Chipper would be available for the majority of the games. I could get into what they assumed that KJ, Escobar, and Kotchman would do. But I’d be being hypocritical about that, because I too that that the three of them would have more impact (though Kotchman has come on lately and imo, has found a “home” in the 2-hole of the lineup).
But at NO POINT in the off-season did I think Francoeur would be fine. Always assumed he’d be closer to last year, than pre-2008 form. As for Chipper? When healthy he is arguably one of the best 10 hitters (power and average) in all of baseball.
Unfortunately, when he’s not available and his main backup is also out, time are tough. At age 36 (don’t get me going on the huge extension – unless the DH becomes available in the NL in the next 3 years), we can’t really expect anything other than what has happened. Chipper will mash when in the lineup, and the team will pretty much suck when he’s not in it.
That’s why I have no interest in the Braves trading for “one big bat”. What if that guy gets hurt? Season over, right?
Why not trade for lesser parts, and get back to having some depth. DeRosa is a nice start. Not because he’s a savior. But because he can play MANY positions.
One could argue, that Infante is the biggest injury of the season, because of his versatility. Norton was a nice pickup LAST YEAR. This year, his name might as well be Corky Miller or Pete Orr. Because, like those two guys, he’s flat out wasting a roster spot. Period. Guy serves no purpose on this team.
Murph 3
May 28th, 2009
2:03 pm
Where does TP fit in this conversation? JF going to a different hit coach and Chip working with the young future CF. It seams like a change is necessary but we all know the braves very rarely would make a midseason change along those lines.
ncscoots
May 28th, 2009
2:04 pm
Value for value is one thing. Rental player deals that involve giving up premium prospects is another.
Define “premium”, I guess. Matt Harrison? Jarrod Saltalamacchia? Beau Jones?
I was an Elvis Andrus fan when bloggers here thought he was just some Vegas lounge act, but Andrus and Feliz for Mark Teixeira? All day.
Same way with most other “premium” prospects. At the lower levels, there are usually a handful of guys at the same position with the same potential. Holding on to all of them is counter-productive in just about every way. Pitchers being the exception, because nearly ALL of them suckers are going to go bust. Keep as many as you can and hope one pans out.
Billy Walsh
May 28th, 2009
2:05 pm
A bunch of guys hitting 16 to 18 homeruns would equate to the 1998 Yankees. Thats not happening. Can people please stop with the Rangers fleeced the braves. They gave up a decent catcher, a good shortstop, a journeyman type pitcher (Harrison), and an “electric arm” prospect who is having big time control issues in the minors (2-2 with a 4 ERA and 21 walks in 34 innnings).
CB
May 28th, 2009
2:06 pm
Shawn, correct, then you don’t trade him. What I am referring to is this stupid talk by people never being willing to go outside the box. If you feel you can improve your club you make any trade necessary.
MFin04
May 28th, 2009
2:10 pm
Efrim – good post, thanks for that info. Braves obviously have 2-3 extra pitchers that if they aren’t going to turn into relievers, they don’t need.
Efrim
May 28th, 2009
2:10 pm
Draft stuff:
Eric (Atlanta): Any chance Matzek gets to #7 for the Braves? Is it between him, Wheeler and Miller?
Keith Law: (2:07 PM ET ) I don’t think he gets there, and I don’t think they’ll take him – they pay slot and he’ll require more than that. Wheeler, Miller, and Alex White are the names I hear with them.
Damn. I hope they take Wheeler or Miller. I don’t like Alex White.
timthebrave
May 28th, 2009
2:12 pm
Murph, I normally don’t blame the hitting coach when a team is not hitting but the fact that the players are going elsewhere to make improvements says a lot
Willy Wally
May 28th, 2009
2:12 pm
If this guy were pitching for the Yankees with that offense and he would probably be 6-3 or 7-2. (ANDYC)
If Kawakami were pitching for the Yankees, he’d be pitching against better competition, in a home ballpark more prone to the homer than the Ted, and Kawakami would be getting his friggin’ brains beaten much worse than the 5.44 runs per 9 he is currently allowing.
