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6,221 comments Add your comment
N8
December 14th, 2010
12:33 am
Ballgame. Go Braves in 2017!
ward
December 14th, 2010
12:34 am
Phillies lost Werth, and Utley is older too….
Teabagger Johnson
December 14th, 2010
12:35 am
N8
Is that you N8 McLouth?
ward
December 14th, 2010
12:35 am
Do actually think all those pitchers will stay healthy? Answer is not likely…
P'cola Brave
December 14th, 2010
12:36 am
Teabagger
Until J-Roll and Utley go down. They are both injury prone. especially J-Roll. Hes there version of Chip as far as injuries go. If they move Ibanez I think we have more offensive depth. But all that remains to be seen. The may end up holding on to him. Nothing the Phils do suprise me after this.
Jake W.
December 14th, 2010
12:36 am
Was it really starting pitching that caused the phils to lose to the Giants? I recall another deficiency.
Hey, somewhere the Giants are liking this. They conquered Cliff Lee twice in the playoffs, calmed the phils bats, oh, and the phils lost the guy who was tied for the most rbi’s against the Giants with Polanco when Werth went to the nats. Maybe that offense bounces back next year but the phils keep getting older by the minute.
Rabid Rascal
December 14th, 2010
12:37 am
The national league version of the Yankees. Never said next year was going to be easy. I am still excited for what the Braves are going to put out in the field.
Wow..
December 14th, 2010
12:38 am
Utley’s 31. It’s not like he’s about to turn 39…
ward
December 14th, 2010
12:39 am
Maybe Wren will get Grienke now?
Jake W.
December 14th, 2010
12:39 am
Do actually think all those pitchers will stay healthy? Answer is not likely…
I gotta agree with this, Oswalt seems the more likely to go down but one can hope for Halladay. Somebody in that rotation has to be due for some Tommy John.
Rob from SC
December 14th, 2010
12:39 am
Utley had hip surgery. He looked old last year
Jake W.
December 14th, 2010
12:40 am
Utley’s 31. It’s not like he’s about to turn 39
Injuries age the body faster and he’s had quite a few the last few years.
The A Bomb
December 14th, 2010
12:40 am
Braves haven’t exactly sucked against aces the past 2 seasons.
Bring it on. With Uggla we’ll be better against lefties. Our pitching is fine.
They still have a shaky back end of the ‘pen.
One thing we do know — sleep apnea levels will be down tonight in City of Sisterly Love because most of the 300-pound fans, even the women, will be drowning themselves in cheese wiz all night.
Brave4life- We almost had it
December 14th, 2010
12:40 am
age is on our side right now
Oswalt – OLD
Halladay0 getting old
Lee- Getting old
Howard- Decline in power
Ibanez- Old
Utley- Beast
Polanco- Beast
Jrollins- Injury Prone
braves70
December 14th, 2010
12:40 am
Interesting article from a disgruntled Phillies fan on just who owns the Phillies:
Who Are the Phillies Owners?
by E Scott Butler
http://ezinearticles.com/?Who-Are-the-Phillies-Owners?&id=3625777
P'cola Brave
December 14th, 2010
12:40 am
The team that gets hurt most out of all this is the Yanks. They have missed on all the top players and the Sox are only getting stronger. As much as this sucks for the Braves its hilarious to see the Yanks fall on their face.
ward
December 14th, 2010
12:42 am
Somebody will blow out an arm……
Rob from SC
December 14th, 2010
12:44 am
ward
December 14th, 2010
12:39 am
Maybe Wren will get Grienke now?
Not unless Teheran is in the deal. No Thanks…Greinke has only had one good year
Rabid Rascal
December 14th, 2010
12:44 am
I agree A Bomb, entertaining post.
TNScott
December 14th, 2010
12:44 am
Someone asked the question, “Where did they have the finances to afford Lee?” Well, he took less to sign. Folks, it’s something I’ve said over and over here. When you have ownership that is more concerned about winning than the budget, players respect that. Ownership that settles for less talent to maintain their budget, get what they pay for which is either a second division team or a team that almost gets there but not quite. To consistently win championships you have to have ownership that values championships more than the bottom line which is something the Braves haven’t had since Ted sold the team. Hopefully, one day this too will change, where we will be once again be going after players like Lee, Carl Crawford, Jason Werth, etc. When the Nationals can go out and spend the money they did on Werth, or the Twins on Joe Mauer, what does that say about the current Braves ownership? Not much.
