In wake of Lee signing, don’t expect Braves to change course – updated

I have been trying in vein to find individual game stats of each individual on the 2011 PHILLIES staff vs. the BRAVES in 2010. Anybody got a clue?

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First?

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richbrave, you will not be able to find that information until November 2011. The Phillies staff doesn’t have 2011 stats because it’s still 2010. Unless you have a DeLorean that can go 88 mph, you will be stuck looking at 2010 stats as a comparison.

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Have no Fear SCHAFER is here.

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Sign Bill Hall and trade for J Upton……….Thats all we need.

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I think the Braves may have just gone from co-favorite in NL East to a pretty distant second.

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I hope Parish is worth his salt. Got to be better than TP.

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Trading for Ellsbury and Greinke would be awesome, but it won’t happen. Why? ‘Cause the Braves don’t need to trade for either one. As usual, they’re banking on the players jelling to form a really cohesive lineup and staff, and I feel they’re actually right. They have SO much pitching depth and talent in the minors that they have the luxury of picking and choosing what they want to do. Do the Phillies have a great staff? Yes. Is it possible the Braves could have an even better staff in 2-3 years? No doubt.

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ha i called this generic bs response by wren about an hour ago. must be nice to be a gm for a team that has owners who care about more than counting their piles of cash.

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On the bright side, at least the Yankees didn’t get him and they won’t match up well against the Red Sox in ‘11. Take your pleasures where you can find them.

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Liberty Media needs to sell the team to someone who gives a f**k about winning.

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Wren said just what any GM would say.You can’t make deals and trades from a got to attitude.
The Man is thinging as we post, bet on it.
They’re some other very good pitchers out there still.

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On the bright side, at least the Yankees didn’t get him and they won’t match up well against the Red Sox in ‘11. Take your pleasures where you can find them.

is a red sox v. phills world series any less disgusting in your eyes?

cause it certainly is in mine.

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We will be fine. They(Philly) are not going to win 120 games. They wont be much better than last year so I feel pretty good about our chances. There lineup is older and more injury prone. We will be fine and as the last playoffs show just get in and see what happens. I kinda remember the braves having 4 studs and only one the WS once.

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Hey meh, put down the pipe my friend. Who would take KK and McLouth? Only somebody that is smoking what you are.

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We Never have enough bats

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The braves suck

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What the Braves really need is a new owner. Until their payroll can top the 100 million-dollar amount they are going to have trouble hanging with the Phillies.

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If the Giants rotation made the braves look like they couldn’t hit golf balls, what do you think the phillies will do? Roy, Cliff, Roy, and Cole will destroy the braves

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Tim Hudson, Tommy Hanson, JJ, and the new Derek Lowe

That rotation is REAL scary

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Lexbrave — Yup, Sox vs. Phils is less annoying. I blame the Yankees (and accomplice Selig) for the gigantic imbalance in club payrolls. Profit sharing means nothing when you simply have the ownership and profit capability to spend in unlimited amounts.

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This move doesn’t surprise me at all.
1- He was NOT going to NY after the incident with his wife in the playoffs, I don’t care what anybody says
2- Texas just doesn’t have deep enough pockets
3- The Phillies have more money than they know what to do with. With 3+ straight years of selling out every dang game, they are equal to the Yankees with disposable cash and Lee had a positive experience when he was there.

As for the Braves. They cannot match this or even come close. What they need to do is what they have been doing with the salary restrictions placed upon them: Spend wisely and form as good of a TEAM as possible – superstars will not be added.

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Among 456 of the largest U.S. public companies. Maffei, the head of liberty Media Corp., which owns the Braves, tops the list. if a company is so flush with dollars that the CEO can draw an income of $87.1 million, is there not another $15 to $20 million a year for the Braves to beef up their lineup? Braves 2010 payroll was $84 million, $3 million less than Maffei’s salary. Don’t put the blame on Frank Wren!! It’s these crappy owners who don’t care about winning.

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WOW — Agree with you on that.

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Of course they won’t change. Frank Wren is in charge. Did anyone really think Cliff Lee’s signing would affect the Braves’ actions?

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Joey hit it on the head, everyone is freaking out about the Phillies. Pretty similar to last year when everyone was saying they were a lock to win it all. I am curious to know who they are replacing Werth with? Prado will be in the top 5 LF’s by the end of the year COUNT ON IT!

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Where does Philly get all this money?

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dang, i just made a comment over the weekend that i really hope Lee don’t sign with the Yankees, just so that they don’t get their way(like they seem to always do)….can i take that back now???

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richbrave

December 14th, 2010
11:19 am
I have been trying in vein to find individual game stats of each individual on the 2011 PHILLIES staff vs. the BRAVES in 2010. Anybody got a clue?

Joey M

December 14th, 2010
11:28 am
richbrave, you will not be able to find that information until November 2011. The Phillies staff doesn’t have 2011 stats because it’s still 2010. Unless you have a DeLorean that can go 88 mph, you will be stuck looking at 2010 stats as a comparison.

Did you not understand what I am looking for? I’m looking for 2010 stats of LEE, HAMELS BLANTON, HALLIDAY and OSWALT against the BRAVES.

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Lesbrave — I see your point. I may be over the top on this but I really put primary blame on the Yanks and Steinbrenner along with culprit Selig for the modern imbalance in baseball. I cheer whenever they don’t live up to expectations after spending 200M+ on their annual payroll.

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Perfect counter,

Grienke,J Upton/L. Cain, and Bill Hall..Bravos are back in the hunt by also including KK,Lowe, and McClouth in the 2 trades..

Liberty Media is the blame also but I doubt FW is pushing for more money to spend..

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No need to panic. Is it just me but is Lee pumped up by the media becuase he has been so strong against the Yankees in the last two postseasons. Don’t get me wrong, he is very good but let’s not get carried away with this like ESPN wants you to do. They got 4 good starters who have about 2 more years in each of their primes. The lineup is old and you could see the production fall off steeply last year plus they lost werth. Yes, they will be favored but you still have to play the games. They also have no bullpen and they push their starters for heavy innings work. They are primed to break down over the long haul of a season. Do not panic and change your opporating mode becuase of another teams actions.

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DOB – tell the real story why the Braves won’t try to match the Phillies’ move in signing Lee — MONEY! The Braves are almost maxed at payroll that the cheap tightwads at Liberty Media give the Braves. Plus, if the Braves do deal KK, they have to eat at least 4 of the 6 million dollars that they owe him. Two million dollars isn’t going to get you a very good pitcher, unless you do trade KK and then, you’d have to trade the farm away to KC to get Greinke for ONE YEAR, because Liberty Media isn’t going to pad the payroll for his salary for 4 or more years. That hasn’t worked out well lately — Mark Teixeira, the most shing example of late.
The Braves despirately need new ownership!