#1 METS TROLL (And Proud Of It)
May 28th, 2009
2:12 pm
Here’s an interesting link from Baseball Prospectus on the Odds for each team of making the playoffs: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/statistics/ps_odds.php
WREN
May 28th, 2009
2:14 pm
we all keep talking about getting ONE more bat and the team will a contender.
reallity in that we need more than that and we should be thinking on the future, a solid and bright future. if you want a big player you need to give in return, don’t do what we did to get texeira.
trade vazques, hudson, frency, jo-jo, gonzales, moylan, and we might get some good young players in return, that can give us depth (wich we don’t have) and be great for years to com.
MFin04
May 28th, 2009
2:15 pm
Willy Wally I agree with you on the Yankees stuff, that stadium is making Coors Field of old look like nothing.
Shaun
May 28th, 2009
2:15 pm
N8, the problem with Francoeur started in 2006. Everyone was enthralled with his RBI total and they ignored the ability-driven stats: .260/.293/.449 in 2006. At some point back in 2006 the organization should have realized that Francoeur wasn’t ready to hit major league pitching.
Wes
May 28th, 2009
2:15 pm
Jeff Francoeur: The guy’s has been nothing but a joke for 3 YEARS now. A guy being a project is one thing, but when you’re 3 years into that project, its no longer a project. It is a failure. Take a new box of balls or an expensive back rack for the guy if you can get it. If someone is willing to take his multi-million dollar salary off the books, let them! No matter how little you get in return. He’s not worth anything, anyway.
I believe the definition of insanity is to do the same exact thing the same exact way over and over again and expect different results. Have the Braves front office boys had their insanity checks lately?
Slugger (http://www.theweeklyscene.com)
May 28th, 2009
2:16 pm
Can you believe my Elon Phoenix will be in town this weekend. Time to make the road trip to ATL from Nashville.
2009 NCAA Regionals – Atlanta, GA –
#1 GA Tech, #2 Elon, #3 Southern Mississippi, #4 Georgia State
Willy Wally
May 28th, 2009
2:18 pm
Anyone calling for Hanson to be called up is not very smart. When you put extra innings on a young arm they dont last very long. Do you want Hanson for 3-5 years or 10+ ? (SHANE)
You can’t get 10 years out of Hanson, only 6 to 6.8 years out of him. That’s all the major league service time you’re entitled to. Anything more than that has to be bargained for on the free agency market. So, yeah, in the 6 to 6.8 years you’ve got them under club control, use ‘em up, wear ‘em out, make ‘em do, or do without, ’cause who the hell cares what the ramifications are for him beyond the 6.8 years of club control you have him for. The Brewers don’t care at all about the plight of Ben Sheets right now. They got all they could out of Sheets when they could.
Noah
May 28th, 2009
2:19 pm
trade vazques, hudson, frency, jo-jo, gonzales, moylan, and we might get some good young players in return
I thought we already have good young players on the farm. For the # of trades of prospects that turn in to studs there are 10 trades of prospects who turn into nothing and don’t even become average players. You need prospects today so that a few turn into good players and give you several years of production at a low salary and so that you can use the prospects as trade bait to improve your team.
Why did we trade for Vasquez iin the first place if you want to turn around and trade him for prospects.
Il Cattivo
May 28th, 2009
2:19 pm
The ones talking about the Tex deal conveniently forget to mention that we got Ron Mahay for those 2 months. He netted us a supplemental pick with which we picked Brett Devall. Also we got Kotchman and Marek from the angels for Tex. I am not sure what Marek will become but Kotchman gives us a 1B for a few years – remember the days when we played Craig Wilson, Scott Thorman etc at 1B. While Kotchman is not Berkman or Pujols, he is no Thorman. So we sent a package of “could be”s and got something decent in return. Stop fantasizing about that trade over and over.
