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© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
249 comments Add your comment
Beavercreek Braves Fan
March 30th, 2012
5:14 pm
Are we desperate, or what?
Tennessee Braves Fan
March 30th, 2012
5:14 pm
U guys at 5:11 and 5:10 just suck… Go to another blog if all u can do is bit*h
Ron Roberts
March 30th, 2012
5:17 pm
Medlen SHOULD be in the rotation. It baffles me why this is even up in the air, given Huddy’s late spring training start and our questions with Jurrjens looming over our heads.
Hanson, JJ, Beachy, Minor and Medlen are FINE for me, til Huddy comes back.
kevkat
March 30th, 2012
5:17 pm
We have to get rid of someone now..gonna need the xtra seat on the charter…:-)
Dawgdad (The Original)
March 30th, 2012
5:18 pm
Wanted to keep DLowe, but didn’t want to pay the price, so they sign Livan on the cheap, same style pitcher, innings eater, old, high era..
Atanta87
March 30th, 2012
5:18 pm
It would be nice to see Atlanta teams sign players in their Prime for a change. See Livan and Tracy
Tennessee Braves Fan
March 30th, 2012
5:18 pm
Beavercreek.. No… plan for the worst, hope for the best… Livan may b one of the best spot starters ever… Especially if Medlen gets in the rotation… Heck the Yanks want Pettite out of a year retired and older then Livan to be at the end of the rotation… Everyone quit jumping to conclusions.. I bet we still get Byrd.. we will b real strong this year…. imagine Bourn, Byrd, then Prado, McCann, Uggla, Freeman,… nice 1-6 there
mpimentel
March 30th, 2012
5:19 pm
it;s kinda awesome how the braves got beat by medicrity in those days…leyritz, livan, hitchcok (or whatever it’s spelled)…DOES ANYONE IN BRAVES FRONT OFFICE KNOW A CRAP ABOUT BASEBALL…my GOD…how can you explain this sign….DON’T WE HAVE A SURPLUS OF ARMS IN THE BALLCLUB ALLREADDY???….homers, doubles, gap lines against the wall… that is what we need, not another pitcher…geeeezzzzz IT IS SO HARD TO KNOW?
bulldogbubba
March 30th, 2012
5:21 pm
Watched him pitch on MLB.com yesterday. He didn’t have good stuff.Always wasting money on “once was”.Come on Braves.
Ralph
March 30th, 2012
5:23 pm
I see Wren is up to his favorite passtime, DUMPSTER DIGGING. What in the hell do we need with this worn out bum, if he isn’t good enough for the Astros why would this pitcher rich team want him. Are we going to be stuck with a loser occuping a roster spot for the season, i’d bet on it. In his hey day he was very good but his career has more losses than wins, unbeleiveable is all I can say
Tony C.
March 30th, 2012
5:23 pm
Nice move. Good to have a spanish-speaking WORLD CHAMPION mentor for those 3 vaunted spanish prospects…say what you want about that horrible strike zone, but Hernandez knows how to pitch. The guy’s arm has been dead for 7 years and he’s been getting by on balls and brains…if he can impart even 25% of what he knows of pitching to Tehran & Delgado…then this signing pays for itself for a long while to come.
Steve
March 30th, 2012
5:26 pm
Gotta be another move coming for a bat.
Ralph
March 30th, 2012
5:27 pm
Tony C.
March 30th, 2012
5:23 pm
Maybe if they hired him as a pitching coach.
Ralph
March 30th, 2012
5:28 pm
Suite up Dale Murphy and let him occupy a roster spot.
Beavercreek Braves Fan
March 30th, 2012
5:29 pm
Sorry, but I don’t get this. We just signed a 37 year old pitcher with a life-time ERA of 4.39, after he’s cut by a team that lost 106 games last season?
Nativebird
March 30th, 2012
5:33 pm
He’s got a lot of gut.
Jim Tavegia
March 30th, 2012
5:36 pm
This is a rediculous move. He is close to not being able to break a pane of glass. With an era of 10 he will be gone by the ASB. Old baseball players in nursing home are getting excited about getting another chance in “the show”. Leave your number on Wren’s VM.