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At this point we don’t need pitching. We need another upgrade to the offense. The only producers in this linuep are Prado, Heyward, Uggla, and McCann. Mcclouth has had 1 good year, Chipper is worthless, Gonzo had the best year of his career last year and Freeman is a rookie. Braves are now playing for the Wild Card again. It would go a long way to getting a leadoff hitter that can steal bases.

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You’re kidding right? Exactly what type move would the Braves even consider.
We don’t sign Type-A free agents; we don’t trade for Type-A players with multi-year contracts; we don’t make moves to compete at the top level in our sport!

Who do you think we are? The Falcons?

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Other teams are picking up more interesting and cheap free-agent nontenders than Mather, and I think theres room for a centerfielder that is ready to start instead of McLouth if he doesnt come around after this lonnggg second chance. Melky was not the answer.

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And that we added the lefty-mashing power hitting we’ve been dying for since Texeira? All is not lost…

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I believe Philly did this because of the Braves lineup. If Chipper can still play, look at our lineup. It’s got a hell of a lot more pop than the World Champ Giants . . .

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Right, Dean, Lee lost twice to the Giants in the WS.

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big 4 for phillies career era of 3.47.
big 4 for braves career era of 3.48.

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Frank Wren will stand pat with injury prone chipper jones and the braves will suck once again. Everyone is satisfied with Dan Uggla but can he pitch to? We need another top pitcher

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December 14th, 2010
12:23 pm
“……..Other teams are picking up more interesting and cheap free-agent nontenders than Mather………,”

The point is that the BRAVES think MATHER best fits THEIR needs not that someone else is better overall. That individual may not be what the BRAVES want in place because there’s no guarantee that player fits well in the BRAVES scheme of things. He might very well be a better player……..but somewhere else.

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Pick up Reed Johnson or Fred Lewis and they could contribute now instead of wating til the summer to make the outfield stronger.

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richbrave,
If you go to Yahoo player pages, you can search Batter Vs. Hitter pages and see each year vs. a particular team. That is the easiest way I know to see each player vs. the Braves.

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will, your argument is like a move studio saying we’ll start putting johnny depp in our movies when more people start paying to see movies with jon gossling.in them.

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I trust in what Wern has been able to do so far, the Braves have always been station-to-station hitters, thats the way Bobby did it. Im hoping the new folks will employ the ability to create runs when the the bats are cold. The best run in baseball is the one scored without a hit! get some speed at the top of the lineup.

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Braves have the starting pitching, it is fielding, speed and a leadoff hitter they lack.
The season has a funny way of making December views seem silly though.

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Halliday vs Hudson = tie (consistently great stuff on both parts)
Lee vs Jurrjens = tie (if JJ is healthy)
Hamels vs Hansen = tie (both can be extremely hot or cold)
Oswalt vs Lowe = tie (both impressed down the stretch)

The Sham has left no doubt that he is a complete idiot

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Ken Price – RE: 12:29 post

Let’s see where that ERA is in three years -

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How about

McLouth, KK for Pujols? the salaries match

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It’s really not unbelievable considering how unbalanced Major League Baseball is (in terms of the financial structure). Until the owners decide to implement a hard salary cap (similar to the most successful financial sport in the world-NFL), there will be zero opportunity for smaller budget teams to compete (on a regular basis).

It would also help, if Liberty Media decided to finally see the Braves to a local owner with the financial means and desire to build a championship roster. Until then, it will be a constant battle between the the haves (owners/teams with financial means) and the have nots (teams with little to no financial support).

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Do Braves fan remember that the Braves had 25+ last AB wins?

That does not happen every year. If we dont score early we will not win the Wildcard. That is too many wins relying on our last AB

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Dean, you are absolutely right. Lee has been primed and pumped up by the media because of his 09 postseason and 10 postseason against the Yankees. His regular seasons over the last two years have been solid at best. The guy has had one great season followed up by two solid ones. No one remembers that he was sent packing to Triple A in 2007 and almost cut in lieu of……..Paul Byrd.

Plus everyone thinks the Phillies will be unbeatable, but tell me how they are going to score runs? Rollins has fallen off sharply and Werth is no longer there to protect Howard. He and Utley will get pitched around and teams will force Raul Ibanez, Shane Victorino, and Carlos Ruiz to beat them.

The Braves will be fine. They won 91 games last year with Troy Glaus as their best power hitter and with Heyward, Prado, and Chipper banged up and missing time. With Uggla in the fold now I like the Braves chances.

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hi

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Sorry bout the double post but… I meant to say that we almost NEVER fill up Turner Field

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Gary,

Braves won 91 games with 25+ last AB wins. We got lucky. We could have easily lost half those of games

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One thing I have noticed is Seattle has an outfielder named Franklin Gutierrez that would be perfect in CF for this team. He doesn’t have a huge bat, but he catches everything that moves. With a large ballpark like The Ted, and having pitchers that make a lot of outs in the air. He’s signed through 2013 and makes roughly 5 million per year. He’ll be 28 on opening day so he’s not a young prospect. With a couple mid tier pitchers involved, I believe this deal could be done quickly.

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Will, you said it best. The ones that bitch the most probably don’t go to more than 1 or 2 games a year. Fans in Atlanta don’t support the team like the Philly fans do. Shame on you fans in Atlanta.

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Call Me Frank Wren. i want to play in Atlanta

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To add to my statement……Prado had a .350 OBP and Heyward had a .393 OBP but Chipper Jones only had 46 RBI’s in the 95 games he played in. Basically, every 3rd at bat Chipper had ducks on the pond and failed to produce.

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Jack, you don’t have to go to the game to be supportive. If the Braves had more fans watching at home, the revenue generated from marketing campaigns (aka commercials) would increase significantly.

One thing that everyone on here is missing is the Phillies are going to have to trim payroll now. This means several bats are leaving on top of Werth already being in Washington. Howard and Utley are staying put. Outside of that, they will be a much weaker team offensively than they have been in recent years. Newton’s 3rd law will be their Achilles heel.

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AdirondackDave………they’re to blame but the owners and management ALL knew what was going on. Guys like Brady Anderson don’t suddenly start hitting 50 HRs because they’re eating their Wheaties!

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No Moves. Not much hope.

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The bottom line….without a salary cap this sport won’t be worth watching unless you’re a fan of a big market team.

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Of course. The Yankees started destroying baseball back in the 90s with their ridiculous salaries and now the Phillies will try to finish it off. I can’t stand the Phillies. Since they like to spend money so much they should put them in the AL East and put Tampa Bay in the NL East. So sick of baseball being imbalanced.

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Low Key

December 14th, 2010
1:04 pm
Does anyone else think it’s a lame move to be the premier free agent on the market and sign with the team that traded you away at the beginning of the season? I dunno, something about that just seems wrong to me.

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Actually…………………….no

But before I forget, I was going to leave a Happy Holiday best wishes to all my Bravos phans. So please don’t think I’m piling on with the timing of this.