MFin04
May 28th, 2009
2:21 pm
What are the chances that Barbaro comes up to the Braves? I know everyone says he can’t play defense but could he play LF? We need some hitters. He is a pretty darn good one apparently.
MFin04
May 28th, 2009
2:21 pm
As I say that, he hits an RBI double, LOL.
Braves20
May 28th, 2009
2:25 pm
II Cattivo – Faint praise for Casey – no Thorman or Wilson or Rico Brogna for that matter. Fact remains we made a horrible trade for Texeria and salvaged what we could out of it a year later. Could have done a lot worse – such as signing Jim Edmonds – over the hill now and terribly over-rated in his best days.
Voice from the past
May 28th, 2009
2:25 pm
Baseball Prospectus gives the following eleven teams less than a 10% chance of making the playoffs:
* Pirates – 9.46%
* Giants – 8.78%
* Mariners – 6.14%
* Rockies: 4.84%
* Athletics: 4.36%
* White Sox: 4.33%
* Marlins: 3.20%
* Orioles: 2.77%
* Diamondbacks: 2.58%
* Astros: 2.25%
* Nationals: 0.52%
Quote: “As far as pure offensive production this year, your trade candidate leaders from these eleven are Adam Dunn, Russell Branyan, Brad Hawpe, and Nick Johnson.”
Russell Branyan – .311 AVG, .398 OBP, .608 SLG, 1.006 OPS, 11 HR’s, can play LF, RF, 3B and 1B… on a 1 year $1.4MM contract…
There’s a new name to kick around.
richbrave
May 28th, 2009
2:27 pm
Tie a tin-can to a dog’s tail and let him go. That’s BARBARO CANIZARES where the BRAVES are concerned, teased and tormented fans, teased and tormented. That’s a might thin straw to grasp at. But a cup of coffee in ATLANTA might spur him to some prodigious display of batting prowess, who knows? And if he brought along his glove like DIORY has so far, it could spell relief off the bench over NORTON.
N8
May 28th, 2009
2:28 pm
Totally agree with you Shaun. I know you don’t believe in “clutch” hitting. But at least back then he was coming through when it mattered, to rack up those RBI. Which would be fine now, provided he was low in the order.
But it’s been obvious that his approach is horrible for some time, and anytime a pitcher gives him a “strike” to hit early in the count, they should have to run laps in between innings.
Canadian Braves Fan
May 28th, 2009
2:30 pm
maybe Brooks Conrad should be up here 7HR’s and 5 SB’s
Canadian Braves Fan
May 28th, 2009
2:33 pm
who cares about defence if they cant score, we need some runs
Shane
May 28th, 2009
2:35 pm
willy wally that may be the dumbest post ive ever read on here. And thats saying something
N8
May 28th, 2009
2:36 pm
Voice from the past, nice find on Branyan. Not sure he can keep that pace up all year. But he is EXACLTY the type of guy I’m talking about.
Adding him and DeRosa, would cost less (in both dollars and prospects), than going after the “big” bat. And arguably would provide bench and depth. Along with the possibilty of Infante returning late in the year, those guys would give Bobby a TON of flexibility with the lineup.
Adding DeRosa and Branyan would give Bobby some pretty decent platoon possibilities all over the field.
I know everybody wants to dump on Jeff, god knows I have. But maybe putting him in a platoon is the better option than dumping him (for nothing since he has no trade value), to another team. Why not get as much value out of him as we can? He is hitting .321 in 58 AB’s against LHP. That SCREAMS platoon.
I just think that there might not be the one “big” bat to be had, without giving up too much.
Noah
May 28th, 2009
2:37 pm
who cares about defence if they cant score, we need some runs
Really. Would you trade pitching and defense for a good offense. The Rangers have been trying that for about 10 years and it hasn’t worked yet.
tvsportscaster
May 28th, 2009
2:37 pm
For those clamoring for Barbaro Canizares to be brought up, it ain’t happening, unless the National League somehow gets the DH. Canizares can not play the field at all, and there is no way in hell he’s coming up to Atlanta unless he can play a position.
