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© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
201 comments Add your comment
Poorbrave
December 16th, 2010
9:40 pm
Uggla in town today hitting with Larry Parrish……. Nate better be hitting?
Poorbrave
December 16th, 2010
9:43 pm
Tim, I just blog @9:31..ryan c reported it from Boston paper on this blog..then Carol reports it later.
Poorbrave
December 16th, 2010
9:46 pm
rylan c reported it at 2:50 PM..ajc reports at 3:56 pm
BamaBrave
December 16th, 2010
9:50 pm
Great deal. And I knew there was gonna be some CRYING going on here!
CarolinaBrave
December 16th, 2010
10:57 pm
I’m having troube understanding the resistence to this signing. Sure, Uggla is 30 years old. 5 years for 60 million? That sure seems a bit better than paying a 32 year old right handed batter 126 million over 7 years. That’s a ton of money for a player that has averaged around 29 homeruns and 83 RBI with a .887 OPS that will be 39 at the end of the contract. I’m being kind to Werth in this comparison because before 3 years ago, he really wasn’t very good and has had the best line-up in the national league to hit around during his career. Uggla, by comparison has been in the league 5 years, in Florida of all places, and has averaged around 31 HR, 93 RBI and a .837 OPS. Uggla may not pan out, but doesn’t it seem just a tad less scary than what Washington executives are feeling right now?
Freddie G
December 16th, 2010
11:53 pm
I hope Arthur Blank is still interested in purchasing the Braves, if not I hope Mark Cuban will turn his attention to our beloved Braves, on condition that they must remain in the ATL. Baseball requires ownership that will spend money to sign their own as well as other FA, not necessarily to the extent of the Yankees and Red Sox. Despite having Uggla which is great on FW part to acquire him, we need a centerfielder with speed and one who will get on base consistently, and the cap imposed by ownership is the reason we have not gone out to sign someone.
I am still hoping Chipper will be able to help significantly in the coming season, but it is important that a bonafide replacement be found for him, and Prado is not that replacement. A bonafide replacement for chipper is someone capable of 25 to 35 HR and 90 to 100 RBI’s.
bravesfaninNashville
December 17th, 2010
12:15 am
The Braves should consider signing Edgar Renteria to a one year deal. He is insulted by the Giants
$1 Million offer and I can’t blame him after what he did for them in the post season. The guy is clutch. Granted he doesn’t have the range or stamina to play every day anymore but we would only need him to back up Chipper at 3rd so Prado can stay in LF if Chipper goes down for a few days, give Gonzalez a day off once in a while, pinch hit so we have another right handed tough out on the bench and possibly be a late inning defensive replacement at second for Uggla. If we’re up by 1, 2 or 3 runs it would be nice to have some sure hands out there at second in the 9th. He would also be very valuable come the postseason because he’s a winner and elevates his game when it matters most. Let’s pay him 2 to 2.5 million and strengthen our bench immensely.
bravesfaninNashville
December 17th, 2010
12:24 am
Another thought is to sign Adrian Beltre to play 3b now and ask Chipper to move to 1b. We could give Freeman a little more seasoning at Gwinnett for part of the year. IMO Chipper will not be able to perform and charge the bunt at 3b or have much lateral range. He could start the year at 1b and if he can handle it an play at a high level then we have his very capable replacement at 3b in Beltre already on the team. Beltre is a Gold Glove defender and a very good hitter. We would have 2 right handed threats to balance with Heyward and McCann and eventually Freeman from the left side. We have no prospects in the minors ready to replace Chipper at 3b. I think this would give us really good left side of the infield defense and add some power from the right side of the plate. Freeman will probably be up for good by June or sooner as Chipper will prove to be to fragile to handle the day to day grind. I know money is an issue but this guy would be worth signing.
Fuzzy
December 17th, 2010
12:30 am
Hey Nash…you going to pay a man 12 million a year and have a late innng replacement for him..thats funny!
I wouldn’t mine having Edgar but not for 2 million. While we talking trash how about Hall, Garza, J Upton,BJ Upton, are Fausto Carmona…all can be had …anyone of them would help, just saying…………lol
scottbravesfan
December 17th, 2010
12:51 am
WTF?
The Giants and their awful offense beat all four of the Phillies starters in the playoffs this year. The Braves rotation is right there in the top 3 of the NL as well. I would put the Phillies and the Giants above the Braves but that is it. Also the Phillies bullpen still has holes in it. The Phillies window to win is now. The Braves are still rebuilding. Heyward and Freeman are going to be the cornerstones of the offense and they are 20 and 21 years old. Tommy Hanson and Mike Minor are 23. Julio Teheran is 19 years old. The pitching in the Braves system is not just good it’s top of the rotation ridiculously good. They have 4 legit guys who can be number 1 or 2 guys in the rotation and that’s not counting Tommy Hanson. The Braves in a couple of years are going to be really special. And for the present they are still going to content for a championship.
bravesfaninNashville
December 17th, 2010
3:10 am
Fuzzy if you have a lead in the ninth inning why wouldn’t you want your best gloves on the field? It makes sense that any infielder we have on the bench should be solid defensively. We aren’t paying Uggla for his fielding we’re paying for his bat. He might have been responsible for getting us the lead with that bat but why not play the best gloves we have with a small lead in the 9th. Just sound baseball IMO.
bravesfaninNashville
December 17th, 2010
3:18 am
Fuzzy…… I’d rather have Renteria at $2 million than another player like Hinske at $1.5 Million. (Mind you I think Hinske is a great piece of the Braves puzzle.. He’s a great clutch hitter and the players love him as a teammate. He’s not a great defender however and I wouldn’t want him on the field late in close games other than at the plate. Therefore IMO Renteria could be worth even more than Hinkse as he plays solid defense and can be just as clutch at the plate as anyone in close games. IMO Renteria at $2 Million wouldn’t be a bad move, especially considering how great he is in the postseason. His numbers are off the charts in the PS…
Billy
December 17th, 2010
8:08 am
The beat writer for the Marlins said Uggla is a decent 2nd baseman. He makes all the plays. Turns the double play exceptionally well. He said that Uggla gets the majority of his errors for not holding the ball on plays that are beyond difficult. He tries to force throws that should not be made and the end result is an error charged to him. Bottom line is he is a very good second base guy with a good glove that displays poor throwing judgment that results in his error totals.