N8
December 14th, 2010
12:44 am
“Phillies lost Werth, and Utley is older too…… Do actually think all those pitchers will stay healthy? Answer is not likely…” ward
Let’s not kid ourselves here with blind homerism. Had the Braves been the surprise team to sneak in and swoop Lee out from under the Rangers and Yankees grasp, this entire blog would be saying how the Phillies reign as NL East champs was over.
It was already a longshot to keep up with them going into next year (with Hamels resurgence and Oswalt for an entire year – even WITH the addition of Uggla), but now that they’ve added Lee too?
Come on man. This team now HAS TO have a huge year from Chipper and pray to whatever god you pray to that Nate flips the calendar back to 2008 or Schafer turns into what it looked like he was going to become in early 2009.
The NL East race ended tonight. But the wild card is still very much in our reach and come October anything can happen. Ask the Giants.
But like I said, don’t kid yourself. The Phillies now have baseball’s best rotation AND they can mash, AND they can play defense.
Braves still won’t catch the ball and are counting on a 38 year old coming off of major knee surgery to be what he was a decade ago.
This division is as over as the NL East was in the late 90’s and early 00’s when our rotation had Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz in their prime with the other 2 spots still being better than most teams #2 or #3 starters.
Pitching and defense wins titles from April to September. The Phillies have it. We’ll find out real quick if we can keep up.
ward
December 14th, 2010
12:45 am
Cliff Lee will have a bad year…..He is only in it for the money….
Wow..
December 14th, 2010
12:45 am
Yep, if the Halladay, Oswalt, and Lee all get injured, then the Braves can compete with them.
But then again, half of the Phillies team was injured last season and the Braves still couldn’t overtake them..
richbrave
December 14th, 2010
12:47 am
Wow..
December 14th, 2010
12:24 am
LEE, BLANTON, OSWALT, HALLIDAY, ????? I forget vs. HANSON, JURRJENS, LOWE, HUDSON, MINOR/BEACHY – I like our chances.
..Sorry. but they’re not even close to comparable. Just being realistic
And you’re forgetting Hamels – eminantly so.
Oh WOW, your guys are chopped liver. We’ll use you like sandwich spread. See you on the field.
ward
December 14th, 2010
12:47 am
I don’t like Lee, and glad the Braves Didn’t get him.I lost respect in Lee during the bidding war….
richbrave
December 14th, 2010
12:47 am
PHILLIES are too easy.
Mike
December 14th, 2010
12:48 am
sorry guys. take the year off. it’ll be easier on your sanity
ward
December 14th, 2010
12:48 am
Wow.. Go home to your blog…..
RemoW
December 14th, 2010
12:49 am
Ward: You can’t be in it for the money if you take a lesser deal.
P'cola Brave
December 14th, 2010
12:49 am
N8
I don’t know I agree w/ that. Whose going to hit behind Howard now that will instill fear. He will probably be #1 or #2 in IBB this year. Even if its J-Roll hitting 5, he will only be in half a season before he blows out. Werth leaving could pack a suckerpunch to this offense some. Especially if they move Ibanez.
Rotation is amazing. Granted. But their offense can be streaky. When their not dropping bombs they’re ice cold.
Rob from SC
December 14th, 2010
12:50 am
We don’t have to win the division. Win the WC and lets go at it in the NLCS
ward
December 14th, 2010
12:51 am
Lee waited, and waited, so don’t give me that crap!!!!
P'cola Brave
December 14th, 2010
12:51 am
Ward
Lee left a lot of money on the table to go to Phils. Obviously its where he wants to be. Somebody said it earlier, hes not a lights out guy like Halladay. You can get to him. This isn’t a dagger to the heart. Its a blindside hit though no doubt.
Jake W.
December 14th, 2010
12:53 am
Let’s not kid ourselves here with blind homerism.