Long time caller, first time listener...
March 30th, 2012
5:39 pm
What? Charlie Hough was busy?
DawgDad
March 30th, 2012
5:40 pm
“when he famously exploited umpire Eric Gregg’s wide strike zone in Game 5 of the 1997 NLCS”
In 1997 I was not even a Braves fan (lived in another city), yet I’m absolutely convinced Gregg was on the take based on what I observed. That one game casued me to take a hard and critical look at umpiring in a way I never had over the previous 35 years of observing MLB.
As for the Braves signing Hernandez, I think it signals they’ll send Delgado or Minor down in April, and they are counting on Martinez for a more prominent RH role in late innings. Definitely don’t want to bounce young starters up and down, and they don’t need a regular fifth starter in April. Hernandez is a great insurance policy and he could wind up in the rotation.
I don’t see them trading Medlen, but I wouldn’t be against it for the right position player in return. They better figure out who’s going to play shortstop (competently), and they haven’t addressed left field for what, four years now?
Once again, the Braves have many of the makings of a good team, but they steadfastly refuse to plug certain obvious holes until it’s too late. I think they will pay dearly for the mistakes they’ve made at shortstop and left field.
Ben
March 30th, 2012
5:45 pm
Can the braves just sit out every other year? Use our $90 million allotment and create a $180 million dollar team every two years? I’d be more interested in that.
Kris
March 30th, 2012
5:46 pm
What’s Marvin Freeman doing these days? I bet he can still bring it.
Brave New World
March 30th, 2012
5:48 pm
This addition should add about 4-6 wins to our 2012 total: 2-3 wins as a Brave plus the 2-3 wins he would have gotten beating the Braves.
Seattle Braves
March 30th, 2012
5:50 pm
I heard Phil was working on his knuckeler…. Its probably going to happened.
We should sign Tiger Woods, i bet all that time with Smoltz he picked up a thing or two. Plus he would be more in his prime. He could be the next MJ, but this time from Golf to MLB.
AZBravoFan
March 30th, 2012
5:55 pm
Mac and Ross are going to have to practice setting up their targets in the opposite batter’s box.
Seattle Braves
March 30th, 2012
5:59 pm
Actually this should add 4-6 wins for the other teams that didnt pick him up. C’mon the Astros dropped him, THE ASTROS. You cannot tell me that they dropped him to save money??? 750K is a steal for a proven pitcher. Proven Pitcher (wait) HAHAHAHAHA. Oh man typing that with a straight face hurts….
Now lets go get John Kruk from Baseball Tonight.
David O'Brien
March 30th, 2012
6:05 pm
Have never liked, but always respected Livan…. In my mind 10 times better then Lowe 2 years ago and a ton cheaper… DOB… Your thoughts?……
Tennessee Braves Fan: I’ve known him since the day he signed with the Marlins as a Cuban defector, and I’ve always liked the guy. Hard-nosed competitor who was an innings machine for most of his career. I like him in the role they signed him for, because in effect it allows them to use Cristhian Martinez in the role that Gearrin would have filled.
I think Livan can still be solid for 2-4 innings as a long reliever, facing a lineup once or maybe twice. And well suited to be a spot starter.
Larry
March 30th, 2012
6:06 pm
How much further will this organization drop?
Last year we hire the dumbest manager on the planet and now we sign an old, fat pitcher that no one esle wanted. The next thing you know we’ll be batting the slowest runner on the team (McCann) 3rd in the batting order to lead the league in double plays. Oh wait…Fruiti has already done this!
LeftCoastDawg
March 30th, 2012
6:06 pm
Alfonso Soriano has pop in his bat and was very serviceable at SS.
Kris
March 30th, 2012
6:07 pm
How is it that pitching depth is always cited as a major plus for the Braves, but then they go and sign old man Hernandez? This team doesn’t need pitching, it needs to hit the ball.
tlclaw
March 30th, 2012
6:10 pm
DOB…stocky? How many times did you change that word before settling on stocky?