Fuzzy
December 17th, 2010
8:21 am
Nash, I have no problem with Uggla’s glove. But each his own.
FORDCOBRA
December 17th, 2010
8:28 am
What do you think about what Chipper has been paid and the production we have gotten from it? If I pay I at least want production, better chance with Ugla in MHO.
Merry Christmas Gang
Hugene
December 17th, 2010
8:38 am
FW had 2 choices. One was to sign him to the five year deal (He already let it be known he wouldn’t do 4). Two was to not give in to the 5 year deal and let him become a free agent where the Braves would have to bid against the rest of the league. The rest of the league is crazy about giving money (see the Nationals, Phillies, Yankees). It was a good move.
Isadore Shines
December 17th, 2010
8:42 am
Dang! Pro baseball players make more money than crooked politicians!
Phillistein
December 17th, 2010
8:48 am
So many Chipper haters out there.
The guy has been the face of the franchise for the last 15 years and is a first ballot HOF. And it’s not like he makes $20 million a year.
Phillies phans were taken to task, and rightly so, for the way they treated Mike Schmidt. You would think you guys would know better.
Kashi
December 17th, 2010
9:18 am
Trading for Mark Texiera was not bad at the time. What I didn’t like is trading him away to LA Angles for garbage two players. We should have kept Texeira for leverage on contract nego OR get two draft picks. Everything went wrong!
Lemke's Knuckleball
December 17th, 2010
9:26 am
It’s amazing how right handed power hitters have become such a rare commodity. It used to be the other way around. I guess there’s a lot of parents out there spanking their kids if they try to swing a bat from the right side.
Nick n Nash
December 17th, 2010
9:27 am
Kashi……while Kotchman was garbage…..the 2nd guy in that deal pitched really well at Gwinnett last season, and has a great chance to be in the Braves bullpen in 2011.
Mutts
December 17th, 2010
9:30 am
Phillistein: Jamie Moyer was a loyal Philly and the (oldest) face of the franchise for the last several years. He wants to pitch into his 50’s, you would think the Phillies fans would be up in arms that he wasn’t signed to a new multi-year contract!
Pierson Brave
December 17th, 2010
9:32 am
Mark Cuban can stay in Texas and keep his money! Atlanta does not need Mark Cuban!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pierson Brave
December 17th, 2010
9:35 am
Don’t understand why people are hating on Chipper! Oh and for the 623,491 time Chipper IS NOT moving to first base. Read it, learn it, love it.
Hammy the Brave
December 17th, 2010
9:56 am
DOB,
Is there a chance FW could bring in a lefty starter coming off injury, to provide competion for the 5th starter spot? I’m thinking of Jeff Francis(Rockies) or Chris Capuano (Brewers). Don’t you think this would be worth it, DOB?
Also, since the Red Sox signed Crawford, could we make a small trade with them for a righty hitting CF, Darnell McDonald? He has some speed and good defense, but strikes out a little much. I think he’d be a good backup in CF, what do you think, DOB?
Hammy the Brave
ryan c
December 17th, 2010
10:00 am
Philliestein…agreed on the Chipper bashing. Understand that every fanbase has morons. Atlanta is no different. Most Braves’ fans love and respect Chipper Jones for what he has done for the team. I, being one of them.
Uggla reportedly close to extension with Braves | Atlanta Braves | Baseball Trade Rumors
December 17th, 2010
10:01 am
[...] The Braves are reportedly closing in on signing second baseman Dan Uggla to a five-year extension worth about $ 60 million, according to the Boston. atlanta braves – Google Blog Search [...]
Dawg '88
December 17th, 2010
10:30 am
Grow an informed idea about Chipper’s contract CJ Bashers: He was paid for what he has done for the organization on this most recent, last contract. Plus, he hs said that if he retires that he will not take the remaining $$$ and years. Quit trying to figure out how the money is being divided by his production. I’d give him whatever he wants even if he doesn’t play another game. Without him…the Braves would have been an after thought when other players started leaving here. He has stuck around and been loyal when others haven’t been. One more negative comment about him or his contract and I will scream to the high heavens. Its uncalled for, uninformed and lacks intelligence to continue to bash him. Those who do are not really Braves fans…PERIOD!
VP
December 17th, 2010
10:33 am
Dawg 88,
Amen brother. It embarrasses me to be a fellow braves fan when some of these clowns spew out utter garbage. Couldn’t have said it any better.
jim
December 17th, 2010
10:41 am
Earlier comment –
Prado is not good enough to be our post Chipper 3B. We need a guy capable of producing 25 -35 hrs/year.