Couple of things………….

There has to be some reason why these players are leaving money on the table to play in Philly. Halladay also signed for less then he could have to come here. Clearly, Lee liked it here.

We’re as surprised as you guys about Lee. A couple of days ago Jayson Stark of ESPN hinted that the Phillies were the “mystery” team that everyone was talking about in the Lee saga. And everyone here accused Stark of smoking crack.

This pitching staff will probably be together one year. Phillies have an option on Oswalt for 2012 with a 2 million buyout. Unless the guy wins the Cy Young don’t know if we’ll keep him (Astros are paying $7 mil towards his salary THIS year – thank you Ed Wade)

So, happy year and, as always – don’t complain – you could be Mets phans

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The royals have the best talent in the high minors of any team in MLB. They have a stud catcher (Will Meyers) coming up next year and have no need for Cervelli as a back up. They also have Hosmer, Moustakas, and others about to arrive in their system, so the francouers and Melkys of the world are just a stop gap that will be dumped when their talent is ready. Greinke has had one stellar year. He has had emotional problems, and he is nearing free agency. He will cost a lot of dollars to keep as well as prospects to get. Given a chance, Teheran or Delgado may be as good or better in the near future.

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Don – very true.

blue, by typing that I am ignoring you and your name changing troll-posts, I could also be baiting you to further show your immaturity by continuing to follow me around, pretending to be several people and attacking me before I even post in a thread. But that’s okay, you keep on, it’s not like you are fooling anyone or making any points. I really hit a sore spot when I embarrassed you, didn’t I?

You will keep posting inane comments, changing names, pretending to be others, and most likely will continue to attack me. It will not affect my posts in any way. Even with responding to a troll, that is the most effective way to ignore them.

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unknown at 3rd
rookie at first with just a few major league at bats.
Mclouth in center who was optioned to minors.
No quality bench other than hinske.
the only infield back up of any quality is our left fielder so when he moves to third we have no outfield.
Yeah sounds like we are ready for the phillies.

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Lowe was great at the end of last season, and so his value might be at its peak for the rest of his career. Yanks need a pitcher. How about the Bravos trade Lowe now and then go after Grienke? Think I know the answer, but any shot at that?

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JC Boscan III ……..Dude the game is played on the field and from where I’m sitting no one has taken a swing yet in 2011.

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How ’bout we get Liberty to pony up, sign Beltre, and tell Chipper he’s going to split time in LF and 1b, backing up Freeman.

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Some of the newswires are comparing the projected 2011 Phillies starting pitchers to the 1997 Braves team….remember….Smoltz, Glavine, Maddux and Avery ?

Checking the records we (Braves) finished that year with 101 wins……

Seeing as how we just had 91 wins in 2010 despite plenty of arm trouble as in JJ and KK…..and Medlen crashing….Lowe’s struggles…..Hanson underperforming…..

…..and a woeful offense at times….

Well I’m not ready to concede the divisiion to the Phillies just yet….

As Skip always said…..”that’s why they play the games, lady, that’s why they play the games”…….

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excuse me….that year was Neagle….Avery was toast by then…..

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Ahhhh Denny Neagle…….the man couldn’t fish! Who can’t fish?!

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Braves should trade for Zach Greinke or Edwin Jackson and sign Andruw Jones.

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don’t be naive, lee didn’t leave any money on the table to come to philly.. over the next 5 years he will actually be making 10 million more in philly than he would have under the yanks best offer. he then hits free agency 2 years sooner so he can sign another free agent deal at whatever ungodly salaries they inflate to by then.

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No, the Braves should not panic. Financially, the Braves and Phillies are playing in two different leagues and the Braves obviously cannot afford to compete in this league! The Braves should continue to scrape the bottom of the barrel and pray for a miracle.

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JC Boscan III @ 1:23pm

Actually, if you look at the Braves splits last year…

Versus LH starters – .260 avg, .339 obp, 4.55 runs/game
Versus RH starters – .259 avg, .339 obp, 4.56 runs/game

I know their record was worse against lefty starters, but it had nothing to do with offense according to the splits. Just one of those freak things where the matchups didn’t work out.

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If all you guys are so upset about the Braves Payroll, get over it. its not gonna change. Unless, you posers start coming to Turner Field and we start selling out every game…….. Idiots!

Good Job DOB!

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Norris,

It’s okay to be disappointed, but don’t give up when it’s not even Christmas yet. And there is no need to trash the team especially the face of the franchise and leader of the team just because you are not totally happy with the philosophy. Hang in there if you are a true fan. It’s okay.

BS/space monkey/whatever – I respect opinions that are worthy of respect. Simply because someone has an opinion does not make that opinion worthy of respect in of itself. As for trolls, I will not respect their posts.

As for “us”, the one I embarrassed was blue who used multiple names to try and hide his trolling, so if you are not part of his multiple personality set, why would you feel the need to respond? Oh, wait…sorry, never mind…

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Let us not also forget, Philly is not as strong offensively going into 2011. Still good but there may be a hole or 2 in that lineup now. And good luck finding someone to take the contracts of Blanton & Ibanez. So mark them down as favorites knowing they are a Brad Lidge knee or shoulder away from falling back to the pack.

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Frank Wren’s comment, “We are limited financially,” tells you all you need to know. The problem is Liberty, who is no lady when it comes Braves fans.

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Norris, I agree with you.Some people seem to believe Chipper will be great, Nate will return to his past, Schafer will suddenly be the answer to all. I hope that happens but I wouldn’t bet a dime it does. I believe in being prepared but I have insurance.

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ramblingman

December 14th, 2010
1:25 pm
Norris, the door to the Phils bandwagon is that way ——->

Or you could jump on any other bandwagon of your choosing. Some of us will remain in the Braves camp.
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THANK GOD ramblingman is here to defend all our fandom. He is a true blog hero!!!!!

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Heyward. – Your wrong about the pHilly bullpen; last 1/2 -1/3 of the season they were pretty much lights out.

But you’re right – last year the Phillies were the oldest team in MLB.

But this year we’re………(cough) older.

This Phillies team as presently constructed has 2-3 more years……..TOPS!!!

However, since we’ve waited since 1883 to have a team this dominant – we’re not complaining!!!

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Ah, Phyllis…it seems that you have calmed down quite a bit from your fiery banter during the heat of the season. You must have learned from your overconfidence. That’s good to see…maybe there’s hope for you.

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Look, we have a very good pitching staff if JJ rounds back into form, but all the attempts to make it seem like our guys are the equal of Halladay,Lee,Hammels is pretty funny-at best. True on any given day a KK can outduel a Halladay. But those are exceptions, certainly nothing you can bank on.You certainly couldn’t expect JJ to outduel cliff Lee in a playoff game. Could it happen? Sure,hust like people can walk away from car wrecks where their car is left unrecognizeable,just not something you can count on.