JuliusCesaer
May 28th, 2009
2:38 pm
I knew that Randy Johnson would get 300 wins. He is currently at 299 and will most certainly get 300 the next time he pitches. I remember when Tom Glavine won his 300th game, many sportscasters said there will never again be another 300 game winner. Boy were they wrong; how could they possibly overlook the BIG UNIT, someone who is and was arguably the best pitcher in his generation. Unit has the second most strikeouts second only to Nolan Ryan. I think Unit was better than Clemens because you know that Randy never did steroids by just looking at his skinny toothpick body. Randy used natural ability to accumulate his 299 wins. If Clemens ends up doing jail time, which I believe he will; both him and Bonds; then Randy Johnson SHOULD be considered the greatest pitcher of his era because we know that Randy never cheated to get to his hall of fame credentials.
MFin04
May 28th, 2009
2:38 pm
Braves should put Glavine on the team to be the team pinch hitter. At least he can get a sacrifice bunt down. No one on this team can bunt, it’s sad.
McFann :Ô:
May 28th, 2009
2:38 pm
MFin04 He is a pretty darn good one apparently.
As I say that, he hits an RBI double, LOL.
OK, so, if McCann comes up to bat with a man on base tonight, would you say that exact same thing?
Thanks. I appreciate it.
ppaddy123
May 28th, 2009
2:38 pm
I think every braves fan has wanted “Frenchy” to succeed both because he’s a “local boy” and a home grown Brave. But, at some point in time, Frank Wren has to make a decision based on the performance of the team and not its appearance. Let’s face it, Francoeur was being groomed to be Chipper’s replacement as the face of the Braves. And the choice was Francoeur or McCann. One a “dashing” right fielder always wearing a smile on his face or a sweaty, slightly over weight catcher. Francoeur’s performance, at the beginning, made him the logical choice. But as we have all witnessed, McCann’s steady, workman-like approach has gained him more fans.
In the old days (1991-2005) the Braves were all about appearance and substance. Right now, we’re all about appearance! Frank Wren is rebuilding a formidable pitching staff. It’s time to take some extra pieces from the pitching and add to our total team.
Canadian Braves Fan
May 28th, 2009
2:40 pm
Noah, I am not saying trade all good pitching and defence, but the truth is this team needs some serious run producers
Noah
May 28th, 2009
2:43 pm
Russell Branyan
The new GM in Seattle is from Milwaukee and knew Russell pretty well but there isn’t anyone he won’t trade for prospects as he showed during the offseason. Look for Bedard and Beltre perhaps to be traded. If it wasn’t for Chipper I would say Betre would look good for the Braves, slow start but good player and plays with a lot of passion. But he also makes more then the Braves can afford.
MFin04
May 28th, 2009
2:43 pm
McFann – I’ll try my best, I’ll let you know when I say it
By the way, the double last night in what was a seemingly pointless at bat showed me a lot about McCann. It felt like he hit a Grand Slam. It was just a great at bat with a lot of heart to come up with a meaningless double. I love the effort. Class Act. Batting .320 now, surely he’s going to make the ASG.
Roman Gal
May 28th, 2009
2:43 pm
MFin04,
I don’t remember what inning it was. But, he got a groundball and could’ve either thrown to second or tagged the runner to start a double play, but just stood there, shell-shocked and ended up barely getting the runner at first. I actually yelled out something that I’m sure my parents wouldn’t have been too proud of.
David O'Brien
May 28th, 2009
2:45 pm
RHR, team always flies out on charter right after the game. They got here last night, or in the wee hours today.
I got back to my hotel about 12:30 a.m., had a 5 a.m. wakeup call, 8 a.m. flight. Here in Phoenix (actually, Scottsdale) in my hotel now, for a couple hours before headed to ballpark.
It’s approaching 100 degrees here today. Feels good, though. Very dry. Not bad at all.