It is a very short list — ARod, Youklis, Longoria, Zimmerman, Wright, Reynolds (and most of them do not average 30/year)
Once upon a time there was also Chipper, Glaus, Chavez, Rolen, and earlier Matthews and Schmidt
(George Brett was not a 30 HR/year type hitter, nor Ken Boyer)
I think Prado will be as good or better than most of the other 3B men in the league!!
jim
December 17th, 2010
10:56 am
MLB players are making ridiculous money?
This may be true, but in a world of 7 billion people there are only 750 able to play MLB, and less than half of them are good enough to hang around for 6+ years to make the really big salaries.
You can complain about a society that values its entertainers (some select few of them) more than its school teachers and engineers, and much more than the people who take care of their young children, but at least there is a market for their services, unlike the Wall Street bankers and some CEOs who reward themselves in the tens and hundreds of millions figures for the equivalent of a McLouth-like performance.
Chris
December 17th, 2010
11:22 am
I’ve always been a little confused by contract extensions. Is this 5 years on top of the one he is already owed? Making him ours for 6 seasons? Or does the new contract take the place of the current one he has? Making him ours just for the 5 years?
Chris
December 17th, 2010
11:24 am
Either way I’m fine with the extension. 12 mil a year for a bat of his quality is pretty much a steal in this current MLB market. If he had a glove to go with it, he would probably be a 17-20 mil a year player.
704_Brave
December 17th, 2010
11:53 am
No comparison to the Werth deal with Uggla. Werth is an aging so-called 5 tool player who the Nats overpaid to get. Uggla is a one dimensional player who is an defensive liability.
I’d like to see more emphasis on defense, but the reality is that the Braves need some offense. A guy like Uggla fits the bill and I’m excited if the extension goes through.
KnightInATL
December 17th, 2010
11:53 am
Hugene, you are spot on. Very well put. While reading through these comments I just find myself shaking my head at the level of ignorance spewed by so many. DOB’s blog never used to be this way. It used to be 95% filled with educated baseball fans who loved the Braves and loved the game of baseball. A lot has changed over the past 2 season’s of this blog…I’m saddened to say.
Dawg '88
December 17th, 2010
11:57 am
VP,
The folks that do this bashing are either pimple faced teenagers trying to stir things up or uninformed adults who are bored with their life and choose to get into a war of words with next no intelligent ammunition.
704_Brave
December 17th, 2010
11:59 am
Nashville,
I would love to see Renteria for a bargain also, but he’s not near the defensive player he used to be and he can only play SS. I love where your head’s at, but he’s not coming back…
We really need an Omar replacement type who can come in and spell Gonzo-Uggla…we’re not shaping up great up the middle are we?
steve
December 17th, 2010
12:06 pm
This is a good deal for both Uggla and the Braves, Wren has done an outstanding job as he continues to make the club better even with Liberty not increasing payroll enough, had Prado not gotten hurt we could have beaten the Giants , Liberty needs to wake up and up payroll to at least 110 million, winning teams put more fans in the ball park which in turn puts more money in the bank, Liberty should sell the team to an ownership that cares about winning championships .
jim
December 17th, 2010
12:15 pm
As much as I’d like to see new ownership, a sale could present a problem. If Liberty decides to sell next year, just as contracts are coming off the books, the sale could drag on for over a year, and tie the hands of Wren, just when the team has the best opportunity to secure the players it needs to make a real run at a title. Think of the Cubs and the Tribune Corp. or the Dodgers and the McCourt divorce.
Poorbrave
December 17th, 2010
12:50 pm
Agree Chipper Jones is “Mr. Brave”. What more could you ask from the fellow, 15 plus years, plays hurt takes less money and giving batting instruction to everyone. Great in Clubhouse. Damn smart individual about baseball and would make a great coach or mgr. I love the man for what he’s done for Braves.Hope he stays with Braves after playing days are over in management .
Hmmmm
December 17th, 2010
12:58 pm
Are we going to make a play at Edgar Renteria?
He was only offered $1 mil by SF – he refused and said he still would like to play another year and is a Free Agent.
jim
December 17th, 2010
1:35 pm
Just to add my thoughts about the previous blog topic — the historically great staffs.
I think one has to measure the accomplishments of the group over a period of at least 4 years. Most of these candidates consist of a core of 3 plus a fourth starter — Avery, Neagle, Millwood for the Braves, Feller and Score for the Indians of the 50s. The Oriole foursome consisted of three pitchers with multiple years of success in the same rotation plus Dobson, who was a one-year wonder. The Mets’ rotation of the 80s aded parts along the way, first Ojeda to team with Gooden, Darling, and Sid, then Viola, but by the time Viola arrived, the other parts were breaking down.
Let’s not forget the Milwaukee Braves roation of the 50’s — Spahn, Burdett, and Buhl. They pitched together from ‘53 until ‘62 and only Eddie Plank and Old Hoss Radbourne of the dead ball era As won more games together than Spahn and Burdett. (I think Glavine and Maddux rank 3rd on that list and Spahn and Buhl rank 4th or 5th). The disastrous trade of Johnny Antonelli to the Giants for Bobby Thomson prevented that group from being a fab foursome. When the trade was made, Gene Conley was a huge prospect and a right hander that was essential for facing the dominant team of the era, the Brookly Dodgers. Unfortunately, Conley hurt his arm early in his career, and never became the star that he was projected to become.
Burdett pitched the Braves to a WS title in ‘57 Winning game 2, then throwing shutouts in games 5 (1-0) and 7 (5-0) when Spahn was sick with the flu. In ‘58, Spahn won game 1 in 10 innings, game 4 – a 2-hit shutout, and lost game 6 when the Yankees got an unearned run in the 7th to tie the game at 2, and then scored twice in the 10th.