I don’t think this is blind homerism. We’ve seen this script before. I mean, great move by them indeed but I still don’t think this makes them runaway favorites. The braves lost three close games in philly when they started Hamels, Halladay, and Oswalt and we were being depleted by injuries and were forced to start Beachy and Minor in two of those games, yet if the braves actually played half decent defense they could have pulled out one or more of those games out. There offense is what cost them in the postseason. Its a serious question, does the subtraction of Werth and the addition of Lee make it that big of a difference. I’m not sure it does.
Supes
December 14th, 2010
12:55 am
N8,
I normally agree with you but you are exactly the reason why SPORTS is not played on PAPER SIR!
You never know what’s going to happen between now and Opening Day in April…u never know about injuries, or when a player (s) are going to SLUMP….and a team is going to go through an offensive drought (yes your MIGHTY PHILLIES had a huge stretch of futility during which teams like the Nats and Astros held them down).
To simply now say that the braves are playing for the wild card is crazy talk.
If one signing gets you so ‘defeated’ as a fan…just damn I’m glad we don’t always agree on things.
I’ll say this…I like the Braves next 5 years better than I do the Phillies. At least our young pitching talent is here to stay.
Phillies have a short window and then what? Just spend more? Become the Yankees and the Red Sox of the NL? Ask how all that spending has worked out for the Yankees…
P'cola Brave
December 14th, 2010
12:55 am
Jake W.
Agree with that post. I’m interested to see how the subtraction of Werth affects that offense. We know what Lee can do but we will see how good that offense is when theres no big threat sitting behind Utley and Howard.
Supes
December 14th, 2010
12:56 am
I stand corrected…Rob from SC is also already talking Wild Card…by tomorrow 99% of the blog “regulars” will concede and cower infront of the Mighty Phillies…Paper Champs for 2011 NL East!!!
N8
December 14th, 2010
12:56 am
Let me make one thing clear here. We might very well go .500 against the Phillies in head to head matchups. Perhaps Uggla helps this lineup handle Hamels and now Lee.
In 1997 the Marlins beat the Braves 8 games to 4 in the 12 regular season meetings, along with beating them 4 games to 2 in the NLCS.
But the Braves finished 9 games ahead of the Marlins. If that pitching staff of the Phillies remains remotely healhy, they will absolutely cream the less than stellar competition. Just like the Braves in the 90’s did.
Which is why pitching and defense wins division titles from game 1 through game 162. MOST teams cannot remotely compete with that type of pitching on a nightly basis.
For example. In 1996, the Braves traded a young Jason Schmidt to the Pirates for Denny Neagle. Their clear cut Ace. He was BARELY capable of beating out Kevin Millwood for the #4 spot in our rotation going into 1997.
The Phillies now have that deep of a staff. They have 3 legit Aces that are probably better than ANY ace of 25 other MLB teams’ ace. Sound familiar?
Like I said. Braves might even win the head to head matchup with the Phils all year, and very well could beat them in the playoffs if we were to get there and meet.
But we don’t have the defense to win 100+ games. The Phillies now have a rotation to go with their defense (and occasionally potent offense – especially in that park), to easily eclipse the 100 win plateau.
I’ll repeat it. Barring 2 or 3 of those guys going down for an extended period of time, the NL East race ended tonight. No way any other team in the NL East can beat other teams into submission the way the Phils will.
Braves might still win 90-92 games and grab the wild card. We are a better team than we were last year on paper. But the Phillies are night and day better. Even without Werth.
Gotta stick the nose to the grindstone and take care of business or it’s going to be a long summer of looking up at the Phillies in the standings.
The A Bomb
December 14th, 2010
12:56 am
I’ll say it again — if the Phils had this kind of money they should have addressed the back of their ‘pen. Braves proved last year what a ‘pen can do for a team.
Amaro — bad mistake.
ward
December 14th, 2010
12:56 am
Lee has had some bad games too. I like our pitching staff too. We have a good one , and not high priced, so the presure is on them……..
Supes
December 14th, 2010
12:58 am
OK N8,
you convinced me man…the “race is over”…the Phillies are the 1995 Braves all of a sudden!!!
P'cola Brave
December 14th, 2010
12:58 am
A Bomb
Yea if he had 20 mil he shoulda addressed the BP and the 30 HR that just left his lineup. But kinda hard to pass on Lee when hes yours for the taking. Its a big name sign but I think they got other issues.
ward
December 14th, 2010
12:59 am
Remember not all the pitchers will win 20 games.Just big names thats all!