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Paddy, it’s the same kid who still has pie on his face from being shown up several days ago. He’s a little peekapoo who thinks he’s a pitbull. It’s okay, I toss him a bone now and then.

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Braves fans should be less concerned with the names of the players and more concerned that the Phillies have become the “Yankees of the NL” and seemingly can re-stock at will. Sure, some of their players are 2-3 years away from a rocking chair, but as long as the franchise brings in stockpiles of cash in those 2-3 years, they’ll just replace them with the next set of very good-to-exceptional players. Who knows, in 2-3 years, they may look to add guys named Prado, Jurrjens or McCann to Cheesesteak Land.

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I believe that jordan schafer does nothing in this team of the braves , that wren make any change of impact , already made one with ugla because now we need a CF ? To make any change in boston by Ellsbury and because they do not with KC by Greinke . there to move does not fall asleep and wait for the rookies Bearing all the weight of the equipment

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The Braves have much better depth. For better or worse, stuff happens (injuries, etc.). The Braves have the pitching depth in the system to sustain some key losses. Not sure the Phils do.

Glad to see Wren is not hitting the panic button. While I’d love to have an Ellsbury or someone of that ilk, I’d be surprised if it happens. That said… Wren is Mr. Stealth and may yet make a move, his public comments notwithstanding.

Lastly, we’ll see how great that contract looks when they’re on the hook for that kind of money to a 37-year-old pitcher. Might look good. Might look really really bad.

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Boo Hoo! So what the Phillies got another ace, they still gotta go out there and pitch. Unless I’m wrong they dont spot these guys any wins at the beginning of the season, I see an old team w/ contracts that w/ a injury here or there could put the Phills in a tite spot. Braves had a comparable pitching staff and how many world series did they win? Exactly! We will compete and until someone w/ deep pockets who cares whether we win or not takes over this teams payroll thats all were gonna do. I can live with that, for now.

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The other thing miserable are the braves , barely 120 million to lee and atlanta ? Asleep as always . always the same story that do not have the money and the money and are some blatant in truth, if liberty media do not have the means of support to a major league team to the sold to a owner that a win and win big / They were was crawford and now lee and now to secure come with the same as always with the idea of silly schafer or with mc clouth that is another good for nothing . when we have some landlords to think big is that this team of the braves again to be world series champs

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Listed on another blog…. Very interesting

ERA for the Phils and Braves top 4 starters:

Hallady (34) 3.32 Hudson (36) 3.42
Oswalt (33) 3.18 Hanson (24) 3.16
Lee (32) 3.85 Lowe (38) 3.85
Hamels (27) 3.53 JJ (25) 3.52

I think we all can agree that the bullpen edge goes to the Braves… If we can stay healthy, improve our defense its going to be exciting…. thoughts????

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ramblingman (2:08),

Just goes to show you how easy it is to say “the Braves suck” if you don’t look at the team’s actual performance.

ppaddy123,

If having the biggest payroll guaranteed success then the Yankees or Red Sox would win the WS every year. They don’t. In fact, they don’t even make the LCS every season. I’m sympathetic to a call for a salary floor (making every team spend a minimum amount on their 40-man roster), but given the number of games in a baseball season and the size of the rosters, a salary cap would be a nightmare.

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Piedmont Blues…..I’m SURE all the people in the small markets would agree with you…..not! But, just for the sake of arguing the idea…….why do all the other “major sports” have salary caps? Are they wrong? All MLB teams have a standard 40 man roster. That would be harder to keep capped than a NFL roster? Stop drinking the Kool-Aid being fed to you by the MLB and the Players Union…the league needs a cap. We need the great franchises of the past in small markets to compete again.

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Didn’t the Phillies have an unusual amount of injuries last season? Come on, it’s not like the 2010 Braves exclusively faced adversity last season. If we’re going to assume that Chipper is back, McLouth is better and everything lines up for the Braves, don’t you also have to assume that their key position players are available for 150+ games as well? Or should we expect nothing but the best for the Braves and nothing but the worse for the Phillies? Our rookie 1B is great while their rookie OF sucks. Our rotation (featuring some surgerically repaired arms) stays healthy while their rotation breaks down. Our rookie closers are outstanding while their closer has Dan Kolb-syndrome. Seriously, anyone betting a mortgage payment on those scenarios?

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I guess we can look forward to the days when Oswalt and Lee are 40 and getting 20 million each and sitting on the dl but the Phillies just made a big jump for the next few years

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Novice Ned….the Braves don’t have to win the division……they just need to get into the playoffs. I think this years team (2011) will win about the same number of games as last year (91).

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Grienke’s a head case! We’re fine without him.

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This is why the NFL will always be better than MLB. You can’t buy the playoffs or a championship in the NFL. In baseball you have the opportunity to purchase the playoffs and championships. I don’t even know why I bother watching the Braves every year.

Granted, there are teams that do middle of the road spending or less and do well each year. I just hate the fact that you can buy your way into contention year after year. There is something inherently wrong with that in competitive sports. I wish MLB could get capped.

I know. Enough whining. Go Braves.

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Frank Wren, I hope you get this message. The perfect time to pounce is now. The Yankees are desperate for a starting pitcher and Grienke is too much of a head case to make it in the media blitz of NYC. Offer Derek Lowe for Nick Swisher. Lose $15M in salary, pick up $10M. Move Heyward to center, Swisher in right. Braves get a switch hitting power hitter and we have plenty of good young arms to replace Lowe. The Braves will pound the Phillies out of the park.

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Our Atlanta/Georgia sports teams must be cursed, or is it the penny pinching of the Falcons prior to Arthur Blank, and now by the Braves, Hawks,and Thrashers. It could also be that management knows that our fan base settles easily for mediocrity that more effort is not made to field better teams. We make excuses whenever we like the coaches, i.e. Mark Richt, Bobby Cox,despite their inabilities to get us over the top.
The Hawks had two of the worst GM’s in NBA history and the ownership kept them on, despite their poor draft history. The Phillies have just made a move which should help them to dominate the NL for years to come. It is incumbent that Braves ownership loosen the purse string in order that Frank Wren can upgrade the club in order to compete.

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I know a lot of people want to go out and trade 5 prospects for mccutchen or greinke or upton but if we do that we’re losing out on an opportunity to have a great starting rotation in a few yrs. If teheran, delgado, minor, beachy, maybe vizcaino are added to hansen and jurrjens(if he’s still around) then we have 7 starters who potentially can be stars or at worst maybe #3 startes (if they live up to expectations). As people have been saying, the phillies rotation, minus hamels is all at least 32 and chances are they aren’t gonna be great for the whole life of their contracts. It sucks we can’t get top free agents but I’d rather build through a strong farm system then be considered the yankees or red sox of the NL.