Billy
March 30th, 2012
6:12 pm
Kimbrel
Venters
EOF
Medlen
Flande
Martinez
Hernandez
That is a killer bullpen. Love the move. Livian is perfect for that role, plus he has wealth of pitching knowledge that will be invaluable to Braves pitchers. That you can’t put a price tag on. Great move.
Liberty Media empty pockets
March 30th, 2012
6:12 pm
I really just wish we could be more “proactive” in our roster moves, as opposed to be “reactive.” And yes, signing “an arm with 200,000 miles on it” is a reactive move. This isn’t designed to make our team better. It’s designed to “plug a hole in the proverbial dike” as opposed to building up a solid wall in the first place to prevent any holes from surfacing (yeah I know, stupid analogy, but I’m just sayin).
The comment from someone earlier saying “Wren is DUMPSTER DIVING” again is not far from the truth.
Ralph
March 30th, 2012
6:13 pm
So now we have 3 long relief/spot starters, could medlen be moved to the rotation now instead of Delgado?
clint
March 30th, 2012
6:16 pm
STUPID. GAWDAMIGHTY.
tim
March 30th, 2012
6:17 pm
if its CHEAP the Braves will get it heaven forbid they actually spend a nickle
panamajack
March 30th, 2012
6:17 pm
Hey Frank, while your out DUMPSTER DIGGING, why don’t you ask Livan which dumpster they put his brother, El Dukie in.
bustersonly
March 30th, 2012
6:21 pm
Is tonights game televised, anybody?
NickB
March 30th, 2012
6:28 pm
Good Lord most of you are idiots…… You act like we signed him to be a rotation guy. He’s going to do long relief. Something Asencio couldn’t do. Do any of you actually know anything about baseball? Ever read books or study up on the game? Sure as heck doesn’t sound like it
Dave
March 30th, 2012
6:32 pm
Do we get Eric Gregg calling balls and strike for all of Livan’s appearances?
Tony C.
March 30th, 2012
6:35 pm
@Ralph 17:27-
Touche’! However, this way you get two-for-one; pitching coach and a guy that can eat innings when one of his proteges sh!ts the bed…also, I like the idea that we will get to see Martinez really bring it, for an inning or inning & 2/3, I really like how the ball comes out of his hand, but Martinez doesn’t have the stamina to bring it like that for more than 5 batters or so…anyway, I think for $400K you’re not going to get much better options.
People need to realize that we’re middle of the pack payroll-wise and the best option isn’t always realistic (see SS situation)…it’s more about the best *affordable* option….
DetroitBraves
March 30th, 2012
6:35 pm
He’s, at least to me, been surprisingly effective the last few years. He does not miss bats but he doesn’t walk anyone and he doesn’t give up long balls. Still, my intuition is yelling “oh, dear God!” but I guess on the cheap I can live with seeing what he can do.
@NickB, while I appreciate your frustrations if you want to really appear educated and hope to change opinions you may want to start your arguments with something other than “you are idiots”.
Bob the Blogger
March 30th, 2012
6:36 pm
My understanding of the Braves’ logic was that Hernandez has the ability to pitch multiple innings where Asencio has been a one inning guy. We already have two guys who can go mulitple innings in Medlen and Martinez. I thought Asencio was on his way up, and Hernandez was on his way down, so what am I missing here?
BosnianBaller
March 30th, 2012
6:40 pm
So this means Medlen isn’t the long relief guy anymore and moves into middle relief?
jerry
March 30th, 2012
6:40 pm
Gregg wouldn’t have had a wad riding on that game, would he?
DawgDad
March 30th, 2012
6:45 pm
“Can the braves just sit out every other year? Use our $90 million allotment and create a $180 million dollar team every two years? I’d be more interested in that.”
Ha. Effectively, this is what the Marlins do, though they haven’t gotten it down to a 2-year cycle.