Jeff R
May 28th, 2009
2:45 pm
ncscoots… The problem with th Super Tex trade wasn’t Tex (an outstanding slugger), the problem was management’s micalculation. The need was for pitching. Remember Mark Redman? Since there wasn’t any quality pitching available for trade in the summer of ‘07, management would have been smarter to hold its prospects.
Super Tex wasn’t going to deliever a post-season because he wasn’t what the team needed to win.
If a team is really good and missing one piece of the puzzle, as the Braves did when they acquired McGriff back in the 90s, all well and good. But the ‘07 squad wasn’t even close to that level. And McGriff wasn’t a short-termer. He contributed on an ongoing basis.
Did Wren learn something from ‘07? I think so. I think he’s going to be less hasty to move talented prospects for a rental.
Move surplus prospects? A team never has enough pitching in the pipeline – never. Clearly, the Braves could use an OF prospect or two more at the AAA level to step in to spell Schafer. And the Braves don’t have a serious prospect at Gwinnett who can step into Frenchy’s shoes. All the talent is at the lower levels of the farm system.
MFin04
May 28th, 2009
2:46 pm
Blanco is playing a lot better in AAA. Now batting .333 in the last 9 games hitting leadoff. If Edmonds isn’t coming to the Braves soon, might be a good idea to call up Gregor to spell Schafer.
PWHjort
May 28th, 2009
2:46 pm
Stark nailed it. Great piece. Much better piece than what Rosenthal and Olney have come up with lately. And Law and Neyer have just been rambling about how bad our OF is, telling us nothing we didn’t already know and nothing of substance.
Noah
May 28th, 2009
2:47 pm
then Randy Johnson SHOULD be considered the greatest pitcher of his era
Loved watching him grow into a great pitcher in Seattle and loved seeing him come out of the bullpen on 1 days rest in the playoffs against the Yankees, something he repeated again I believe in Arizona in the World Series. The guy was electric and his stuff was amazing. When he pitched against the yankees half the starters got the day off.
Anyone remember the All Star game where he threw a pitch over John Kruk’s head and Kruk laughing and then was bailing on the rest of the pitches and had no chance…
LukeMerriman
May 28th, 2009
2:47 pm
The Braves have no excuses for being in the position they are in. The Braves had a chance to bring in two powerful bats: Gary Sheffield and Barry Bonds but refused to offer either player a contract. Imagine what the Braves lineup would be with Barry Bonds and Gary Sheffield added to it. The Braves would have the best hitting team in baseball, but because of perceived steroid use by both players, refused to sign either guy and both of them will most certainly make the hall of fame. In fact, bringing Sheffield would have been a marketing windfall for the Braves because the team could have promoted Sheffield by saying “come see Gary hit one home run this season and make the hall of fame”, with Gary being stuck on 499 when he was cut by Detroit. Or you could market Barry Bonds by saying “come see Bonds reach 1000 home runs”. If Bonds had played until he was 56, he might have made it to 1000 home runs. Instead, Bonds will probably have to do jail time when he is convicted for his crimes. Good luck to both guys, but the Braves have no excuses for the position that they are in.
brian
May 28th, 2009
2:48 pm
if Francoeur is traded to Boston which is unlikely we will not be getting a bat in return. No way do they trade their first base prospect either. We would get pitching prospects. A second trade would be necessary to replace Francoeur if we do not use Brandon Jones or Gorkys Hernandez to replace Francoeur
Il Cattivo
May 28th, 2009
2:48 pm
Tommy G has gone 2 innings with only 25 pitches. He seems to coming out for his 3rd inning of work. So far so good. 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K.
Anders
May 28th, 2009
2:49 pm
Efrim- Regarding your 2:02 post. Same old Braves . “We don’t want to trade our young guys, but if we do we don’t want to pay the solid player we’re getting back his full $’s.” That’s a fair strategy but one that leaves you alone at the altar more often than not. As an example the A’s are not going to take second tier prospects and pay half of Holliday’s salary to play for the Braves imo. There is/will be too much of a market for Holliday for them to settle for that.