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Freddie G,

Braves in playoffs in 2010, Falcons heading towards clinching HF advantage throughout playoffs, Hawks & Thrashers virtual locks to make playoffs with perhaps 1st round home court in 2011. How many other cities would take the curse of all 4 pro sports teams making playoffs? So none of them may win the grand prize. Mediocrity seems a bit harsh. Especially considering attendance and their games and how it affects revenues and those purse strings. I guess everyone is too busy paying attention to middle of the pack ACC/SEC college football programs to notice Atlanta has some decent pro teams.

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Mikey,

Dunn is now a Marlin. Venters has had 1 good year and Kimbrel is still an unproven rookie. Venters and Kimbrell have the potential to be dominant at the end of the game, but it is still potential.
the Philly bullpen is not as bad as you suggest. Lidge was dominant during the last two months of the season laswt year, and Madson is a proven setup man.

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Based on your inside knowledge from various contacts around the game, how much longer do you honestly believe Liberty Media will hold on to the Braves. Do you think that there’s a good chance that they look to sell this team within the next couple of years or so?

This team desperately needs ownership that is willing to spend whatever it takes to seriously contend for championships year in and year out, and Liberty is simply never going to do that.

I find it sad that the payroll for the braves was higher 10 – 12 years ago then it is now.

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isn’t cool having the same $84 million dollar payroll…we had in 1990….???
as McGuirk the Liar states: we think $84 mill is where our “sweet spot is..and that Liberty Media doesn’t set payroll….he does….”
I wonder how much of a bonus he gets for taking the rap…LOL…
and yet LM CEO made more than our entire payroll… SO WHY DON’T YOU FREAKIN’ SELL US : A.H.

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Jim, Would you trade our B/P for theirs? Phillies lost .296/27/85/.353 and a great defensive R/F protecting their best hitter Ryan. We gained .287/33/105/.369 in Uggla who will protect the best hitting catcher in the NL. Phillies lineup looked pretty vunerable vs Giants. I like our chances!

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Dereck Lowe would look really good in a Ranger Uni— or perhaps as a Yankee– this might be a great time to free up some bucks! You only play them 3-4 games at a time. Huddie-Hanson-JJ is as good or better than Lowe in the mix. We need a lefty starter anyway. Let’s go Frank–make it happen!

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The “lite hitting” Giants beat the Phillies to advance to the WS.
One Hitter alone was the undoing of Halliday (Cody Ross)
Lee is eratic at times and CAN be beaten (once again – ask the Giants)!
Oswalt is getting older and will have good days and bad days.

We had Beachy go toe to toe w/ Doc – and our lack of a line-up was our undoing.

The Yankees had the line-up last year, and the low budget Rays beat them for the division.
You just have to play the games – you have to!
Also, cheer for the Braves!

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this ownership is as cheap as they come and will not ever make the necessary investment to win, so braves fans you are playing for just second place

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Nittany – Lowe to Yanks for Swisher or Gardner and use the extra spon for Garza may be an idea, well if Yanks go for it, or we get Garza, Tampa gets Joba, Yanks get Lowe

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Correction: The fans buy tickets

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Now don’t ask this silly question again, the Braves management kept McClouth in center field. If you need any more information, take a sports course in your community college. This franchise is an investment only, there is no passion or desire to win championships, just feed the sports monster so it don’t die. It’s the original Braves owners that we had for 30 years before Turner stepped up and bought the franchise. We are the southern version of the Minnesota Twins.

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Seminoles have you not noticed that it takes pitching and defense to win. That’s how we won in the 90’s and how Philly is set to win now (minus the defense). You can never have enough pitching. Pitchers go down due to injury all the time and you need the younger ones for back up roles.

I know we need a good center fielder and left fielder but when you have a chance for starting pitcher you go for them. IMO.

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jim – exactly, they need 2 good RP, we need 5

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Nittany
Pitching is not why we didn’t win last year and will not be the reason if we do not win this year. I will grant you that defense did and will play a big part of it. We obviously haven’t addressed that to this point and I am not sure that we can. My point is that unless we plan to trade Lowe, we cannot afford to pick up a high profile starter like Greinke who is making 13.5 million. We would have over half of our payroll tied up in 4 of our pitchers (Lowe, Greinke, Hudson and JJ).

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I believe Wren

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ramblingman

Wren will not make anymore moves, just wait and see

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This is exactly the same type of whining we endured last winter. People hated that the Braves signed Glaus and he carried the team for 6 weeks. People hated that the Braves did not trade Lowe and eat 100% of his salary and he looked like the Lowe of old during the last few weeks. People hated that the Braves were handing RF over to a rookie and Heyward showed he is a star. People hated signing over the hill relievers like Wags and Saito and they solidified the pen.

It’s been said many times before. If we traded a bag of balls for Pujols plus $20M, people would complain.

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OK..We fire Wren,now you the ones with all the answers ,make your deals within 30 days.Just remember it takes two teams or more to make a trade and you have very,very limited money,you are on the clock.

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Frank Wren has done a very good job in adding some nice pieces to this team, but I hope he enjoys finishing no better then 2nd place in this division.

When you have a Cole Hamels as your 4th starter, you have a dangerous starting staff. The Braves will not be able to contend with the Phillies when they have a shut down pitching staff and a high octane offensive attack as well.

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I think if we lock up Uggla we will be fine.

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ramblingman

December 14th, 2010
5:11 pm
Te, you need to run right out and buy a lottery ticket with your abilities

idoits like ramblingman should be banned from the blog, idiotic statements like this leave no doubt that you are a complete douchebag

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Of course we all want to see a huge trade or free agent signing. Its only natural for true fans to scour baseballreference.com and all the other sources to put together our dream team. But we have to remember that its just that. A dream. If you look at what we already have then you should be pretty happy with it. Our only real ? is CF. You can nitpick all you want but weve got a hell of a team going into next year. And theres always a midseason trade looming if need be so just be patient Braves fans. 2011 will be a great year.

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While Lee improves Phillies rotation and gives them a better chance, it’s not a guarantee they’ll win it all. I am not scared by any means. Braves competed with Phillies all year this year and even over took them in first place. Had it not been for injuries to Braves later in the season, they could have easily won the east.

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Matt Kemp for Beachy, Oflaherty, and Vizcaino. We can find another major league ready reliever- maybe another venters from within our system. And Minor makes the Beachy loss null.

Or we just sit back and watch it all come together as Hamels is due for an injury and Lee somehow looses 4 mph

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Nambie-Pambie land is waiting for all of you doubters,Wren made some good moves and spring training will tell us if we have a viable product. So shut up and wait until spring,unless wrens job is giving to you!

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toothbluenotbluewhateverkid – It’s truly hilarious that you keep on attacking and your main point is how wrong it is for me to comment on the posts of others. Sorry, but I have the power, the ability, and the knowledge to decide which posts I think are good and which aren’t. If I had the time, I would explain the words irony and hypocrisy to you.