Fastball
March 30th, 2012
6:46 pm
I would like to see Chipper comr back as a player/manager
Fastball
March 30th, 2012
6:47 pm
I would like to see Chipper come back as a player/manager
Fastball
March 30th, 2012
6:47 pm
Really, I would
Fastball
March 30th, 2012
6:48 pm
then just as a manager
Fastball
March 30th, 2012
6:48 pm
okay?
Bobby Bobby
March 30th, 2012
6:50 pm
If they trade Medlen it would be a mistake. Fans like him. Plus he can throw a ball. Hernandez=Rico Brogna.
DawgDad
March 30th, 2012
6:51 pm
“That is a killer bullpen.”
Agreed, but this is a bullpen killer: Hanson, JJ, Beachy, Minor, Delgado, Hudson when he comes back and isn’t full strength, and even Hernandez filling in. Not a lot of starts are going to get into the seventh inning.
leastofthe east
March 30th, 2012
6:56 pm
main thing is that he is cheap. fits the bill. who cares if he’s washed up ? if you can’t help the worst team is baseball (astros), maybe you can help us
can’t say Wren isn’t making moves. what a GM !
SA
March 30th, 2012
7:02 pm
If we could get Eric Gregg to spot start for him each time. I say put him in the 5 hole.
ab initio
March 30th, 2012
7:08 pm
Now we know why the Braves cut concession prices.
braves blog
March 30th, 2012
7:09 pm
CAN HE PLAY LEFTFIELD???????
Mark (another one)
March 30th, 2012
7:16 pm
The Astros are going with youth so Hernandez wasn’t needed. They need to build for their future and this year isn’t it. The Braves need a seventh person in the bullpen to eat innings and make spot starts. Hernandez fits that bill. The money is little more than the major league minimum and it allows the young pitchers to pitch regularly in the minors. All around, a good move.
Medlen will be a valuable part of the team this year but the Braves need to monitor his innings. He is coming off surgery and may have some issues during the season as the wear and tear goes on. I don’t think the Braves believe he is ready for 180-200 innings.
Disgusted
March 30th, 2012
7:19 pm
Probably not a bad sign even if we got him 15 yrs too late.
Can he bring Eric Gregg and his strike zone with him??????
Stinger2
March 30th, 2012
7:20 pm
I like all other Braves fan have no clue as to why Wren signed Hernandez. The important fact is that Wren knows
why he did. All of these negative comments are nothing of importance and are not going to matter one bit. I doubt Frank Wren or Fredi ever read or care about what any fans says when they blast the Braves
Forrest Hump
March 30th, 2012
7:23 pm
Stupid is as stupid does.
This is very Stupid!
Forrest Hump
March 30th, 2012
7:25 pm
I’d turn around and trade him for a sick horse, then shoot the horse. He sucks
Darryl Blackberry
March 30th, 2012
7:33 pm
This is one of those moves that isn’t pretty (or even terribly significant), but it makes a lot of sense. Livan is a plan C of sorts. If a starter goes down (knock on wood), we have Medlen. If two of them go down (knock knock), we have a veteran who can throw nine innings’ worth of 69 mph junkball without breaking a sweat.
Doug from Charleston,Tn
March 30th, 2012
7:44 pm
We need a right handed hitter,not an old pitcher with a losing record.
Ralph
March 30th, 2012
7:49 pm
leastofthe east
March 30th, 2012
6:56 pm
Wren is doing what he always does, dumpster digging.
WHAT S. I.SAYS.........
March 30th, 2012
7:49 pm
Is looking about right…………AFTER this move FRANK!!!
Bob the Blogger
March 30th, 2012
7:50 pm
How is Hernandez a better option than Asencio?
SR
March 30th, 2012
7:50 pm
Every Halloween, the trees are filled with underwear. Every spring, the toilets explode. Every spring the Braves crow about the depth of their pitching staff and every season the Braves are amongst the league leaders in games missed by pitchers. It will happen again this season, be it to Jurrjens, Hanson, Hudson or you name him.
Also, someone who has followed the Hot Stove League more than I weigh in on this one please- I’ve read lately about the Braves rumored interest in Xavier Nady. Is it not true that the Nats signed this guy to a minor league contract? If so, then why wouldn’t Wren have considered this prior to the guy signing with a division rival? Wouldn’t the Braves have to offer value to the Nats now for Nady if he is not waived?
