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© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
126 comments Add your comment
Heisenberg
December 8th, 2010
4:46 pm
OK pdaddy I did miss the word type. I have hated the Mets since 1969, but Pagan is a player I really like. The mere thought of him in CF over what we currently have got me a bit excited.
K.C. Frenchy
December 8th, 2010
4:48 pm
Next year will be a wash for Medlen, same as Huddy who only pitched in September after same surgery, but that will give some experience for Minor to see what we have, 2 more years of Lowe & Huddy, hopefully JJ comes back strong, & Hanson continues to improve, best rotation in baseball! Lowe was our best pitcher in Sept. he was lights out & looked like a new man, if JJ comes back strong look out for the Bravos!!! Ugga Ugga
jim
December 8th, 2010
4:48 pm
Didn’t Uggla reduce his K’s this year? (Or at least increse his walks)
K.C. Frenchy
December 8th, 2010
5:01 pm
The ONLY lineup should be 1. McOut/Shafer CF 2. Prado 3. Heyward 4. Uggla 5. McCann 6. Chipper 7. Gonzalez 8. Freeman anything other than this is a mistake, DO IT Fredi!!! this gives you speed at leadoff, perfect 2 hole hitter, Chipper is NOT a 3 hole bat anymore, perfect cleanup man, & no pressure on Freeman to produce yet. Youre welcome Fredi, Go Bravos!!!!
GT Alum
December 8th, 2010
5:01 pm
Kinda curious what we liked about Sherrill over Ohman and Mayhay.
Brooks Conrad wears a Glove?
December 8th, 2010
5:03 pm
@stew. Have you listened to ANY of the reasoning that the Brave’s brass are using in regards to picking a MR lefty? We HAVE to have someone with MLB experience to support Venters and Co. against the Phils. If Sherril puts up anything remotely close to his career #’s against the Phil’s left-handed stars, it should be considered a great roster move.
As for the Andruw haters…we can’t have the best of all worlds. If he is willing to sign for a ~&1 million performance based salary, what are the Braves going to lose? Yes, he has lost his mid-90’s speed, early 2000’s power, but he has the instinct to know where to throw the ball…something Nate and Jordan don’t have. If he can come off the bench 60 or so games a year, bat .250-.260 (~10 dingers), it’s already an improvement over status quo.
That being said…I hope Uggla tears the leather off the ball at the Ted like he did when he was a fishy. 162-0…let it begin.
ppaddy123
December 8th, 2010
5:08 pm
K.C. Frenchy No way should the Braves take Prado out of leadoff. He’s a doubles machine (40 in 140 games) he has a high OBP and a super patient JHey hitting behind him. When he was healthy last year he helped make that team go. Whether it’s Schafer or McLousy next year…..they’ll be batting 8th!
ppaddy123
December 8th, 2010
5:12 pm
Also, having an aggressive hitter like Uggla hitting 3rd rather than a selective Chipper will lead to more run scoring opportunities from the 3 hole (and some screaming at the TV as to why he swung at that pitch)!
Chopdawg
December 8th, 2010
5:15 pm
Don’t see the sense in moving KK if we still hafta pay most of his salary! He had a terrible year last yr, but the yr before that he was decent; couldn’t we still use a spot starter/long reliever?
If we can move him & only hafta eat half his salary, OK; but any more than half, I’d just keep him.
ramblingman
December 8th, 2010
5:17 pm
“It seems the Braves are putting most of there hopes in 2011 on a 21 year old unproven first baseman named Freddie Freeman. What happens if he starts the year off just opposite of Heyward in 2010. Who will play first base and wouldn’t it have been smarter to sign or acquire a one year first baseman in case Freeman is a year away from being ready”
Then what do they do next year when it’s a 22 year old unproven first baseman?
ppaddy123
December 8th, 2010
5:19 pm
Chopdawg , I think as much as anything, KK just needs a new start someplace else. Totally agree about his numbers, but I don’t think he’ll do us any good in the pen.
ramblingman
December 8th, 2010
5:22 pm
agree with paddy, KK needs a fresh start. Sad thing is that we are going to pay more than half almost for sure.
ppaddy123
December 8th, 2010
5:26 pm
ramblingman “Then what do they do next year when it’s a 22 year old unproven first baseman?”