Jake W.
December 14th, 2010
12:59 am
Mighty Phillies…Paper Champs for 2011 NL East!!!
They can join the Miami Heat as Paper Champs of the NBA.
Unfortunately the Celtics balled that paper up. Still the best in the East.
N Nine
December 14th, 2010
1:02 am
Screw Lee, we have Schafer!!!
P'cola Brave
December 14th, 2010
1:03 am
Question is now will the Yanks call on the Braves to express some interest in our pitching. Apparently they aren’t high on Greinke because of his anxiety issues. For once in as long as I can remember the Yanks may be desperate.
Supes
December 14th, 2010
1:04 am
Jake W.
That’s the hope sir….that even though everybody crowned the stinking Miami Heat for the East…someone forgot to tell the Celtics about it. That’s why I just think you can’t assume anything just b/c you have assembled a great rotation on paper doesn’t guarantee sh*t…baseball is a grind, and then the playoffs are a whole different beast…nobody thought the Giants would come in and hand it to the Phillies but they did. Who is to say that can’t be the Braves in 2011?
Wow..
December 14th, 2010
1:04 am
The same Phillies who were paper champs of 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007.
Oh wait….
Tom O'Hawke
December 14th, 2010
1:06 am
Someone asked the question, “Where did they have the finances to afford Lee?” Well, he took less to sign. Folks, it’s something I’ve said over and over here. When you have ownership that is more concerned about winning than the budget, players respect that. (TNScott)
So, then why didn’t the Phillies keep Lee last year? They may have won it all with Lee.
They said they traded him because he was going to be a free agent after 2010. The Phillies said they wanted to get some prospects while they had the chance and they couldn’t afford to pay him for a long-term contract.
After the trade of Lee to the Mariners, they traded for Halladay. Then they signed him to several years. Later in the season they traded for Oswalt, who already had a lucrative contract.
I’ll ask again, where did this new-found money come from? Is it possible they were liars earlier?
Supes
December 14th, 2010
1:06 am
The same Phillies who were paper champs of 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007.
Oh wait….
********************************************
The difference is that the Braves fans didn’t crown their a&& in the middle of freakin’ DECEMBER.
Something else, the entire NL East will get a little bit better (with the exception of the Mets…I think they have taken steps back)…but Nats will be more competitive, Fish will be getting their new stadium soon and are always a tough scrappy team….Braves are no slouch.
Jake W.
December 14th, 2010
1:07 am
The same Phillies who were paper champs of 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007
Oh wait….
No, 2007 and 2008 was the mets.
N8
December 14th, 2010
1:08 am
“… yet if the braves actually played half decent defense they could have pulled out one or more of those games out.” Jake W.
And there lies the problem my friend. Our defense is WORSE than it was last year. Period.
Uggla is worse at 2B than Prado. That being said, Prado is probably better in LF than Melky, Hinske or Nate. Maybe not. But he can’t be any worse, can he?
Chipper is a year older and coming off of a major knee injury at age 38.
Gonzo is NOT Yunel at SS. Despite how pathetic Yunel was with the bat in the first half last year, he was still very solid with the glove.
If Nate is the everyday CF, we are worse defensively than we were with Ankiel at season’s end.
You and others want to blame the defense (and that is justified) for the playoff losses and the losses to the Phils down the stretch.
That’s fine and dandy. I blame the D too. But the defense hasn’t improved, so we really should expect more of the same this year.
I think Freeman will be an improvement at 1B. Definitely better than Hinske/Glaus and probably as good (if not better) than an aging D-Lee who was bothered by a bad back.
“If one signing gets you so ‘defeated’ as a fan…just damn I’m glad we don’t always agree on things.”
I’m not defeated as a fan. I just happen to remember what it felt like with Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, Neagle, and Millwood in the rotation how dominating that was and how defeating it was for other teams to have to come in and face that staff.
Last year before the Phils traded for Oswalt, if a team went in to play the Phils they could cross their fingers that Halladay and Hamels pitched in the last series and they might “miss” them.
Now it doesn’t matter. No breaks. No “easy” starters to face.