Ralph
March 30th, 2012
7:51 pm
Mark (another one)
March 30th, 2012
7:16 pm
If Astros are going for youth then why did they sign him to begin with?
David O'Brien
March 30th, 2012
7:52 pm
Martin Prado’s 4th-inning double put Braves up 1-0 in the other split-squad game vs. Astros. Delgado has allowed 1 hit in 3 IP w/ 4 K’s
Ralph
March 30th, 2012
7:55 pm
Thank god for the Astros!
jed
March 30th, 2012
8:00 pm
i saw they’d released livan and thought ‘hmmm…maybe we should pick him up.’ i watched him baffle the braves too many times to doubt this move. i really like livan. he’s a smart pitcher. may even be the pick-up we needed to move medlen into the 5 spot.
here comes the judge
March 30th, 2012
8:02 pm
DOB, can you tell me why Braves do not use the closer in the closer spot and the set up man in the set up spot instead of middle relief. Seems they would want to get them use to the pressure.
Orange Brave f/k/a Billy Jack's BBQ
March 30th, 2012
8:08 pm
funny and interesting to read all the comments. The move will probably not have as much effect (either positive or negative) as everyone says.
at this price, it is worth taking a flyer on him. biggest upside? he eats innings and gives us another talented arm which gives some flexibility to the entire bullpen. downside? he blows a game and the fans get mad because Wren blew $750K.
a gamble, but calculated.
we really need a SS and a bat……seems I say that every year
Ralph
March 30th, 2012
8:24 pm
Like I said, thank got for the Astros.
Ralph
March 30th, 2012
8:24 pm
Like I said, thank got for the Astros.
Largo
March 30th, 2012
8:30 pm
So, the braves are looking for help in left field. Xavier Nady – who is worse than Chipper in showing up ready to play. Marlon Byrd – who averages less than ten home runs and about 40 to 50 RBIs per year. Will Venable – who averages 120 games a year with less than 10 home runs and 35 RBIs.
Wow, those guys would really help our offense, wouldn’t they? Well, they are the players Wren is looking at, so I read.
Old Dawg Fan
March 30th, 2012
8:30 pm
Amazing!!!! Just when I thought the Braves could not make any worse decisions!!! I pitched well in High School and I will work for them for 1/2 of what Hernandez signed for!!! I only have 11 years on him but that should not matter to the Braves. They will choke again this year worse than last year!!
G
March 30th, 2012
8:33 pm
So I’m confused. I thought Wren said we were already loaded with pitching and would not trade any. So we go out and sign a pitcher but still have wholes in the lineup. Once again Wren is one of the worst GM’s in baseball.
Felix
March 30th, 2012
8:57 pm
Hernandez? Hernandez? I mean even Houston didn’t want him. He must be old enough to be on social security.
After all this time, what has FW given us? A hitting coach, Buddy Carlyle, and now, senior citizen Livian Hernandez. What the F…..?
Hetch Hetchy
March 30th, 2012
9:00 pm
This is going to be a mediocre year, if you haven’t guess that beforehand.
Hetch Hetchy
March 30th, 2012
9:02 pm
*guessed*
Joe
March 30th, 2012
9:06 pm
Livan is a warrior…In 1997 he did not win with Eric Gregg’s help. Livan won with something that Braves never have had…in Spanish it is called “cojones”…..That is beacuse in post-season he has
7-3 / 3.92…
By the way, why in 97 the Braves’s pitchers did not take the Gregg’s wide zone opportunity?..
Excuses,excuses and more excuses….
azbrave
March 30th, 2012
9:08 pm
What a stupid move…..Wren and Gongales must go NOW.
Frenk Wran
March 30th, 2012
9:11 pm
I love signing .230 hitters and over the hill pitchers to big contracts.
Steve
March 30th, 2012
9:18 pm
Our biggest disadvantage isn’t Liberty Media, it is Frank Fren.