The Philly staff will need to excell together for at least 2 years before they enter the discussion about great staffs.
David the Shepherd
December 17th, 2010
1:58 pm
Phyllis, are the Phillies’ blogs and websites so boring that you feel the need to thrust your thoughts upon us? You must be pretty bored…are you so overconfident that you phind yourself phooling around with Braves fans? Just remember what overconfidence got you this past season. Seems like there was a story about a mighty, overconfident Philistine who got whooped and had his head hand delivered. Learn from that lesson.
ryan c
December 17th, 2010
2:20 pm
hence the above comment….
Mystery
December 17th, 2010
2:39 pm
Let’s play a detective game! What former strapped-for-cash Braves player formerly owned this NLCS ring: http://cgi.ebay.com/1996-ATLANTA-BRAVES-NLCS-PLAYERS-CHAMPIONSHIP-RING-/190477977009?pt=US_Baseball_Fan_Shop&hash=item2c595f45b1
smalltownbravesfan
December 17th, 2010
4:14 pm
who was the last Brave to hit 35+ home runs in a season???
Sam A.
December 17th, 2010
4:20 pm
Now I need an answer…how did the Phillies ever come up with all that $$$ they signed all of these players especially Cliff Lee.
Braves fan in Missouri
December 17th, 2010
4:30 pm
Andruw Jones hit 41 in 2006?
Braves fan in Missouri
December 17th, 2010
4:38 pm
McCann has lead the team with 21 the last 2 years. Very sad for a major league ball club that doesn’t even run. It also shows how many clutch hits they had this year.
hAL
December 17th, 2010
5:02 pm
well runners sure dont take the extra base on our right fielder they take two when he throws it in the stands or so badly none of the infielders can get it before it rolls in the dugout maybe nate watched all that and said why bother lol
Anonymous
December 17th, 2010
6:53 pm
Way to go, Braves. Lock up that defensive liability for 5 years @ 60 million per. He’ll lose more games with his glove than he’ll win with his bat. Plus, another 12 million a year on your payroll, which curtails your ability to pick up real quality. Your front office reminds me of the Phillies front office in the early 90s’. Enjoy the mediocrity.
Anonymous
December 17th, 2010
6:53 pm
Make that 60 million TOTAL
eskippy
December 17th, 2010
7:29 pm
If I was that stupid, I would remain annonymous.
eskippy
December 17th, 2010
7:30 pm
anonymous
In Fredi I Trust
December 17th, 2010
7:57 pm
How come not another word has been mentioned about this? The story gets brought up and then nothing. Is he signing an extension or not?
The Roys have it
December 17th, 2010
8:25 pm
Actually, Anonymous is right on the mark. The Phillies go out and get quality and what do we do? We sign a good hitter, but a defensive liability up the middle.
hAL
December 17th, 2010
10:11 pm
the playuer we could have used just sighned with the orioles cesar isturis now if ya want a glove hes it !!!and can play all the if postions except first which isent a prob anyways i think freeman will be fine
Squirmy Ray
December 17th, 2010
10:52 pm
DOB, basically by Phillies adding Cliff Lee, they just made Cole Hamels (an ace) the # 4 starter. What # 4 can match Cole Hamels ? What # 3 can match Oswalt ? Get it ?
justafan
December 17th, 2010
11:44 pm
Damn Astro’s just signed Bill Hall to play 2b for 3 million one year. 19 hrs plays 6 postions, just what the Braves needed and the Blanking Astro’s got him.
Mutts
December 17th, 2010
11:48 pm
The Braves were a playoff team in 2010 – they must be doing something right. They also played the World Champion Giants tougher than The Phils did.
alexis
December 18th, 2010
12:17 am
do it
we got nothing to lose and we gotta get some heavy hitters
Sportsradio PD
December 18th, 2010
3:31 am
Schaffer will take Mclouth’s job before end of spring and if we don’t get Podsednick, he’ll be starting. IMO.
DU-5/60 is a great deal, best deal FWs made in a while.
Mungo
December 18th, 2010
8:42 am
What would Chino Cadahia do ??????? This is the birth of “Bring Back Chino” campaign. Don’t let someone come in a “TRY” to fit into that # 52 jersey.
Cadahia might be the missing link. Find him a place in the fold.
noway
December 18th, 2010
9:42 am
I’d rather see Young make it than Schafer…….Never will be schafer fan
klaus
December 18th, 2010
11:20 am
No deal is imminent and Uggla is back home in TN. Don’t trust a Boston beat writer when looking at the Braves plans.
Not even sure why the guy would care.
In any case 2011 will rise and fall with Chipper. He face plants and Prado lives at 3B this team will be in deep yogurt.
Uggla or not the OF will once again be 2/3 of sink hole with platoons and little RBI production.
Until Wren gets some permanent fixes in LF and CF every season will be a coin toss by Aug 1.
It is not surprise this team keeps falling apart my the late summer. Old guys like Chipper & Glaus break down and bench players starting get over exposed.
The team is better with Uggla but they need Prado at 3B and two new OF not on this team.
bigcalidawg
December 18th, 2010
11:43 am
Regardless of his defensive limitations, he fields better than Conrad…..
Fuzzy
December 18th, 2010
1:19 pm
Love the Chipper but tend to agree with KLAUS on Braves problems…Merry Christmas everyone.