I just value pitching and defense and if you DON’T think we have the 2nd best pitching in the division, you’re crazy.
If Chipper isn’t healthy and Prado has to move to 3B, then we’re RIGHT BACK where we were last year. We gonna go with Nate in CF and Hinske in LF?
Oh boy. Excuse me for not jumping out of my boots.
Don’t get me wrong. I think our team improved from last year with Uggla. I think when all is said and done, Venters and Kimbrel should combine to be AS effective as Wagner and Saito. I expect a decent year from Freeman and a huge year from Heyward. I expect Schafer to contribute more than Nate by year’s end (which probably says more about Nate than Schafer).
I don’t expect much of anything from Chipper. Other than his contract hindering Wren from adding the pieces we NEEDED to add to keep up with the Phils. Remember? They finished 6 games ahead of us last year. Now they added Cliff Lee to that rotation?
Sorry folks. Barring major injury to that rotation. The division is a massive long-shot. The Braves might finish with 95 wins and finish further out of 1st place than they did last year.
I’m going with the Phillies winning 103 or 104 games this year. Anybody want some “action” on that statement?
A-Ville Ranger
December 14th, 2010
1:08 am
Wow, it looks like we’re playing for a wildcard spot. Lee returning to Philly gives them at least on paper the best rotation since our all time best starting 5 in 98. Who knows though, an injury or 2 and we might give them a run.
HomeofdaBrave
December 14th, 2010
1:10 am
“Question is now will the Yanks call on the Braves to express some interest in our pitching. ”
The real question is, why would the Braves give it to them? They need all of the pitching they can get.
They can’t afford to trade Lowe/Jurrjens or whoever else comes up in all of the trade speculation now.
ward
December 14th, 2010
1:12 am
Phillies choke in Play Offs case closed!!!!!!
J-Hey
December 14th, 2010
1:14 am
Lee is a good pitcher and all … Philly has a good rotation and all but uh … even with all that, they still didn’t win with him in 09
Arkansas Transplant
December 14th, 2010
1:14 am
Funny thing about this blog, we always look for the positive… “maybe the Phillies will endure injuries.” But then again, maybe not. Pitching will always trump hitting in a short series. That’s why I’ve been advocating the move to acquire a pitcher like Greinke. With Greinke, Hudson, Hanson, Lowe and Beachy/Minor. I think you’ve got to at least give it a try. Maybe work a package around JJ but I don’t think we should sit idle. I really don’t see where 1 guy added to our offense is going to counter what the teams around us are doing.. I mean the teams that are serious about winning. We’ve definitely got room from improvement.
TNScott
December 14th, 2010
1:15 am
Question is P’cola Brave do the Yanks pay the remaining contracts for any potential trade because there is no other way in the Liberty economy that we afford anything – other than prospects – that they have to offer.
MiaBchBravesFan
December 14th, 2010
1:16 am
Thanks, Carroll! Always great to hear from you. Excellent article on the Braves locker jinx.
Rats! The Phils are trying to replicate the JS playbook and stockpile starters. Only injuries can stop them. Or The Curse of Having Too Much.
ward
December 14th, 2010
1:17 am
You guy’s are missing the whole point! not every one will win 20 games in Philly!
TNScott
December 14th, 2010
1:17 am
Tom, they didn’t resign Werth is the main thing, and Lee took less to be with a perceived winner.
P'cola Brave
December 14th, 2010
1:18 am
A.T.
For the Braves to pursue Greinke they would need to move Lowe or some big money. Adding Greinke would be great but not feasible unless some money is moved.
ward
December 14th, 2010
1:19 am
I’m not going to worry about the Phillies, because they are the Phillies……
richbrave
December 14th, 2010
1:19 am
BRAVES head-to-head in 2010 with:
PHILLIES 8-10
NATS 8-10
METS 11-7
FISH 11-7
PHILLIES
BRAVES 10-8
NATS 12-6
METS 9-9
FISH 13-5
To be better, the BRAVES must improve against the N.L. EAST, and especially the NATIONALS.
N8
December 14th, 2010
1:19 am
Listen Supes. I’ll probably watch a few games this year and certainly haven’t given up on the season. So don’t act like I have.
