Maybe Braves get back to LaRoche, maybe not

joerochester………..we’ll find out in 2 weeks.

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“if you think that talking about A-Gon and Holliday/Bay is a waste of so much energy……..what do you call all the talk of Kelly Johnson being traded/tendered?”

Relevant maybe?

“It was a pipe dream to assume that another team would risk trading for Kelly and paying him $3.5-$4 mil in 2010. ”

Trading for A. Gonzalez, who by the way is the young, affordable, dominant, power hitter, and face of the franchise, will be traded to the Braves for less than one of their best talents isn’t?

“No team is going to give the Braves a lot for Derek Lowe. In fact, because of Lowe’s contract, age, and 2009 season…………the Braves will either eat at least $5 mil a year of Lowe’s contract……..or not trade him at all.”

How many times are you going to repeat this? The song from Nelly comes to mind. “over and over again”, except that was actually enjoyable to listen to than reading your stuff.

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“When you resort to name calling, it shows that you cant debate the merits of what someone has to say. I only resort to it when being attacked. Big difference MORON.”

I laughed so hard at the irony in this comment. Paul you could not say it any better. This does your a great service.

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joerochester: Yeah, two weeks, boyeee!

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Jurrjens4NLCY, that’s friggering hilarious!

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Thanks to the diligent work of a junior member of the Paul Lentz Fan Club, the new Paul Lentz Fan Page is up and running: http://paullentzfc.wordpress.com/

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UNBELIEVABLE…………………..Great pass by Big Ben!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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I just added a new picture, check it out yo!

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Billy (TBFKB)…………..how can you say that talk of Kelly Johnson either being traded or tendered as being “relevant”? Do you really believe that there was a realistic chance that another team would have traded for Kelly Johnson…….or that the Braves would have tendered Kelly?

When Kelly signs…….watch what he signs for…….and then get back at me about “relevant”.

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I hope our president joins the club, and maybe if were lucky, lord Lentz checks it out and enlightens us!

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Braves_Fan_RSD………concerning your 7:43 posting…..if you go back and read my 8:50pm posting from last night…….it would explain all your questions.

1. We could get some doorknob to bat 8th and play first base.

2. The increase in attendance, parking and concession would more than compensate for the increase in payroll.

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Billy (TBFKB)……dude, when you call me “Dentz”, you are calling me a name.

Again, you make another misleading posting.

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The increase in attendance, parking and concession would more than compensate for the increase in payroll.

WHAT!!?!?! Your crazy! Literally a crazy man!

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jurrjens – Ha!! you used my nambla reference. awesome

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Braves_Fan_RSD………concerning your 7:43 posting…..if you go back and read my 8:50pm posting from last night…….it would explain all your questions.

2. The increase in attendance, parking and concession would more than compensate for the increase in payroll. – Paul Lentz

Well you had better hope that doorknob hits 20HR and 30 2B and cost -5M dollars in order to match the production you would get from Swisher, Nady, and Heyward vs Holliday and Heyward and doorknob.

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Motto for the Paul Lentz site:

“Paul Lentz: making Anders seem gracious since 2009)

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But I’ll put it up

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“how can you say that talk of Kelly Johnson either being traded or tendered as being “relevant”? Do you really believe that there was a realistic chance that another team would have traded for Kelly Johnson…….or that the Braves would have tendered Kelly?

When Kelly signs…….watch what he signs for…….and then get back at me about “relevant”

Its all relative. Its helluva lot more relevant than the A. Gonzalez trade proposal you have.

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Braves_Fan_RSD………You simply have not factored the subsequent impact that Holliday would have in our line-up.

Here are 2 projected line-ups:

1. Nate McLouth
2. Martin Prado
3. Chipper Jones
4. Matt Holliday
5. Brian McCann
6. Yunel Escobar
7. Jason Heyward
8. (DoorKnob 1st B) or Matt Diaz
9. (pitcher)

The other:

1. Nate McLouth
2. Martin Prado
3. Chipper Jones
4. Brian McCann
5. Yunel Escobar
6. Nick Swisher
7. Xavier Nady
8. Jason Heyward
9. (pitcher)

After the first 3 spots………the first line-up is stronger in the #4-6 spots, while the second line-up would have the edge in the #7-8 spots (unless the Braves try Matt Diaz at 1st).