We could have used Bill Hall.
chief pitchanono
December 18th, 2010
3:55 pm
This is great news and a deal that Frank needed to get done. With the kinda money that was just given to Wertha and Crawford, anything close to the numbers they are reporting is a steal. Hopefully Chipper still has a little left in the tank and can be productive, and if he’s not maybe he will walk away from whats left on his conctact, so that the Braves can move on. He’s well aware of what his type of contract does to a team like the Braves if he’s not producing. We will be better on offense for sure, but chipper’s health could be the difference in 2011, between another wildcard/early playoff exit or World Series contender.
The Roys have it
December 18th, 2010
4:48 pm
@bigcalidawg: That’s not saying much. My 88 year old mother could field better than Conrad….
Fuzzy
December 18th, 2010
7:39 pm
No News Is Good News, right Carroll?
Centerfield
December 18th, 2010
8:34 pm
Braves – make a deal with Uggla, but keep quiet until You have a deal. Also jump in and offer Renteria $1.4 mil.
Squirmy Ray
December 18th, 2010
9:47 pm
It must be a tough job doing a new blog every couple of days ? To take two minutes to type 400 words is like working at the steel factory hammering on metal for 10 hours in 10 degree weather ??? AJC writers are a lazy bunch…
Squirmy Ray
December 18th, 2010
9:50 pm
Nobody ever answered me about Natce McOut. Is he playing winter ball ? If not why not ? He needs it more than ANYONE. Its a disgrace to fans to know McOut will be starting in CF with his .187 average,misjudgement on fly balls, and popcorn arm. A guy that should be in AA is penciled in as Braves CF. Unfreakingreal !
justin1
December 18th, 2010
9:57 pm
I tend to be pessimistic about any move after such a great season last year, I’ll admit. But we’ve all had time to digest the Uggla deal for some time now. At first, I was pretty excited about it. Especially for the price. Wow. But extending him long term before hes even had his first practice with the team?!
We’ve all seen what the guy does. He’s a “power hitter”, very durable, apparently a great clubhouse guy, and he’s right handed. At first glance there’s a lot to like about this guy. However, if you delve deeper into Mr. Uggla, you will find some kind of frightening stats; frightening if you’re talking keeping him around for 5 more years.
I read a stat the other day showing his average homerun distance. I don’t remember the numbers but I want to say they were around 403′ a few years back and have since been steadily dropping. Let’s face it, right now Dan Uggla is a power hitter, but in 5 years how many homers do you really think he’s going to hit a year? Not 30 is my answer. Not 25 would be more accurate. Look, if he was belting out 45 homers a year now, I wouldnt even waste my time typing this. But the fact is he is already past his prime and has yet to hit 35 homers. Not to mention he was hitting in a very right-handed hitter friendly park for his entire career to date. The Ted is not going to be quite as friendly. If I had to predict his numbers for the 2011 season right now I would have to unfortunately project a .265/.310/.450 line with 25 homeruns. And fellow Braves fans, its only going to get worse with time. All of this negativity and I didnt even mention the most obvious flaw in Uggla; his hands-o-brick.
justin1
December 18th, 2010
10:10 pm
Also, Heyward needs to get back to his roots. We all saw him struggle the second half of the year after his injury. But his injury wasnt the only thing holding him back. I noticed him progressively turn into a dead pull hitter as the season went on. I almost didn’t even want to watch him bat because it was so frustrating to watch someone with his kind of talent and pure hitting skills just trying to hit homeruns. I used to play against him in high school and actually got to pitch to him my junior year. I know, I’m cool. But seriously, this guy could hit 450′ bombs to left field. Obviously theres a humongous difference between high school and MLB as far as pitching talent, but he’s a MLB player. If hes wearing the Atlanta uniform, he should be ready as far as what he can control. If you look at video of the early points of the season, and compare them to later in the year, you see a much different hitter. The most glaring difference is his stance. He stood more upright with his hips already open ready for the inside fastball so he could just pull it late in the year. Early on, he was squatted down more, hips closed, ready to hit it all over the field. Its’ just frustrating to watch a guy with his tremendous amount of natural ability try to do something he’s never done at any stage of his baseball career. I think the spotlight of being in The Show and the comparisons to Ken Griffey Jr. might be getting to him. He’s got PLENTY of time to get back to the hitter he’s always been, I just hope hes in the video room this winter. That would be pretty pathetic if I watch more video of his AB’s than he does.
Fuzzy
December 18th, 2010
11:31 pm
Take a break justin1..Its down time now. Christmas is a time to be happy and thankful for everything…I’m just glad we got Uggla and J-Hey…have a Merry one friend.
The Roys have it
December 19th, 2010
3:37 am
And his name is……Dan (defensive “juggernaut”) Uggla!
Wow.
Poorbrave
December 19th, 2010
9:00 am
Just in …Royals trade Greinke (sp) to Brewers for Cain and Escobar SS and 3 more players. Brewers will get a player to be named later.
Well Braves fans there goes Cain..Maybe now Wren can deal with Dalton for Cain.
Davis
December 19th, 2010
9:34 am
Over the past 4 years our Braves team is weaker than the year before because of the Wren trades. Uggla will end the year with more strikeout than hits and will be a stretch to reach 90 rbi’s. Uggla strikes out more than 1 out of every four at bats and total hits for the years will be around 130 to 140 if he plays in every game. Uggla is also a continual dissaster in the field. Infante average a strike out 1 out of every 8 at bats, brought fielding to the team and more hits. The trading of a 25 year old experienced left hand relief pitcher in the deal was DUMB. Florida marlins have had more talent than Atlanta for 3 years and did nothing, now we have their manager responsible for the problems. 2011 is not looking good for atlanta. We have now put together a team that will have more strikeouts than hits at the end of the year, I guess Wren has forgotten the first rule of hitting a little league level, PUT THE BALL IN PLAY!!
ryan
December 19th, 2010
9:42 am
I am glad we got Uggla but i am still disappointed that Braves did not make a move after the Cliff Lee deal feel through we need another bat .