Secondly, this Phillies team has way more talent than the 95 Braves did. That 95 team was probably one of the worst Braves teams in the 90’s.
I’m thinking more along the lines of the 98 Braves with Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, Neagle and Millwood in the rotation.
Can the Braves win the East? Absolutely. Will they? Highly unlikely without some really special offensive numbers getting put up to make up for our shoddy defense.
I actually think our rotation can play keep up with them pretty good. Especially if Minor has a good Sophomore campaign. We might actually end up being deeper 1-5 if JJJ is healthy (we’ll see about that).
But that defense man. Can’t stress it enough.
The Phillies will win a ton of 2-1, 1-0, 3-2, 4-3 games (1-run games in general) when their offense is not on fire, because they won’t shoot themselves in the foot. Lee and Halladay are innings eaters who go DEEP into games, which will mask their bullpen issues 2 out of 5 days.
The Braves will continue to lose games in which they should win because guys will kick routine balls around.
Let me put it this way. If the Braves current cast of everyday regulars could actually play defense? I think this Braves team (pitching and hitting wise) is a 100+ win team.
Our lack of range and soccer impression in the field will cost us 5-10 games over the course of the year.
I’ll repeat a stat from last summer. The Braves had 63 errors in the 2nd half of the season. The Yankees had 69 errors the entire year.
And that’s not taking into consideration the plays that aren’t counted as errors that cost the team runs and games.
Uggla’s bat will be a HUGE upgrade. I love the move for the lineup. I wanted him last spring. But make no mistake about it. His leather is closer to imitation leather than real leather.
Prediction? Braves finish with 92 wins. Win the wild card. While finishing about 11-12 games behind the Phils.
MiaBchBravesFan
December 14th, 2010
1:19 am
AK Transplant: what is wrong with Hudson, Lowe, JJ, Hanson, and Beachy/Minor?
Do you really feel that Grienke can be really that much better than any of the top three, given his performance anxiety issues, and potential for falling flat outside of KC.
Bigwheel
December 14th, 2010
1:21 am
Jake W, I was thinking them phalling down a phlight of stairs
Jake W.
December 14th, 2010
1:21 am
And there lies the problem my friend. Our defense is WORSE than it was last year. Period
No Brooks Conrad starting, i’ll say its an improvement. And Maybe, just maybe, the reason that defense was so noticeable is because by the end of the year the offense had gotten so bad it made it where the defense had to be perfect, because there was no margin for error. I know defense counts, but when you aren’t putting runs up, it doesn’t matter how good your defense or pitching is. You have to score to win and our offense, barring injury, should be a better and more consistent unit this season.
klaus
December 14th, 2010
1:23 am
Denial feast guys. The Phillies rotation is not about to age overnight & collapse nor will their line up.
They won 96 games with some one off injuries not nagging/chronic issues. Utley & Howard are 100% and that rotation will pitch 5x the number of complete games than ATL. We actually pitch none from what I recall.
Wren needs to make two moves but he cannot and will not make any b/c he is broke and Liberty could care less.
He needs Justin Upton & Greinke to match up with the Phillies never mind Boston should they get that far.
It is what it is. Mid market team, absentee owner, relying in 20-21yo rookies and a 38yo 3B with a surgically repaired knee.
That is alot for Uggla to over come in his role.
Arkansas Transplant
December 14th, 2010
1:23 am
P’cola Brave
Then you have to look at ways to move money, however crafty you have to become. Moving JJ would save you almost 4mil and they may be able to clear up to as much as 3mil in a KK trade(fingers crossed) but I do think they need to be creative some way or talk liberty into increasing payroll by 5 or so mil.
ward
December 14th, 2010
1:24 am
Ireally like the Braves chances as well! ESPN Is over looking the Braves too.
Tomas
December 14th, 2010
1:24 am
Damn Phillies. Just when I thought the Braves had the upper hand, they sign Cliff Lee. I hope Oswalt, Lee, Hamels and Halladay get injured.
Jake W.
December 14th, 2010
1:24 am
Pitching will always trump hitting in a short series.
Well thank goodness we wouldn’t have to face the phils in a short series……
The A Bomb
December 14th, 2010
1:24 am
Even if we deal Lowe and pick up Greinke, Lowe makes $15 million and Greinke $13 million.