In the first line-up……..Having I’d rather have Yunel Escobar bat 6th..then see Nick Swisher bat 6th in the other line-up.

The impact of Matt Holliday goes beyond the clean-up spot in the order. It would make drop each hitter one slot, thereby strengthening the lower spots in the order.

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Billy — Looks like Frank Wren just posted. So yes, there are several members. Apologize for your insolence and perhaps we will allow you in the club.

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OF COURSE THE PAUL LENTZ EXPERIENCE WOULDN’T BE COMPLETE WITHOUT THE NEW PAUL LENTZ TWITTER!

https://twitter.com/Paul_Lentz_Fans

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Lowe for Swisher, prospects for Billy Butler.

Schafer, Heyward, Swish-a-lish, Bulter, Chipper, McCann, Escobar, Prado.

That’s an AL line-up.

We’ve already got the AL starting staff and if the bullpen stays healthy, I trust Wagner, Saito, Moylan, Medlen, O’Flaherty, Logan, and Chavez (along with Proctor and the various other useful organizational depth pieces as back-ups) as much as any bullpen in baseball.

The Braves can win with that team.

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Actually I see the line up more as

McLouth L
Prado R
Jones S
Swisher S
McCann L
Escobar R
Heyward L
Nady R
pitcher

that keeps the balanced line up and puts a guy averaging 28 HR per 162 games(Swisher) (Holliday, by the way averages 29 per 162) behind Chipper, costs us 5M less and adds 20 more HR and 30 more 2Bs to our line up it seems you prefer names over stats.

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I concur Jurrjens

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And tell me exactly what is wrong with him batting clean up??? other than you don’t like the name on the back of his jersey?

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Braves_Fan_RSD………there is a big difference between Swisher batting in a potent Yankees line-up……..and Swisher batting clean-up in a Braves line-up lacking serious power.

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“Magnum Dofus……….lol back at you!!!!!!!!!”

Oh no. Lentz took a name like “Dopus” and turned it into something insulting. And then he added nine exlamation marks so that it’s all empahsized and stuff.”

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Magnum Dofus……….You created your nickname by going after me pal.

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Magnum Dofus……….You created your nickname by going after me pal.

And when you go after Pesci, you get a pen in the throat…pal!

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Paul, De Nero would be proud.

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Lentz, that 8:27 is messed up even for you.

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Lentz, that 8:27 is messed up even for you.

I agree Macon that’s an absolutely unnecessary comment

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That is a perfect example why others taking pot shots at you are mostly overlooked…that went too far even for a JERK like you.

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As much as I’d love having D-Ro back, I’d like to see if the Bravos could trade D-Lowe for Swisher. i think he’d be a good guy for the club house, and he’s fresh off a WS win, not to mention his power and ability to play 1B and OF. and a big plus would be he’s on twitter, so that would be pretty cool.

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Could Bay or Damon be an option for the Braves?

——————————————————————————–

COLUMN

The Braves are still looking for a right-handed bat for the 2010 lineup. There’s still plenty of time to find one, and it might even take into the new year before the Braves get a new offensive player.

That new bat will probably play first base or left field, and there are several options still on the market.

Atlanta would probably be best served to see what it can get for pitcher Derek Lowe, who is on the trade market due to a crowded rotation. The amount of money the Braves save could determine what kind of player they are able to bring in for the lineup.

If the Braves trade Lowe for prospects, they would get a $15 million net gain for their payroll. And that could make things very intersting.

Right now, our calculations have the Braves at about $87 million for 2010. This includes projections for arbitration cases and renewals of contracts for players not yet eligible for arbitration.

If the Braves are operating under a potential $95 million dollar budget, there is still some room left to spend. But if Lowe’s $15 million is taken off the books, there would be significant flexibility in the payroll.

If our numbers are correct, or close to being correct, the Braves would be around $23 million under their budget if Lowe were traded for prospects and that net gain on his contract would be the full $15 million.

If the Braves are able to pull that off, would they then consider a different type of free agent?

Let’s say the Braves were $23 million under budget. Would they then say, “Well, heck, why don’t we see if Jason Bay would be interested in coming here?”

And here’s why: Bay has not signed yet, and the one team that reportedly has a current offer on the table is the Mets. From all indications, Bay does not want to play for the Mets. If that’s his best offer, Bay may instead wait to see if something else opens up after the new year before signing with a team he really doesn’t have an interest in signing with.