Wow
December 19th, 2010
9:53 am
Brewers get the Greinke. Royals the Cain. The Braves get the shaff.
benchwarmer
December 19th, 2010
11:23 am
Somebody said Renteria. Sounds like a good idea.
benchwarmer
December 19th, 2010
11:29 am
Klaus, I think you have the essence of the Braves problems for this year. Still to many ifs. But if they work out? Could be good. Davis, Freddie Gonzalas was the Marlins problem? HOW?
Total Grace
December 19th, 2010
11:38 am
We need Greinke like we need a right fielder.
Edge
December 19th, 2010
3:01 pm
Wren makes our team weaker and weaker? Get the hell over yourself and pay attention morons. Wren improves this team.
Lets review:
10/29/2007 First trade on the job, he sent Edgar Renteria’s bags packing for Jair Jurrjens and Gorkys Hernandez. WIN!!!
Sent Oscar Villareal for Josh Anderson. Indifferent there. Anderson didn’t do much but Villareal would never pitch again after those 35 games in Houston. So WIN!!! for not putting that 5+ ERA in our pen to hurt us for the 2008 season.
Jose Ascanio was traded for Will Ohman and Omar Infante. Pretty certain Ohman was a serviceable LOOGY and the free swinging Infante was eventually traded at an all time high. WIN!!! (will go into more reason on why Omar Infante is a Jeff Francouer waiting to happen later)
Joey Devine and Jamie Richmond were sent away for Kotchman. While Kotchman wasn’t amazing, this is stille an obvious win for Wren.
Willy Aybar and Chase Fontaine were sent away for Jeff Ridgeway. Basically the Rays won that one but the gain was so insignificant…
Nelson Payano for Greg Norton. Despite his horrid 2009, he was actually a serviceably good bat off the bench in 2008 and well never even heard the other guys name: WIN!(even though it was painful to watch Bobby send him up in 2009 with the game on the line)
Mark Teixeira for Casey Kotchman and Steven Marek. This is the only horrid trade I can think of and really its not that bad. What is BAD? What Schuerholz gave up was BAD. With 2 months left on a contract, your not gonna get much. Maybe we should have just ate Teix and acquired the 2 draft picks but I think we got a little more out of this than most people think we did. Draw on this one. Angels got a solid 1B for 1/3 a season. Didn’t bring them anything and we got the next year of our stopgap to Freeman.
Brent Lillibridge, Tyler Flowers, Jon Gilmore, Santos Rodriguez for Vazquez and Logan. Vazquez was easily a top 3 pitcher in the league. Logan wasn’t bad himself. Easy win for the Braves.
Jeff Locke, Gorkys Hernandez and Charlie Morton for Nate McLouth. First off, yes he has been bad in Atlanta, but you are either blind, retarded or both if you cannot see that McLouth really had things turned around and was looking like his 2008 self again. If you want to call out Wren, i’m sure you would also be happy with a couple of dead end prospects that have no future with us and the pitcher that has a career 5.98 ERA.
Jeff Francouer for Ryan Church. Simply we had to get rid of Frenchy. He is the worst everyday outfielder in the majors in 2009. In 2010 he had the 3rd worst OPS of any Outfielder in the game. Braves WIN simply for dumping that off on the Mets.
Casey Kotchman for Adam LaRoche. Easily a win for us and Boston I believe picked up all of the salary on LaRoche that we wouldn’t have paid to Kotchman. We knew it wasn’t long term but we had to give things a shot and LaRoche was good.
Rafael Soriano for Jesse Chavez. First off, you got to ignore what Soriano did this year and realize that this guy was #1. Injury Prone. #2 Inconsistent. #3 couldn’t be trusted with a lead in Atlanta. He accepted Arbitration cause he knew this was the case.
Boone Logan and Javy Vazquez for Melky Cabrera, Arodys Vizcaino and Mike Dunn. First off Vazquez was not good in NY and Melky wasn’t good in Atlanta. Vizcaino however is now our #3 pitching prospect. Dunn not only overperformed but was dealt in a deal to bring us a 30+ hr bat. Braves WIN yet again.
I don’t have an exact list of what was given up this past year or so but I will try my best to recall the deals.
Yunel Escobar +??? to Toronto for Alex Gonzalez, Tyler Pastornicky, Tim Collins? Yunel was being a mini-ManRam. He didn’t want to play here. He wasn’t playing here as evidenced by his bottom 3 wOBA and OPS he was putting up, he was a hell of a defender. What we got? A solid defensive shortstop who was willing to hit. A middle infield spec. And an undersized reliever that helped net us a playoff win despite not being on the roster(will explain further in a bit).
Jesse Chavez, Gregor Blanco, Tim Collins for Rick Ankiel, Kyle Farnsworth. We gave a terrible reliever, a pinch runner and an overperforming, undersized pitcher to the Royals for 1/3 the seasons of Ankiel and Farnsworth. While none of these guys are in any way impressive, we did get the playoff win off Ankiels shot into the Cove. Did anyone happen to notice the arm Ankiel had? Saved more than a few runs. I will leave the jury out until Tim Collins either burns out or becomes something more than a LOOGY.
Omar Infante and Mike Dunn for Dan Uggla.