So true! He’s proven he no longer belongs in the minors. Sink or swim they’re gonna’ turn him loose!
Chris
December 8th, 2010
5:26 pm
I’m not super excited about the Sherrill signing. Yeah, he should help against the Phils, but how often do you actually use your third lefty out of the pen? I was hoping Wren would spend as much of his remaining budget on a 4th OF as he could and then use the leftovers for the last bullpen spot and give Diory a shot at the utility infielder role. He’ll only cost around $400K.
Wren should wait out the Carl Crawford signing. If Crawford goes to the Yanks or Red Sox, that team would have outfield excess that would look good in CF at the Ted. If it’s Boston, it’s likely that Ellsbury or Cameron would become available. If it’s New York, there would likely be one of Granderson, Swisher, or Gardner made available. None of those five guys are bad options. As much as I hate to see the Yankees and Red Sox signing the best players, it might be best for the Braves that they do.
ramblingman
December 8th, 2010
5:26 pm
I am still holding out hope that the Braves can swing a deal for Bartlett, then swap Gonzo somewhere and get some salary relief for Bartlett by getting someone to take KK. Pipe dream I know.
Best case scenario? We also pick up Garza (will cost us some prospects) and then we can offer JJ and Gonzo for a pretty decent return.
ramblingman
December 8th, 2010
5:28 pm
Sherrill did not cost that much more than minimum. How often are they going to use the third lefty? More than one would think, especially if one of the lefties is the closer.
Chris
December 8th, 2010
5:32 pm
ramblingman,
Yeah, I guess I’m expecting Kimbrel to be the closer, but you’re right. If Venters is the closer, Sherrill becomes a lot more important. He would essentially take on O’Flaherty’s role from last year.
GT Alum
December 8th, 2010
5:32 pm
“It seems the Braves are putting most of there hopes in 2011 on a 21 year old unproven first baseman named Freddie Freeman. What happens if he starts the year off just opposite of Heyward in 2010. Who will play first base and wouldn’t it have been smarter to sign or acquire a one year first baseman in case Freeman is a year away from being ready”
That’s part of what Hinske (and possibly Mather) is for. No, he’s not your ideal 1B, but you’re not going to get an established starter to just sit on the bench while you see if a kid can handle the job or not.
Plus, the Braves aren’t going to give up on Freddy if he struggles. They may platoon him or something like that, but I don’t know that there’s much to gain by leaving him in AAA another year. If he can’t make the adjustment to the majors this year, he might just be another AAAA player.
GT Alum
December 8th, 2010
5:38 pm
Chris -
Even if Venters isn’t the closer, he’s likely going to be designated the set-up man, which only leaves EOF and Sherrill for lefties in the 6th or 7th innings. It sounds like Fredi’s plan is for Kimbrel to close and Venters to pitch the 8th, although he might reverse that if it lines up to be righty-heavy in the 8th and lefty-heavy in the 9th.
Besides, I’d like to see Venters get the occasional day off this season. It would be nice to have a ‘pen where the key guys aren’t worn down at the end of the season.
wjones
December 8th, 2010
6:04 pm
“GT Alum
December 8th, 2010
5:32 pm
“It seems the Braves are putting most of there hopes in 2011 on a 21 year old unproven first baseman named Freddie Freeman. What happens if he starts the year off just opposite of Heyward in 2010. Who will play first base and wouldn’t it have been smarter to sign or acquire a one year first baseman in case Freeman is a year away from being ready”
That’s part of what Hinske (and possibly Mather) is for. No, he’s not your ideal 1B, but you’re not going to get an established starter to just sit on the bench while you see if a kid can handle the job or not.