If the Braves more or less replaced Lowe’s salary with Bay, they’d still have the funds to bring in a first baseman (Xavier Nady for $6 million?), and then sign another utility guy (or even two if they were priced no more than $1 mil each). That would put them right at the $95 million mark.

The Braves almost got Bay two summers ago in a trade, but the Pirates’ ownership turned down the deal. Several weeks later Bay was traded to the Red Sox, and then the next spring many of those same players involved in the Bay discussions were traded to Pittsburgh for Nate McLouth.

So they liked Bay before, and if the market presents itself where he would be more attractive, due to Lowe’s money being off the books, then you wonder if they would revisit that possibility.

What would a lineup with Bay and Nady, for example, look like?

Nate McLouth
Martin Prado
Chipper Jones
Jason Bay
Brian McCann
Yunel Escobar
Xavier Nady
Jason Heyward

Not bad. Not bad at all.

What are Bay’s options right now, other than the Mets? The Red Sox have moved on, signing Mike Cameron. The Yankees (Cabrera, Granderson, Swisher) don’t have room for him. The Angels (Rivera, Hunter, Abreu, Matthews) seem to be crowded in the outfield.

Seattle was mentioned with Bay, but they acquired Milton Bradley and have Franklin Gutierrez in center and Ichiro in right. Bay has pretty much let it be known he does not want to play for San Francisco.

So if he does not sign with the Mets, where is Bay going to go? Could he be waiting to see if the Braves are going to be interested after they trade Lowe?

Bay is 31 years old. He’s averaged 30 home runs per season in his first six full seasons in the big leagues. He would fit what the Braves are looking for, if the price were right.

If you’re wondering about Matt Holliday, it’s just easier to put the Braves with Bay, a player they’ve had interest in before. Plus, if the rumors are true about what Scott Boras is wanting from St. Louis for Holliday (8 years, $128 million), the Braves would not be interested in that type of deal.

The Braves may get something back for Lowe that would eat up part of the payroll and not give them that $15 million net gain in the budget. Let’s say the Braves add a player that might give the team only a $10 million net gain in the payroll, or simply prefer not to invest that large of a contract in Bay, regardless of how much money they have available.

Would they instead be interested in Johnny Damon? The last few days that has been mentioned by David O’Brien of the AJC, and then Saturday by Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune, and then Sunday by Ken Davidoff of Newsday.

Damon reportedly went back to the Yankees, before they signed Nick Johnson late in the week, and asked for $22 million for two years. That’s off what Boras had put out there earlier in the winter that Damon would be looking for on the market.

The Yankees said no, and now you wonder who will be after Damon. He’s a left fielder, so you can look at the same teams mentioned above that may or may not be in on Bay. If Bay were to say no to the Mets, they could turn to Damon, but there’s no idea if he’d be interested in playing for the other New York team.

Two years ago when the Yankees talked about moving Damon and the final two years of his contract, the Braves were rumored to have some interest if the Yankees would eat part of Damon’s money in his deal. So you have that, plus the knowledge that Damon lives in Orlando, near the Braves spring training home. And you wonder if Damon would have an interest in playing for manager Bobby Cox.

Damon made $13 million dollars in each of the last four years. So if he’s already been turned down by the Yankees for $11 million per year for two seasons, his price tag is going to go down lower.

Damon has already made, according to baseball-reference.com, $97 million in his career. He just turned 36 years old, so he may accept less for a couple of seasons to play in Atlanta, especially if he believes the Braves have a chance to take him back to the World Series.

Now, Damon would not be the right-handed hitter the Braves are looking for this winter. But he would present an interesting option of moving McLouth down in the batting order. Damon mainly hit second last season, but in 2008 he hit leadoff for the Yankees and did very well in that role.

How solid would this lineup be?

Johnny Damon
Martin Prado
Chipper Jones
Brian McCann
Yunel Escobar
Nate McLouth
Xavier Nady
Jason Heyward

That’s not a bad lineup, either.

Damon’s speed has decreased a bit, as he stole only 12 bases last year – much lower than his average. But he’s still a very productive hitter. Damon hit .282 last season with a .365 OBP, 24 home runs, and 82 RBI.

Sure, Damon hit more home runs at Yankee Stadium (17) than on the road (7). But Damon is still a guy that can be dangerous at the plate.