First we can deal with Infante. He has K’d in 17% of his at bats over his career while only drawing the free pass in 6%. his career .313 BABIP shows that the past year he has been getting INCREDIBLY lucky as to where the ball falls when he hits it, posting a .355 babip. Besides, when did .270 Career hitters turn into .330 hitters on a regular basis? His .312 career wOBA shows that, again he was overperforming and still well below that next level of player. Also did anyone notice his sudden power outage? posting nearly 35-40 points off his career iso power for the past 2 years? Did we really downgrade on defense? He was pretty terrible on the left side of the diamond and on the right side was merely average to below average as evidenced by his UZRs. All in all, he’s a free swinger that has been getting pretty lucky, jeff francouer style…
Mike Dunn was a lot like Mike Gonzalez, he reaches back and throws it as hard as he can. It may hit the catchers mitt or it might just go into a dugout. He’s all or nothing and I will not go beyond his near 4.50 xFIP. If you don’t know what that is I suggest you go to Fangraphs.com and familiarize yourself with a few advanced statistics as they are much better than seeing a guy’s ERA and ssaying “that guy was pretty good”..
Now for Dan Uggla. The horrible, strikeout machine that can’t defend anything.
Power hitters are gonna K. Right around the 25-30% mark…and guess what..he’s right there. But he gets on base 2x more often via the walk than Infante. All in all, yes he is worse and will K more but he will find himself on base more and putting runners across the plate SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much more often than Infante would. If we gave up more, we’d still win this trade.
Now if you think that its his signings
We can go into arguing how he bought low on Troy Glaus and for much the first half of the year, the only 2 with cases of having a better season in the NL at first base than him was Joey Votto and Albert Pujols. He did hit a wall but then again, how much did we pay for him and how much was Pujols making that for that first half of the year while Glaus name could be mentioned in the same sentence?
Or how he bought into an old washed up, coming off TJS pitcher that would never be able to pitch all that well again and would fall apart under the pressure. Ultimately that guy went on to have the best closer season in the NL arguably and was a huge loss when he went down in the playoffs.
Or even how he gave 15M to the best pitcher on the market that wouldn’t sign with the Yankees. Wren was under pressure from us to add something. I’ll ask you this. Would you prefer the 4/60 from Lowe or would you prefer it to have went to Burnett because that was the other possibiility and Lowe has been incredibly solid all the while being met with some bad luck on both the health front and the fact that the Braves have not had a formidable defensively acute team in some years.
Edge
December 19th, 2010
3:03 pm
Freddie G….No owner is gonna spend money when a team can be in first place in September and have 25k empty seats on a regular basis.
Edge
December 19th, 2010
4:51 pm
and to touch the Chipper comments:
Chipper was given a reworked contract and the salary is not indicative of what he did. He was generous in the deal he went for. In 2007 and 2008 Chipper, despite having no home run power left, was a top 3-5 Offensive performer. There was no way to predict what would happen to him in 2009 and in 2010 he was actually getting pretty damn hot when he tore his ACL. He reallly looked like he had worked things out.
Chipper’s 07/08 performances could have easily netted him 15-18 Million on the free agent market but he structured so the Braves would have more money.
At this point, if your gonna bitch, what if someone that didn’t work in your field of work came to you and told you that you were making too much money and on Friday after you get paid, you need to hand a couple hundred bucks back to the employer. You’d most likely utter the words “fuck off” and walk away.
Chipper isn’t gonna hit 45 Home runs any more but he’s still in no way a bad 3rd basemen. Even in his bad years he was still putting up essentially the average numbers for his position. I find that a testament of how much he has blessed this fanbase and not left seeking more and more money, because god knows he could have gotten it.
Chipper is part of a rare breed of players and I hope he puts his values into Heyward, Freeman, Hanson, etc coming up. He, John Smoltz, even Maddux I don’t think in any way wanted to leave Atlanta, consistently stayed with the Braves knowing good and well money was to be made elsewhere. I see the same thing in Brian McCann now, kinda see it in Tim Hudson.
Chipper’s money is by no means any issue at all. The guy has done so much and as always contracts are all about previous performance as you don’t know whats coming in the future and Chipper’s 07 and 08 seasons weren’t matched by even a handful of players.
Freddie G
December 20th, 2010
1:45 am
Edge…In the 90’s the Braves were drawing better than the Yankees, Mets, and Phillies. We went over three million fans one year which I believe was more than any other team. However the ownership did not support the Braves management in a way that would allow them to improve the club. We had great pitching but the offense was not there to support the great pitching, so it was all for nothing, and as a result we have only one WS Championship. 1995 was our Championship year and we could have repeated in 1996 with a little luck, despite the bad pitch selection by Wohlers. Jeter’s bloop in short right would have been caught had it not been for the Umpire standing like a statue that interfered with Dye’s catching the popup, when we were leading 6.0. Secondly Justice was injured and did not play in any of the WS games, yet JS broke up the team and after that it was all on Chipper’s bat, there was no meaningful support for him. Braves fans became discouraged, as the Braves became satisfied with winning Division Titles and going out in the 1st round of the playoffs. I know because I was one of them. Phillies on the other hand had a good offensive club and are getting pitching to support that. The current Braves rotation is good and with the acquisition of Uggla, the emergence of Heyward,and Prado, the consistency of McCann, and hopefully the improved health and a return to form by Chipper, the Braves have a good chance to challenge this year. This chance can be improved with the acquisition of a more reliable centerfielder who will play good defense and support the others offensively, and not someone hitting .200- .220. Winning breeds success in terms of more fan support and improved bottom line, but you have to make the investment, look at the clubs that are successful and look at the Pirates.
Matt
December 20th, 2010
8:34 am
Edge needs to find something productive to do.