Plus Lowe has playoff experience, Greinke has hardly been out of last place.
Not worth it at all.
Bravesfan
December 14th, 2010
1:24 am
What makes me think that Cliff Lee will not have the same success as in the past? Less take a look at success and failure level of all the pitcher who signed for more than $100 million contract in MLB history.
Success: CC Sabathia
Failure: Kevin Brown, Mike Hampton, Barry Zito, Johan Santana
Jake W.
December 14th, 2010
1:26 am
They won 96 games with some one off injuries not nagging/chronic issues
I’d like to see them win 96 with a couple of “season-ending” injuries thrown in there. I’d say thats a little tougher, just me though.
P'cola Brave
December 14th, 2010
1:26 am
We all know how the Braves operate. Their will be no counter move. Instead they will go into ST and hope for guys to rebound and if they don’t, they’ll make moves in June.
TNScott
December 14th, 2010
1:27 am
What we can hope for is that Freeman’s range can help on that side of the infield, and that Chipper’s knee allows him no less range than what he now has or else Braves fans will have the nightmare of watching the Bob Horner statue defense at third yet again. Sorry, Bob.
ward
December 14th, 2010
1:28 am
Now that Lee is going to the Phillies. It will be interesting to see what Wren does?
Tom O'Hawke
December 14th, 2010
1:28 am
Man! I haven’t seen this much late-night action since nolie showed up in a speed-o.
Funny thing about this blog, we always look for the positive
Arkansas Transplant, what blog are you talking about?
Tom, they didn’t resign Werth is the main thing, and Lee took less to be with a perceived winner.
TNScott, OK, but what about Halladay and Oswalt in the meantime? And did they even discuss long-term contract with Lee last year?
ward
December 14th, 2010
1:29 am
The Braves are still Planning to trade K.K.
P'cola Brave
December 14th, 2010
1:30 am
Ward
I’m guessing nothing unless it really improves this club. I would imagine we’ll head into ST as is and hope for the best
Supes
December 14th, 2010
1:30 am
He needs Justin Upton & Greinke to match up with the Phillies never mind Boston should they get that far.
******************************
See, those 2 guys can be had for the right price…are you willing to give up our top tier talent for them?
You can’t have it all folks, people keep bringing up Greinke who is a fine pitcher and a great year 2 years ago…but has a history of “how to word this…mental breakdowns, emotional type problems”…being a ML pitcher half the battle is in your mind b/c a lot of the guys have the arm, but don’t have the mental make up to be a top tier pitcher.
I do agree that Liberty Media ownership of the Braves have set back the franchise probably a good 5 years…but it’s made us more financially responsible and has forced the Braves to hold on to their home grown talent for a change.
It’s a shame that an owner like Arthur Blank is (to the Falcons) won’t happen to the Braves anytime soon….we could use someone like that who does everything possible within their means to assure putting a winning product on the field.
N8,
predictions in December…really? Come to me in April with some
The A Bomb
December 14th, 2010
1:30 am
Bobby Valentine just reiterated what I’m saying…..
Let Manuel load ‘em up on innings early on. They’ll pay the price.
If Amaro had this type of money he should have shored up the bullpen.
They might/will get 70 wins out of the 4 starters, but let’s see what the back end does. They’ll blow a few.
REMEMBER: Teams in the NL East do NOT fear the Phillies. And with this signing, it’s just going to raise the level of intensity.
Bring it on.
Arkansas Transplant
December 14th, 2010
1:31 am
MiaBchBravesFan,
It’s not so much I don’t like the current rotation but I would like to see more dominance in it. I’m not too concerned about Greinke, the guy won a CY Young award in the AL, you can’t do that without being dominate at home and away. He’s a power pitcher which would is huge in a short series plus he pitches very deep into games. Plus, given his age(27) he’s just coming into his prime.
Supes
December 14th, 2010
1:32 am
No question the Braves need to improve on their record against teams in the NL East in 2011 if they are to be contenders…and our record last year against the Nats was probably the reason we didn’t win the division.
Jake W.
December 14th, 2010
1:33 am
Well hopefully reacquiring Jason’s thumb will be a bigger boost to the braves than the phils reacquiring Lee.
