Deadline approaches but Braves not in all-or-nothing mindset
Chipper Jones hit a two-run homer in Monday's 11-3 win over San Francisco. But is all this too late to catch Philadelphia in the East? (Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com)
The meat of the comment sounded like a concession speech, which really wasn’t Chipper Jones’ intent. But when you play for a .500 team going into game No. 93 and the team ahead of you in first place is starting to resemble the one from last October, a sense of realism sets in.
“We’re not going to be sellers, I don’t think,” Jones said early Monday when asked about how the Braves should approach the trade deadline. “We’ve been buyers to this point, adding pieces here and there. But I think we’ve got our eyes toward next year and the year after, and whatever comes this year is gravy. I don’t mean that we’re waving the white flag this year by any means. But we got off to a relatively slow start, and the Phillies are what they are. They’re the world champs, they’re playing well right now and it’s going to be hard to catch them.”
The trade deadline is in 10 days. Depending on your level of optimism, the Braves are either in contention for the National League East, in contention for the wild-card spot or in contention for special early October fares to the Bahamas.
Do they buy, maybe giving up pitcher Javier Vazquez for another bat?
Do they sell, maybe giving up pitcher Javier Vazquez for another bat — for next April?
Does general manager Frank Wren stare at an 8×10 glossy of Yunel Escobar for several hours and hope an answer comes to him like some revelation in a burning bush (preferably before his head explodes)?
Does he do nothing of significance, which probably is the betting favorite and the smartest course of action? (It neither mortgages the future nor sends the wrong message to players and fans, given it’s a seller’s market right now.)
Wren isn’t saying what he’s going to do. I think because he doesn’t know what he’s going to do. I think because he doesn’t know how to categorize the team’s post-season hopes.
Question to Wren: buying or selling?
“There’s so many us who are still in this thing, one way or another.”
Question: OK. But buying or selling?
“We’re playing better. We feel good about the way we’re performing.”
OK. Let’s simplify this: Are you sellers?
“I don’t think we’ll be selling. I sure hope not. I mean, something drastic would have to happen for us to be selling.”
Solid pitching, improved hitting, and we still don’t know what to think. Yes – as Jones said, things look pretty good for next season. But it’s still July. Are you ready to shift your mindset to next April? Or have the past few seasons made that easier to accept?
They won again Monday — this time 11-3 over San Francisco. Suddenly they’re scoring and they’re winning (this makes eight out of 11). They’re now only 3 1/2 games behind San Francisco in the wild-card race. But that’s an eight-team scramble. Those things are iffy. In the division race, they’re still 6 1/2 games behind Philadelphia (which has won 13 of 14). Before the Braves got hot, they were only five back. Go figure.
It was early June when they shredded the blueprint. Since then, they’ve sent down Jordan Schafer, traded for Nate McLouth, called up Tommy Hanson, sent down Kelly Johnson, traded Jeff Francoeur for Ryan Church and watched Martin Prado turn into Rogers Hornsby The makeover is basically done.
Guarded optimism reigns.
“We’re not sellers – we’re not selling anything,” Bobby Cox said.
Jones said he’s encouraged.
“The lineup is better. We don’t have [easy] outs any more,” he said.
But the margin for error remains thin and the deficit in the division is growing, and Jones acknowledged, “When we play the really good teams, our margin for error is so small.”
The understanding being, they’re still not one of the really good teams and whatever comes this season is gravy. But they’re making it interesting.
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180 comments Add your comment
A.D.
July 21st, 2009
12:14 pm
I cannot understand why the braves would think about trading Vazquez. He is under contract through 2010 at a very reasonable price for a good pitcher in todays world. Why would you trade him?
Joshua
July 21st, 2009
12:14 pm
Submariner you need to not make all encompassing comments like “Bobby Cox never sends his runners” It is quite obvious to me and probably any other Braves fan who watched them in the 90s that you are young and stupid. I can’t remember how many times the Braves pulled the double steal with Otis Nixon and Ron Gant. Back in those days they never had a stellar line-up and had to manufacture runs on a daily basis to win. So blow off, young buck.