Wow
December 20th, 2010
9:23 am
Time for NEW Blog….Carroll
Braves Fan
December 20th, 2010
2:49 pm
Did WTF??? seriously challenge someone to a fight over blog comments? He must be hung like a light switch.
Anyway, like adding the pop to the line-up and grabbing a Braves killer like Uggla. However, he is CLEARLY a steroid guy and that is a big big concern for me. These types of players dry up fast and we don’t seem to have a lot of luck when the Steroid train stops in ATL. He does have some limited ability at second and that will be a concern in about 3 years. However, I do think he will keep the pop in his bat for a year or two. Just a lil concerned about injuries and the Roid issue.
.
December 20th, 2010
9:06 pm
All I want for Christmas is Justin Upton in CF for Braves.
Edge
December 20th, 2010
9:51 pm
So the likes of Fred McGriff, Andres Galarraga weren’t good enough? I mean we had 3 pitchers in the top 10 salaries in major league baseball and Ted still found the time to pick up some pretty good bats at first Base. I don’t get where you can complain over them. Those two are about as close to Hall of Fame caliber players as you can get. Not too mention the good talent of Justice, Gant, Andruw, Chipper, Dye, Klesko that were in the field for the Braves in the 1990s.
Go to Baseball Reference and check out the scripts. In 1996 there were some questionable bullpen management decisions that cost us the 1996 World Series. Same with 1999, either Bobby Cox trusted the same relievers WAY too much or he left his starters in to get rocked for 6-7 runs over 8 innings and didn’t trust his pen when he should have. Then you can see John Smoltz first world series loss when Jermaine Dye ran in front of Marquis Grissom and he dropped a fly ball because of it. Hayes would later score on a Cecil Fielder double. The game ended 1-0. the one run being unearned.
Freak things and poor bullpen management is the cause of not having more than 1 world series championship. Our offense had no problems outside of probably 1991 and 1992. After that with our hitters a chance to adjust and develop up, offense is not a scapegoat.
Edge
December 20th, 2010
9:55 pm
would also like to point out that for 6 weeks a year 80k+ Georgians have no problem filling up the seats of Sanford Stadium. 100k from Alabama fill their seats. not sure what Tech or Auburn’s seating is like, and 102k in Knoxville…. Most of which are lackluster football teams and all in the Braves media Market, yet somehow we can’t find 50k people to fill the seats of Turner field but for 2-3 Series a year? Thats pathetic and it gets stupid when the people who refuse to go to the games come in wanting the Braves to increase their payroll. Spend some money and Liberty might be enticed to bump the payroll up from 90M to 110M eventually and we can add an elite player or 2 to the roster.
mark
December 20th, 2010
10:36 pm
I looked back at the last month of the season and Nate was decent in hitting and looking a little more confident at the plate. I have bashed his play for a long time and had not taken the time to look at the last month of the season….Maybe, just maybe he is finding his stroke again?
Graham
December 20th, 2010
10:42 pm
Edge there are some inaccuracies in your review (Kotsay not kotchman, Soriano was a strict salary dump, and don’t close the book on the white-sox trade yet Flowers has Dunn type power)
And “.” and all Kevin Towers wants is Julio Teheran, Hanson, Prado, and Venters
Ian
December 20th, 2010
11:32 pm
Speaking of Mr. Flowers, how high are the White Sox on him ? We could always reaquire him and change his position to the outfield !
Edge
December 21st, 2010
3:05 am
And where would Tyler Flowers play on this team? He isn’t gonna hold the Minor League Player of the year back at first base. He isn’t gonna take over for the 2nd best catcher in baseball since 2005. He isn’t gonna take over left field for our latino version of Ichiro because I doubt he can play Center field.
Is Dunn type power really worth that much? Does he have Dunn-esque strikeouts too? We got a pitcher who went on to pitch a Cy Young-type season then dumped our return off for Arodys Vizcaino who could be just as good as Teheran and Delgado and a very solid and lucky season (2ish ERA with a 4.5 xFIP)by a wild left handed reliever and 1/2 of the Uggla trade. Seriously its stupid when people start suggesting we trade for people we can’t plug in anywhere.
Why don’t we trade just trade for Matt Wieters and Nick Markakis to so they can ride the bench and do nothing? We can pick up Holliday and Rasmus via a trade too…then we can go sign Manny Ramirez and possibly even toss in a trade for Prince Fielder. Then we can have no farm team left and one big clusterfuck at the major league level…(being sarcastic in case your not following)
I see what you pointed out, was just a typo on the Kotsay trade.
And I agree. Trading for Upton is not worth it at this point. I think your crazy if you think Wren hasn’t picked the phone up and dialed up AZ and STL to see what they wanted for Upton and Rasmus but its just not worth giving up anything. We have 12-13 Pitchers in our farm system that could be middle to front of the rotation type starters(counting current MLBers and MiLBers.) You just don’t give that gold up. Someone doesn’t work out quite well, we got 7-8 other options to plug into that spot and hope someone works out.
Marc in FL
December 21st, 2010
12:38 pm
It’s the holidays, reporters need a break too. Like this deal if it happens, Uggla seems like a good guy.
BravoHeart
December 22nd, 2010
2:00 am
A loaded farm system of pitching could easily land J.Upton, who could really play Center for the Braves..Brooks Conrad and Brandon Beachy along with KK would sound real nice to do..Next dump D.Lowe to the yanks for Gardner and cash..The outfield is strong and if Chipper gets hurt then the Braves can move Prado to third(which is safer IMO) and Gardner to Left