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Okay kid, flame away if it makes you feel better. You are truly not worth it.

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It seems to me that every signing of over $100 million in the last two years will prove to be baggage for their teams besides Carl Crawford in Boston. CC Sabathia will not stay in shape long enough to be worth the back end of that contract. The last 2 or 3 years will be very interesting for the Yankees on that one. Texiera proved this year he is not injury proof. That hamstring could be a big deal as he has a big frame to move around. I think he’ll be worth most of his money and New York can pay contracts that perform at better than 50% and be o.k. No way is Jason Werth going to be good for 7 more years at $20 million per year. The Nationals are going to eat at least some of that contract. Cliff Lee will give the Phillies a chance to win now but won’t be worth $120 Million plus a vesting year. Remember Mike Hampton and Kevin Brown the first two pitching contracts ever over $100 million at $105 Million (Brown) and $121 Million (Hampton) look what a bust both of those contracts were. I’m glad the Phillies are so invested in Lee, Halladay and Ryan Howard and Utley. I believe we’ll see them paying the price in 3 years when they are paying players who are not on the field. Insurance won’t cover contracts of over 3 yrs so they’ll be paying the tab themselves. The Twins had to pay Mauer as he is the face of the franchise but he’s not worth the money he got. He’s a catcher and shown signs of wear and he won’t be even close to a plus defender if he moves to 1B. These big contracts are crazy IMHO and I’m actually glad the Braves don’t have the money to engage in the insanity. The last big one we were part of we watched Mike Hampton collect a lot of money while he rode the bench. Personally the more I see these big contracts handed out to these players who can’t guarantee performance the more the sport I love the most loses some it it’s charm. It’s tough in an economy that many people are struggling to keep jobs, houses and cars to watch these insane risks be taken by teams because the players have so much power. I wouldn’t mind seeing the balance of power shift a little for these players like it has for the rest of the world.

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of course it doesnt influence us because we are oblivious to what it takes to win consistently.

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I really like Jason’s proposed 3 team trade with the Yanks and Royals, as long as the prospects dont include Teheran or Delgado. We have to keep a long term perspective. These guys will be in our rotation for years to come.

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FIRE FRANK WREN

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If the Braves trade Kawakami and eat 5 mil of his salary, they basically get $1.67mil. Could they get a better back-up pitcher as insurance for that kind of money. He pitched well in some very tough match-ups and gto very poor run support over two years.

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Podsednik could be our back up in outfield for prado. Cause we all know prado is going to play third the majority of the time.
Podsednik is available and reasonable. Make it happen.

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Maybe the Phils need to get a couple of those flat billed cap guys. That would bring ‘em back to earth!

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Phils being handed WS, or NL East is BS. yes on paper they look unbeatable, but games are played on grass. Braves starters are equal to Phils for 5-7 innings, BP is dominant, and like someone said, they will miss Werth. so let’s start season now, cuz I AM READY!!!! GO BRAVES

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“That’s scary,” said Davey Johnson, a man who once played behind the legendary Orioles rotation of the ’60s and managed the great Mets rotation in the ’80s.

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All from an ESPN article

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I don’t see the D’Backs trading Upton unless you start the conversation with Delgado AND Tehren. Their hanging onto him unless they get overwhelmed. As much as I wish McLouth & KK would overwhelm them, it ain’t happening.

Francona (sp?) came out last week and said their best lineup was when Ellsbury was leading off. Again, think they would have to be overwhelmed to make a trade there.

Would like to see the Bravos go after Counsell or Ojeda as a solid backup up the middle and clutch hitting.

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Oh, and as long as Lidge is closing for the Phils, everyone has a chance to come back in the 9th against them. Going to be fun winning against them next year!

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I agree anything can happen in the playoffs but we win the division you have to fight just for the wildcard which means our chances of WS are much better

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The Phillies are pulling a 90’s Braves move. Don’t they know that spending a ton of money on starting pitching does not mean World Series champs? Ask Glavine, Maddux and Smoltz about that.

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@ The Truth – if I’m an idiot and you later agree with me, then doesn’t that make you an idiot too? I mean I’m cool with other people calling me an idiot (I’m married, so I’m used to it), but it’s not often calls me an idiot and then later agrees with me… Thanks!

I guess your ability to criticize and insult is a result of your lack of critical thinking ability. Good luck with that… btw – I have trench that needs digging – you busy? I’ll even pay you cash so you won’t mess up your unemployment benefits…

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I really doubt that the budget would be expanded if attendance was 100%. That would just be more profit for the shareholders, and execs.

The Braves are going to win the NL EAST in 2011 anyway.

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Oh yeah, it is getting a little boring, seeing all of the Phillie fans whining about injuries, and using them as excuses, for their teams poor performance during most of the regular season.
Do they think that they are the only team in MLB, that had injuries to their players.

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I f Wren thinks sitting on his ass, and thinking a washed up Chipper Jones, and a no account Nate McLouth/ Jordan Schafer is going to match the Phillies he is as looney as a loon, Wren better quit kissin his own hind end and start looking at reality!

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the sky is falling . . . the sky is falling . . .

screw the philies. they need to reload to get ready for us.

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oh there is without question the braves need to make a move now, but we all know it wont be a big move, if it would be a minor one it should be Andruw Jones! why not? we can have guys like glaus, cabrera, garret anderson? but not Andruw??

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Philles keep on loading up their pitching. Braves sign washed up has been pitcher’s.Braves should be very afraid,of Phillies pitching.

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Jordan Schafer hit .201 at Gwinnett last year, then was demoted to Mississippi and hit.175. I think he only hit one home run. Schafer has never hit since he left the Rome Braves. Spring training is training not
real bsaeball. Jordan has been built up by the media and some dreamers

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I’ll keep it simple….I hate the Phillies, always have and always will, oh yeah and their idiot fans to.

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I like the notion of a three team trade with braves, royals and yankees.

Lowe and Mclouth to yankees.

Greinke and gardner to braves

prospects to royals.

braves have enough power…gardner adds speed.

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richbrave,
Please don’t try too hard in vein to find those stats. You will just end up breaking a blood vessel.

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damn Ramblin giving advice again @ 7;56 & 8:44…Most be Schafer’s dad.

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I think the Braves will fare well against the Philies , there is no reason to panic .

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Bowman on MLB said the Braves only have 1 million left to spent. What can you get for 1 mill? Where did the money go?

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Again lets get andruw back if we cant get Upton because Iat least we know Andruw can play CF and has power as evident by his stats in Chicago in part time duty. In part time duty he still led the Braves in homers last year.