Defensively, Damon is not what he used to be, but if the Braves had Garret Anderson in left field last season, Damon would be a huge upgrade.

How would having Damon, who won a World Series in Boston and last year with the Yankees, in the clubhouse help Atlanta? Well, they are trying to get to a World Series, so having someone with that experience would not be a negative.

Would Damon agree to a two-year deal with the Braves for $9 million each season? Depending on the Lowe trade, that would still put the Braves under budget.

Say the Braves got that $15 net gain on a Lowe trade, and then gave Damon $9 million for next season. They would actually still have the funds to give Nady $6 million for next season, and even still be able to afford giving Mark DeRosa $5 million for next season. If they did that, the Braves would be around $93 million – $2 million under a $95 million payroll.

So after seeing these scenarios, it makes you wonder if the Braves are just going to wait to see what kind of net gain they get from a Derek Lowe trade before moving forward with an outfielder. That makes sense. Get Lowe traded, and then know what your budget is to go after a Bay or a Damon or anyone else.

The Lowe deal is very important. Maybe Frank Wren has something up his sleeve where he’ll get an outfielder in return for Lowe, making a run at Bay or Damon unnecessary. But if he gets a lot of money off the books by trading Lowe, it opens up more possibilities in his search for a productive bat for the lineup.

Last edited Today 2:48 PM by BillShanks

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For that reason alone I say we keep Derek Lowe around lol

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previous article by Bill Shanks

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.Because of the above comment I announce a Paul Lentz to be banned petition

PLTBBP 1. Braves_Fan_RSD

I respectfully ask you to forfeit your request.

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.Because of the above comment I announce a Paul Lentz to be banned petition

I respectfully ask you to forfeit your request.

If PL did ANYTHING respectfully I would give it some thought

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DOB or AJC police, you’ve got your smoking gun at 8:27. How about banning this guy so your blog improves and people, like me, who are turned off at the level of discourse and lack of civility feel like posting again? Thanks very much.

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Gov sign the petition lol

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Steve–Whether you personally took offense or not, that comment was vile on so many levels. And I actually felt a little guilty earlier for picking at him with my “Anders>Lentz” poke and being called down on it (don’t recall right off who it was, but they weren’t in the wrong by calling me down on it), but now, he has reminded all of us just what a vile piece of excrement he really is just in case some may have begun to forget.

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I agree with Shanks’ view. It seems realistic in theory, although I’m not so sure whether or not it would happen. I also think that Bay is looking for a different offer pretty desperately. If he was willing to play for the Mets he would have taken thatoffer already. I wonder if he’s willing to settle for less money to play for a better team.

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sidslidkid…go read all of Lentz post….they repeatedly talk about D Lowe, Kelly Johnson with a few morons thrown in for comfort.

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For someone (Stephanie from Ohio) who doesnt read my postings, she sure has a lot to say about them.

By the way, great video. A definite keeper.

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I quote Jonathan Swift:

When a true genius appears (Lentz), you can know him by this sign: that all the dunces (you people) are in a confederacy against him.

¡Viva Lentz!

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While I hate defending Paul “King of Morons” Lentz I don’t think his IP was behind it. I think he is still searching for my post calling him Dentz. (clue: I never did)

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What was so inappropriate in the 8:27 post? Was it the word interracial? I think you guys are being overly racially sensitive. I have read a lot worse on this blog. Move on…

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The fact that I could not come on here for 10 weeks and see the exact same Lentz vs. the world arguments and personal attacks as the day I went away in October tells me this….

1) Many of you spend part of your day thinking about how you can push his buttons and many of you love it when he calls you a MORON.

2) The fact that this blog blows up when he’s on is good for ratings. Discussions of lineups, OPS and salary budgets have a short shelf life.

If Lentz wasn’t here, many of you — not all — but many of you would feel empty.

Reading Lentz vs. many of you is incredibly entertaining, especially when he crosses the line, you all call for him to be banned, and he keeps coming back. It is hilarious!

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Steve from OH (December 20th, 2009 8:40 pm EST): That comment wasn’t insulting in the least because I’m in my early 20’s and not at all married, but that’s gotta be bannable on so many levels, right?

It was rather inappropriate. I’ve seen him get warned of a ban for comments half as inappropriate as that one, so I’d say yes, bannable.

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