I guess i’ll skip out on the blog to October, so I can see the phils win there 5th straight division as guaranteed on this blog.
ward
December 14th, 2010
1:33 am
Who listens to Bobby V anyways? He just rides the Band wagon…..
N8
December 14th, 2010
1:33 am
“predictions in December…really? Come to me in April with some.” Supes
Oh you can count on it. I’ve been so busy with work lately (should be working right now – but this is worth taking a break and discussing), that I’m just pumped to have something that is of interest in our division to discuss on the blog.
Don’t care about A-Gone and Crawford going to the Sox. Didn’t care if Lee went to the Yanks or stayed with the Rangers. But Cliff Lee signing with the Phils? Yeah. That’s important enough to yap about.
ward
December 14th, 2010
1:35 am
We have good pitching as well, and I’m going to say it again. I like our chances!!!!!!!
nolie
December 14th, 2010
1:38 am
wow lotsa Braves fans living in denial tonight
ward
December 14th, 2010
1:40 am
Everybody for get we have good pitchers too! Beachy, and Minor…..
ward
December 14th, 2010
1:43 am
I think we will do just fine………
Tomas
December 14th, 2010
1:44 am
Randal Delgado, Brandon Beachy, and Nate Mclouth + 5.8 million for Andrew McCutchen.
CF Andrew McCutchen
RF Jason Heyward
3B Chipper Jones
2B Dan Uggla
C Brian McCann
LF Martin Prado
1B Freddy Freeman
SS Alex Gonzalez
Pitcher
Thats the ideal way to counter attack the Phillies big move. And Prado would bat 6th because it gives more balance to the lineup right/left, and he can drive in runs. McCutchen brings a lot of speed, good defense, good bat, young and with a lot of potential.
Brooklyn Braves Brawler
December 14th, 2010
1:44 am
The Bravos will not counter this move until next year, once real money comes off the books. AZ wont trade Upton this year, but may do it next year. I would focus on Grienke and that means JJ is on the block along with Schaeffer and Viscaino or Teheran. That is just the cost of doing buisness. The fact is that we were not going to be able to sign JJ long term because he is a Boras client.
Jake W.
December 14th, 2010
1:44 am
wow lotsa Braves fans living in denial tonight
I don’t know, just call it hope provided by the Giants and their cast of misfit hitters who out thumped and out hit the mighty phillies lineup and bested all that great starting pitching after Halladay started the postseason with a no-hitter. Oh and the Giants beat Lee twice to win the world series. Hope lives with me.
Although if that video game commercial with Halladay pitching the perfect game happens and it really does come down to McLouth in the 9th, i’ll give that hope up…..
Arkansas Transplant
December 14th, 2010
1:45 am
Come on everyone, you have to be honest with yourself and look at it from a neutral stand point not as a Braves Fan. And yes that is very hard cause I hate to think of this team as nothing less than a WS Championship club but this team has some serious questions to answer.
1. Did we just witness Hudson’s return or that one career year last year?
2. Is Mclouth seriously going to improve?
3. Will Chipper return healthy and productive?
4. Has Lowe really figured everything out? (remember early later year? everyone was wanting him gone and now?)
5. Is Freeman going to live up to the hype?
6. Will JJ return to being a quality pitcher?
7. If Chipper doesn’t make it back will we have the players to fill 2/3 of out outfield with productive players?
There are other questions but all and all we’re a very good average team as it stands right now. I just think we’re still needing that one move to make us more of a contender for the conference and I think Greinke could be that move.
TNScott
December 14th, 2010
1:45 am
Tom, I don’t have a really plausible answer, but they are owned by a pretty yet apparently tight-knit group who seemingly take turns at putting their stamp on the team at one point in time or another. That said they have more than what they need to keep up with the Jones’ or in this case the Yankees. Sometimes, the rich are eccentric in their ways, whereas less wealthy people like myself would be called “just plain crazy.”
nolie
December 14th, 2010
1:45 am
McCutchen, who many metrics show as one of the worst fielding CFers in baseball??
Tom O'Hawke
December 14th, 2010
1:46 am
Hey, nolie, how are you? I hope you’re not wearing your speedo thong again. The freakin’ blog is already too busy for this time of the night.
I can’t keep up.