Plus, the Braves aren’t going to give up on Freddy if he struggles. They may platoon him or something like that, but I don’t know that there’s much to gain by leaving him in AAA another year. If he can’t make the adjustment to the majors this year, he might just be another AAAA player.”
Boy, are you guys putting Freeman on a short leash or what? My God, why would the team give up on a top prospect after one season? And we went with the cheap, mediocre veteran LAST year. We should rejoice that the Braves are going with the young talent.
Stuart
December 8th, 2010
6:07 pm
Matt Diaz will play in Pittsburgh until they collapse for 728th year in a row and then they will trade him for prospects to a contender like they always do.
MLB needs to buy this club since being competitive is not important.
GT Alum
December 8th, 2010
6:25 pm
wjones,
I thought I said the Braves aren’t going to give up on him if he struggles. With the rest of that paragraph, I was just saying I don’t think another year in AAA is going to help him develop much further. Not necessarily saying that we toss him aside after this season if he does struggle, but that he’s proven all he can in the minors.
However, it’s not like top prospects don’t flop. Wasn’t Francoeur once a top prospect? Wasn’t Andruw once a top prospect? Hell, much as I like Hinske, he’s not exactly had the type of career you’d expect from a guy who won ROY. It happens.
wjones
December 8th, 2010
7:12 pm
“GT Alum
December 8th, 2010
6:25 pm
wjones,
I thought I said the Braves aren’t going to give up on him if he struggles. With the rest of that paragraph, I was just saying I don’t think another year in AAA is going to help him develop much further. Not necessarily saying that we toss him aside after this season if he does struggle, but that he’s proven all he can in the minors.
However, it’s not like top prospects don’t flop. Wasn’t Francoeur once a top prospect? Wasn’t Andruw once a top prospect? Hell, much as I like Hinske, he’s not exactly had the type of career you’d expect from a guy who won ROY. It happens.”
Sorry, it was the reference to regarding him as a AAA player if he didn’t do well this year that led me to believe what I posted. As far as Frenchy and Andruw, neither went belly up their first year up. In fact they are good cases to look at when studying the case of Freddy. Andruw, at age 19, started the year at high A ball, then went through AA and AAA, and was called up by the big club in September, in the middle of a pennant race, and hit two homers in his first World Series game. He struggled a little in a part time role in 1997, then was given the job in center field for 1998, and had a solid 9 years, at times spectacular. So I don’t know how you could regard Andruw as a flop at all. Maybe he didn’t put up the numbers that was expected of him, but look at any of his numbers from 1998 through 2006, and tell me you wouldn’t have wanted those in center field last year.
Frenchy, on the other hand, skipped AAA, went up in mid season straight from AA, and exploded in 2005, contribuing mightily to our division championship in 2005. He followed up with very solid seasons in 2006 and 2007, driving over 100 runs in both seasons. Then the league adjusted to him. Neither of these players were a bust. I would take similar numbers from Freeman, who projects to be a higher average hitter and a more patient hitter than either of them. And yes, you never know how a player will turn out, but neither do you know how a middle-aged, mediocre veteran will turn out either. As for me, I am glad to see the Braves give the young talent a chance to succeed, and as you said in your post earlier, Freddie left nothing to prove in AAA. You could argue he deserves the promotion more than Hayward did last year, and that turned out ok, didn’t it?
Bravefaninok
December 8th, 2010
7:27 pm
Freeman is a stud……He will be Fine! He plays above average D and has Hit at every level,
Batting 8th he will get a ton of walks as well.
ppaddy123
December 9th, 2010
6:46 am
Bravefaninok
Batting 8th he will get a ton of walks as well.
He won’t bat 8th…..McLousy will!
rick p
December 9th, 2010
1:26 pm
I hope the Braves have Tim Hudson talk to Medlen and keep him away from Scott Proctor. Medlen seems like a hyped up kid who’ll try to set the record for quickest time coming back from TJ surgery–and those are the guys who have to have it re-done. I almost wish they hadnt cleared him to throw this early
That said he’s one of my favorites and I wish him luck (and patience)