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I got curious while watching all the uproar over the Lee signing. So I went back and looked up who the eight highest spenders were for the past five seasons, how many made the playoffs and how many went to the World Series and won (to test the notion, “If you don’t spend you can’t win”)

Here’s what I found:

2006–3 out of 8 top spenders made the playoffs, none in World Series (Cards over Tigers)
2007—4 out of 8 top spenders made the playoffs, one in World Series (Red Sox, winners)
2008—5 out of 8 top spenders made the playoffs, one in the WS (Phillies, winners)
2009—4 out of 8 top spenders made playoffs, both WS teams were top spenders (Yanks over Phils)
2010—only two of the top 8 spenders made the playoffs (Phils and Yanks). Neither advanced. Neither WS contender was a top spender

In five years, 18 of the top 40 spenders made the playoffs. Only 4 of these made it to the World Series. In three years, one (and in one case two) of the top eight made the series, Only once were both WS contenders top eight spenders. 3 of the 5 champions were top eight spenders.

It appears that knee-jerk spending doesn’t replace baseball savvy, injuries, the unpredictability of people from year to year, and a little plain luck here and there. It seems that team chemistry, leadership, and other intangibles might actually make a difference.

Bottom line: don’t cede the title to the Phillies just yet. They won their title in a year when they were not yet a top eight spender.

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Its official the phills have turned into the yanks. Wow how the NL east has changed. I love the statement from Wren though. This should have no effect on the Braves offseason moves what so ever. Wren has done an excellent job with the budget he has, and there is no reason to keep crying about it, theres nothing anyone can do about it other than the owners and we know by now where they stand. Were not going to be the Phills, yanks or Boston, but at least were not Florida or the Pirates. Were in the middle and will probably stay their untill were sold. The important thing is we have vastly improved an already good team who is building off a 90 something win season and a wildcard banner to show for it. If we stay healthy we will have a very good season, our team is very well balanced and has depth. Philly is counting on (healthy) starting pitching and hoping an inconsistent offense can improve while absorbing the loss of Werth. They remind me allot of the Braves in the 90’s and we all know what happens when you overload one area of your team and have to hope for the best with the rest of the roster. Sure if their starters stay healthy and productive and if the offense is cosistent they will be World Series favorites, but if they miss a step the Braves will be there to take back the NL east. I really believe that if both teams stay healthy, it will be a great race, people forget we have some really good starting pitching too, that is younger and just about ready to begin their prime years, and if D.Lowe can coninue to pitch like he did at the end of last year we can match up with them as good as anyone in baseball. If you put our starters out their with what should be a much improved offense, we are gonna have a real tuff, and (underated of course) team.

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Forget just simply reacting to Philly, even before that move it was evident we needed to seriously upgrade our outfield, which was little league except for JHey. Sure having Prado in left will help and Uggla to the lineup is solid move, but we all know with close to 100% certainty that Chipper is not going to be an everyday carry the lineup player this year. So Prado will be shifted around all the time, hopefully not affecting his own plate performance but definitely again putting us at a disadvantage in the outfield again. I believe McClouth will be better than last year, but I still project that Prado will play more infield than outfield, and our outfield will again be one of the lowest producing groups in the league. And other than Schafer we dont really have a young guy left in the minors that is on the verge. So we need to go out and secure a youngish solid outfielder along the lines of Rasmus or Upton. And if it means we trade off a little pitching talent to get it done, its in our interest to secure that area so that we dont have to roll the dice every year and hope someone plays above their head. I love Hinske, but he’s not an everyday outfielder, should probably play more first than OF when the kid gets in a slump.

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Hot Stove, what are you cooking??? I can promise you my only child that Freeman & Prado are untouchable at this time, unless Cards want to swap Pujols straight up!!! Lets keep it real, Prado was team MVP last year, hes not going anywhere!!!

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The braves shouldnt fear the phills thhe philly offense is not as mighty becuse one jason wreth is gone 2 raul imbanez is on his way out think about that and if mclouth and or schafer hits the braves will be fine either if chipper or prado play 3rd im fine with that and dan uglla will shut down hamels and lee just wait till the spring when we can settle this on the field Go Bravos!

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Still think we need to ship Kawakami out of Mississippi and try to scrounge up enough money to sign Bill Hall or bring back Renteria. Need a proven back up to play 2b/ss.

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How about we trade KK for an unlimited payroll? If any of you guys have the money to pay for these fantasy trades, please go buy the Braves. If not, continue with your fantasy. We’ve got what we can pay for.

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Yogi, you obviously do not keep up with things so please allow me to help you. Schafer was not recovering for “two years” as you claim. He was injured for most of 2009, had surgery in Sep 2009, was told that it would take one full year to recover, tried to come back too soon in 2010, performed poorly and was eventually shut down because he was not fully recovered (as he was told he would not be), and began to feel better at the one year mark. As to the alleged drug problem, he has never had one. No proof has ever been offered that he used, and no allegations have ever been made against him either before or after the one time he was accused of associating with people using HGH. As HGH is used for recovering from injuries, and he was not injured until well after he served his suspension, most are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Well, I tried, people. I tried to be nice to the troll and respond to a post of his. The kid was just lying in wait to get personal again. Evidently, he thinks I am the only poster not allowed to have any opinion. LOL @ that. He still does not get the meanings of irony and hypocrisy. Oh well…

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Pman, interesting points. It could make sense for both teams but I think NY even in their panic would hold out for a prospect as well.

I would still rather go for Garza and Bartlett from Tampa. True it would cost more in terms of prospsects, but we could then turn around and trade JJ and Gonzo to replenish the farm. I still think it’s a good chance someone in house will step forward in CF and this strengthens SS and gives us a bulldog in Garza.

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Heck no, my client never used HGH or any other kind of PED’s. He was suspended 50 games for spitting seeds on the dugout floor.

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We’re doing well as is. You know how lucky we are to have a team in rebuilding mode and still be competitive at the same time? Normally when a team rebuilds they are last place for years. We have way more young talent than the Phils do and a better farm system than they do. We won’t be a push over this year with a comparable rotation, better bullpen, and upgraded line-up.

Are they the favorites to win it? Sure, but it’s not set in stone and let’s not forget we were 7 games ahead of them at one point last year without JJ and with a horribly under-performing line-up.

We also have a bright future being built with some tremendous young talent; the Phils are going to be so handicapped with all these old expensive guys they will not be able to improve much more over the next several years.

Lastly, consider why the Phils made this deal. They needed more pitching, they know their bullpen is suspect, Hamels is still inconsistent at time, and one injury to their rotation would have destroyed their season. They still don’t have the depth we do; if both teams take injuries to the rotation, we’ll be in better shape than they will.

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Asked how Major League Baseball determined that Schafer used HGH, Mike Teevan, MLB’s manager of media relations, said, “We have non-analytic means of identifying players. He falls under that category

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3336898

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ramblingman

December 15th, 2010
1:31 pm
He played well after the suspension

For what, 2 weeks? Spring Training? Even Melky looked decent in Spring Training

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How long does it take after you stop taking HGH before your body returns to normal, many players never recover or have great careers after they were forced to stop.