Angus
July 21st, 2009
12:21 pm
AD – see my 11:14 post.
I’m on your side Joshua. I think Bobby Cox is one of the best, if not the best, managers in baseball. We’ll all be sorry the day he leaves (on his own terms, deservedly so).
Joshua
July 21st, 2009
12:22 pm
Where do you people come from? It amazes me the comments I read on this board. Doug – in response to your comment about not needing to trade and its all about the mental aspect of the game, need I remind you what happened when we traded for Fred McGriff in mid-season? Before that trade the Braves, even with their unbelievable pitching rotation, were a pedestrian team, much like this year’s team. But then the added McGriff right before the deadline and were virtually unbeatable for the rest of the year. I am just amazed at how pompous and sanctimonious you fans are, and how easily you forget HOW the Braves won 14 consecutive division titles.
Dorothy Davis
July 21st, 2009
12:33 pm
The Braves finally have the line upand pitching rotation they need to win. So if they are in a selling mood…why not Johnson, Bennett, Acosta, who are dead weight. After all, baseball is a business, not a loyalty game. When Huddy comes back, they could start him in the pen till he shows promise and then switch him to the rotation and put Kawakami in the pen. I understand that is a high priced pen pitcher, but better to win games, right? So far the Braves line up is saying we are not out of this yet!
HAL
July 21st, 2009
12:43 pm
i dident say wren was the gm who traded tex we all know who puulled off that coup i was just saying js gets a mulligan on everything and as seems to be fasinable in the usa of today just blame your predessor if possible lol
Wren BLOWS
July 21st, 2009
12:52 pm
Francoeur went 3-4 with 2 rbi’s and a homer…..seems like a pretty tough out to me…
Trade deadline special: Salty an afterthought in Teixeira deal | Jeff Schultz
July 21st, 2009
12:59 pm
[...] asking you if the Braves should be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline, and the second being the column off the team’s current hot streak but circling around the same [...]
FEAR
July 21st, 2009
1:09 pm
Bob in SF
July 20th, 2009
10:45 pm
I love it when Oriole fans try to blame all the losing of the last 15 years on anyone but Peter Angelos.
No, trust me, being an O’s fan (along with the braves), I as well as several friends up in MD certainly blame Angelos. He’s a prick and a meddler. Why do you think Wren didn’t do well in Baltimore? Peter forced Wren to sign Sosa for example.
FEAR
July 21st, 2009
1:12 pm
Um………. if we trade for a big bat…..where do we put him? EVeryone is doing pretty well….even mclouth seems to have broken out of his mini-slump. We need bullpen help. I say we make a package of KJ and Schafer and get like 3 relief guys. Mclouth is here for a while. No where to put Jordan. We got heyward, diaz, and church. GA will be gone in 2010.
nique
July 21st, 2009
1:16 pm
Are we really still debating trading Javy or Yunel? Either move would be pretty devastating to this team IMO.
35YrBravesFan
July 21st, 2009
1:29 pm
I like the Braves standing pat right now. Worry about who’s gonna pitch next year after the season is over. Heck Vasquez might be worth more then than now anyway.
Putting Esco in the 5 hole was a smart move. Trade or leave Kelly in Gwinnett, no matter how hot he is in AAA ball.
Let the team alone and give it time to gel after all the moves, both in positions and in the batting order.
GO BRAVES!!
bfred
July 21st, 2009
1:34 pm
Trading pitching now would be an unacceptable risk. Does anyone think Hudson will be a more immediately productive starter than anyone currently in the rotation? Having six starters (including Hudson) gives us the luxury of putting Huddy in the pen for long relief while he rebuilds his strength, plus gives our existing relievers the rest they clearly need. He may be ready to give productive starts closer to the end of the season, but trading a pitcher now does not seem like a calculated risk – it seems like a leap of faith that Hudson will return to form sooner rather than later. Don’t do it unless the bat your get in return is a long-term steal.
braveUK
July 21st, 2009
1:39 pm
Braves scouts were at the whitesox v tampa game last night, Konerko would be an interesting bat to add rather than Dye. With 4 decent outfielders ( and possibly KJ/Infante for cover) 1B is the batting weakness now. Kotchmann is good defensively but doesn’t get enough XBH to be a credible 1B.
gdubber
July 21st, 2009
1:49 pm
The only awful move Wren made was not signing Abreu. Anderson is coming around but will not reach Abreu.