Steve
March 30th, 2012
9:22 pm
*Wren*
gotigers72
March 30th, 2012
9:37 pm
Pitiful. Dude had an almost 6 ERA with the Lastros. For goodness sake, the LASTROS let him go! Same old crappy moves the Braves make seemingly on a yearly basis. Grab a ragarm pitcher off the trash heap so that he can lose a few games for you. Last year it was Linebrink and Proctor. This year Livan. Who’s next, Jamie Moyer? My mother? At least one more ragarm signing for the year. I’ll call mom to see if she’s available. She is in her mid 80s [age, not velocity], but can still throw harder than Livan.
Ralph
March 30th, 2012
9:55 pm
Felix
March 30th, 2012
8:57 pm
You forgot Jack Wilson.
Ralph
March 30th, 2012
10:03 pm
I’m sure glad us idiots and morons greatly out number all those baseball wizards.
Eddie Matthews' Ghost
March 30th, 2012
10:04 pm
Is that the TOWEL I just saw flying out from the dugout?? Season’s over when you have to sign 37 year old has beens that the WORSE TEAM IN BASEBALL DOES NOT WANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Braves Fan for 55 yrs
March 30th, 2012
10:13 pm
Disgusting, Wren is waving the white flag and the season has not yet even begun. I hope Chip ( extra large egomaniac) is announcing Braves games. It will be easier to stay away from the park now and boycott the telecasts.
pitchbull
March 30th, 2012
10:17 pm
I have been a Braves fan for awhile (even when they were terrible) and I have never heard as many whiners as I do now on this message board, so much so that I actually was compelled to make a comment. As a few astute commenters pointed out, Livan was signed so that Fredi doesn’t kill oventbrel like he did last year. When one of our pitchers inevitably lasts just a few innings, they can throw Livan in there instead of Martinez or Medlen and instead use those guys in more critical situations. Both of those guys are good and would spare some innings on the rest of our very good bullpen. Ascensio and Gearrin were not going to do that for the Braves at all. I do not know about you, but I cringed almost every time one of those guys got in any game. This is a good move.
bostonbravo
March 30th, 2012
10:23 pm
wtf? is Fredi his cousin??
what sense??? I’m a fan..but not an IDIOT…
how much more can we take????
You’ll find out at playoff time.
bostonbravo
March 30th, 2012
10:52 pm
if only we could get a proven star like…Derek Lowe…
bravesfan79
March 30th, 2012
11:18 pm
So the Braves couldnt bring back Glavine for 1 more year for a million yet give HIM almost a mill? When we dont even need more pitching?? Just dumb
Tennessee Braves Fan
March 30th, 2012
11:23 pm
Livan will give us what Jim Clancy and Mike Bielicki gave us in the early 90’s.. helped our teams to the playoffs… DOB… Agree?
Rilo
March 30th, 2012
11:44 pm
Unnecessary pick up. I don’t even have the energy the get pissed at Wren.
The Mask
March 31st, 2012
1:01 am
“and they haven’t addressed left field for what, four years now?”
More like not since the 2 years Chipper was there in 02 & 03, but he was never meant to be a permanent solution there anyway. So if you really want to get techical about it, LF hasn’t been addressed since the days Ryan Klesko was out there back in the mid to late 90s.
And for those saying Medlen to the starting rotation…..should it happen, probably. Will it happen, no. Medlen won’t be in the starting rotation come opening day for the same reason that Luis Durango won’t be on the 25 man roster. 1 word, ego…..by a couple of select individuals, they wouldn’t want to admit or even acknowledge they were wrong.
Kris
March 31st, 2012
1:33 am
Does this mean Medlen can start and livan long relief?
the truth...
March 31st, 2012
1:36 am
So let me get this straight………………….
The team lots of folks see as being the deepest in pitiching in the bigs….but can’t hit its way out of a wet paper bag, …….
Just signed an aging 37+ year old who can’t throw a ball through a wet paper bag………….
Maybe it helps ……………we need bats Frankie Boy…..bats, not arms……get it???