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The link @1;51 said he used it…the words used two are more times. Just saying?

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Ramblin means he was born in the back seat of a bus going down hiway 41…rolling stones

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Please accept my apology,Tech fans. Im sure he is not a Tech fan

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Does anyone remember that D. Lowe found a nasty slider the last 6 weeks of the season and almost pitched a couple of no-no’s. If he pitches like he did down the stretch and everyone else stays healthy our pitching will stack up just fine with the Philly’s!!

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they should call this blog black on black lol no one knows a baseball player from an armchair but they sure are racist

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Watch out guys, begin to show too much optimism and the trolls come out with fangs bared. LOL.

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Liberty Media couldn’t sell the eam until AFTER the 2011 season due to the tax situation if the club was sold sooner. They could sell but NOT to Arthur Blank because he can’t own both the Falcons and the Braves under NFL rules. Also Ted is not interested in the club either.
The Braves failed to win the East because some people did NOT hit and some others got hurt.
Phillies had several injuries during the summer but they were helathy in late August and they won the division.

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I equate JJ with John Smoltz (probably because they both came from Detroit) and I remember Smoltz’ injuries and look where HE ended up. (He won the Cy Young, too, afterwards.)

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Also agree with Kal……Braves’ injuries were late in the season. Phillies were early and they were healthy at the end and therefore won the division. It’s a LONG season…..anything can (and often DOES) happen.

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ramblingman

AND….I agree that JJ’s biggest drawback IS his agent!

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I’ve neglected to say THANKS to Carroll Rogers for the wonderful updates……VERY prolific and I appreciate each and every one.

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It appears baseball must really be making tons of money otherwise how could the owners continue giving out these huge salaries. When the contract between the owners and player union come up, the owners should not talk about the financial side as being in the red. If it should be it is their own fault and I doubt many fans will take their side this time around. No one held a gun to the Nat’s head and made them sign Werth, same for Boston and Philadelphia. I know you will pass the cost to the consumer but keep in mind the fans only have so much money and will look elsewhere for their sport fix. Scott Boras is now my new hero, I wonder if he can help me with my employer.

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he’ll return, he’s our best offensive threat when he’s healthy

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You censored and deleted a cardiac nurse’s advise to McCann to shed some weight. What is the matter with you people.

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Is everybody familiar with the fact that our Braves on a limited budget, has the second richest owner in baseball and twice the money (individual wealth) of George Steinbrenner. Seattle’s owner, (Nintendo) is the richest. Why do you own a team that can compete for a world championship and not add another $10-20 million in payroll when you can afford it?

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For GoPhillies for Xmas, a wish that your Phillistines perform as admirably next year as they did in as overwhelming favorites last year in the playoffs as chokers of the year.

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AJC: Here again you are running a blog that isn’t about me. Tsk Tsk. and to all ATL sports fans I say–Just because I walked out on the people of Alaska doesn’t mean u shouldn’t vote for me for whatever I’m suppose to be running for.

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Cliff Lee is a good pitcher but with only (2) 15+ win seasons he is without a doubt the most expensive number 3 starter in MLB history. The 2011 Braves’s pitching staff is also quite good as the overhyped Phillies will soon find out. BTW, how did 2010 work out for the assumed World Champion Phillies?

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Seems like people are forgetting one thing. You still have to play the games. Don’t give the Phillies the WS crown just yet.

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klaus -”They will fleece ATL not the other way around.”

How did that Vazquez deal work out for them? Braves offloaded a ton of salary by trading a guy that had a career 4.87 ERA for a very talented and cheap prospect and a 4th OF. I am cancelling out the lefty specialists, though we moved Dunn as part of the Uggla deal which gives us the edge.

If you don’t think the Braves made out, just think about how hard they are trying to move KK’s salary. He has a better career ERA and actually pitches GOOD in big games unlike Vazquez.

Put more simply, in the only recent trade between the two clubs, the Braves made the Yankees look like idiots.

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The Braves bullpen and bench are going to be their weak links in 2011. Linebrink and Sherrill showed a tendency to get hammered with regularity last year. I foresee a lot of blown leads by those two. Uggla should help compensate for some of that by providing more offense, but losing both the experience and talents of Wagner and Saito (along with Infante) is going to be a bigger issue than most people think.

The strength of the bullpen and bench carried the Braves to the playoffs last season. But with the strict budget with which the Braves operate, the Braves are going to be more exposed in both areas in 2011. Start praying now for a healthy starting 8 and starting pitchers with stamina who pitch with great efficiency.

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[...] [...]

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Does anyone know if Doumit from the Pirates can play CF? Pirates have shown interest in Kawakami and the salaries are close and Doumit can hit. Any thoughts.

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Geez, this new Phillies rotation feels alot like Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, & Avery. Every team in our division knew they were playing for second place/a wild card with those guys starting. Not sure I think a power hitting 2nd baseman can continue the pace he’s been on for 5 more years, but I like the fact that the Braves are trying to get better. No team in baseball is set up like the Philies right now, which is a fact. Give their mgt kudos for having the marbles to go out and put this staff together. But like B Mac has said, lets go play the games and see what happens. If the Braves can lock down a power hitting 1st baseman, and address CF with a player that has base stealing speed, I think we are going to be just fine. I’m the biggest Chipper Jones fan out there, and I hope he can come back and give the team 1 – 2 years. He’s a great competitor, and I think wants to go out on his own terms, not on an injury. If he can play 130 games, and the Braves put together a line-up that is hitting for average in front and behind him, he’ll see some decent pitches and will have a great season. I know there are many fans who criticize the guy, but I know he has been a loyal Brave, and like Smoltz, could have left several times if he wanted to test free agency. I have respected that loyalty. I feel the people who criticize him never take into consideration that he is a tough competitior, and has been the cornerstone for this franchise the last five years. I know my opinions wil be heavily criticized, and that’s fine. We all have opinons. I’d just like to see all the critical fans lay off him for thefirst three months of the season, and let the guy finish a Hall of Fame career with dignity and respect. He deserves that opportunity.

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It is all about the money, and I’m afraid we don’t have the ownership that the Phillies, Red Sox and Yankees have. MLB is in trouble, and until they get a salary cap in place, it will only get worse. We are playing for the wild-card, let there be no mistake. So, even if we trade for a better than average CF, will this change? Probably not. Thus Liberty Media (whoever they are) will be content with playing for the fourth spot.

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Even money people. Thats the odds out of Vegas on the Phillies winning the national league. in 2011. The next closest team is the Giants at 7:1.

If the Braves remain idle and do nothing…they might as well just compete for a WC Like many have said….I just wish Liberty would go on and just sell the team to someone who cares.

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My hope is,with this new manager we can play a little hit,and run,steal bases.Our hits,runs totals are higher than the ERROR total.Why have spring training if not to hone the skills?

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