BTW- Look at the Braves schedule from now until 7/1. I don’t think they can wait until July to make a move if they plan to. They could be well out by then. Especially if Chipper remains so dinged up.
Roman Gal
May 28th, 2009
2:50 pm
I don’t regret the Tex trade one bit. I loved Tex, and would’ve been very upset if management hadn’t done something to help the team. There wasn’t any pitching available, so they thought they could outslug everyone. It didn’t work. It is what it is.
David O'Brien
May 28th, 2009
2:50 pm
Voice from the Past: Good call on Branyan. Braves are also familiar with him, since they had him in camp several years ago.
Noah
May 28th, 2009
2:50 pm
Everybody give up on Melden. Don’t forget he had better numbers then Hanson at AAA.
CB
May 28th, 2009
2:51 pm
Thanks Luke for sharing that.heh
Bay Area Steve
May 28th, 2009
2:51 pm
Roman Gal, and others,
I’ve seen several of you knock Prado’s handling of that play. I thought he did well. No way he doubles up Lewis on that slow chopper.
He stopped Molina, as a 2B is taught, got Lewis at first, and Kotch appeared, in person, to get Molina at 2B. A throw on the bag gets him.
And, the play left probably the slowest guy in baseball at 2B, who was thrown out at the dish by JF, who had to go at least 15 steps, to his left, and in.
In that situation, if we’d have gotten the lead runner, Lewis is likely to steal anyway, and score on the ensuing hit.
Anyways, ’tis what I learned, and I think Prado did well.
LT- A Blogger
May 28th, 2009
2:52 pm
Gonna be tough one tonight to pull out against Haren. Here’s hoping the Braves can pull a 2-1 or 3-2 win. I can’t see the guys putting up more than 3 runs. Kotchman seems to be a key catalyst for this offense- he’s been in a small slump so maybe he can get it going.
I really don’t like the idea of giving up too much talent to get a Holliday or Ankiel for less than a season. That’s because I’m not convinced one bat in the OF would turn this team around.
I’ve really been hoping Franceour would turn it around because he seems like a really good kid. It just doesn’t look like it is gonna happen. He has that same stressed look on his face he had all of last year which is understandable. He is either not being coached or is refusing to listen. The at bat in the 7th last night with 2 on pretty much summed up his approach and failure. What I really don’t understand is his loss of power- really makes one think which is too bad if he has been clean.
Braves should ride it out this year and see what they can change in the OF in the off season. The rotation should be set for a few years and the IF is capable even with Chipper being out for few weeks here and there.
David O'Brien
May 28th, 2009
2:52 pm
CB, feel free to say it (1:52) all you want. But the Braves aren’t trading Hanson.
Willy Wally
May 28th, 2009
2:53 pm
willy wally that may be the dumbest post ive ever read on here. And thats saying something (SHANE)
That’s because you’re under the moronic and mistaken drooling fan boy impression that you’re entitled to the careers of these guys. Not so. Just the first 6 to 6.8 years of their careers.
Roman Gal
May 28th, 2009
2:53 pm
They could be well out by then. Anders
I agree with you. Teams can’t always be afraid to make a deal with their young players. I like Wren so far, I just hope he doesn’t think that he can’t ever trade our good young players. Sometimes we just gotta go for it.
wiki
May 28th, 2009
2:53 pm
Regarding Troll’s 2:12 link about the postseason odds table….doesn’t really mean much until late in the season. I look at it for kicks and giggles every now and then. Just a week ago, the Mets’ chances were in the 40s. The numbers are empirically based on past performance.
MFin04
May 28th, 2009
2:55 pm
Roman Gal I watched that play 2 or 3 times. They didn’t have a shot at a double play. He barely got the guy at first. It wasn’t that bad of a play. The SS also didn’t really look like he got to 2B very quickly either.
I think the runner at 2nd ended up getting thrown out at home and was a very slow runner. While the runner who would have been at 2nd was fast and would’ve stolen 2nd possibly anyways.