AndyA
July 21st, 2009
1:50 pm
Schultz,
You really think Kawakami, relative to the money given, was a bad decision? He’s making 8.3M this year and he’s got a 4.15 ERA & 1.35 WHIP with almost 100 innings pitched. He’s on pace to hit about 170 innings as a #5 starter and has had slightly above average success (NL average ERA=4.20, WHIP=1.38). Is this a better decision than Mike Hampton, who only twice threw more than 170 inn. for the Braves, despite raking in around 14.5M per year? And he had a higher WHIP both of those years than Kawakami does this year?
The Braves’ pitching depth is the only reason they still have a good shot at the wild card, with a very outside shot at the NL East. I’d love for him to be an ace, but he didn’t get ace money and has put up respectable numbers. Not sure what you want, but it might be asking a bit too much.
Horner's Corner
July 21st, 2009
1:53 pm
NO MORE…posts about how we let Jason Marquis get away. This guy has been mediocre his whole career and he is this year as well. So he has 12 wins, JJ or Javey would as well if they got some run support. For several years Marquis’s only redeeming qualities have been his ability to eat innings as a back of the rotation starter and his ability to provide offense as a pitcher. If the Braves brought him back to replace Norton as a PH fine, but otherwise STOP with the, “we let Marquis get away” crap.
Horner's Corner
July 21st, 2009
2:00 pm
NO MORE…blogs about how bad Kawakami has been. KK has had a fine season and has kept the Braves in every game he’s started but 1. Take that one bad start away (April 26 vs. Cincinnati) and KK’s ERA is 3.57. Take away his first month (call it an adjusting period) and KK has posted a 3.30 ERA over 13 starts. Plus, Kawakami’s H/9 is lower than Marquis’s and his K/9 is higher than JM.
htownbravesfan
July 21st, 2009
2:02 pm
Quick! Name the shortstops in major league baseball better than Yunel Escobar. That’s what I thought. Trading him would damage this club for years to come. Outside of the catcher’s spot, there’s no harder position to fill with a quality ball player. He’s young, and he’ll get his head screwed on properly.
MLB Trade Rumors: Vazquez, Halladay, Sanchez & more
July 21st, 2009
2:30 pm
[...] – While the Braves are targeting a bat, GM Frank Wren doesn’t think that the club will be sellers around the trade deadline and although he is thought to be Atlanta’s best trade piece, it appears that pitcher Javier Vazquez might be staying put. [...]
Mike
July 21st, 2009
2:35 pm
YellowJacket- I could have asked the same question for the finale with the Mets. What were Gonzo and Soriano doing in the game with a 6 to 7 run lead? We’re always complaining about how overworked the bullpen is, yet when we have a chance to rest some arms we run them right back out there.
Clyde Jackson
July 21st, 2009
3:02 pm
Instead of trading Vazquez for a bat the Braves need to call up Hitting Coach Jamie Dismuke from Gwinnett. Not having a hitting coach is the root of the Braves problems. Javier has done his job. The team has let him down.
gayle
July 21st, 2009
3:04 pm
After his performance so far for the Red Sox, is anyone here going to offer an apology to Frank Wren for making the right call on John Smoltz? 1-3 with a 6.31 ERA? All of you here who were asking for Wren’s head on a platter? Remember?
GTSteve
July 21st, 2009
4:08 pm
I wasnt gayle……..i said I hope the selfish *^^%%&*$$ blows his arm out to the point he can’t ever play golf again…..lol
Josh in NC
July 21st, 2009
4:37 pm
Although I’m still not completely over the way he handled the whole Smoltz situation (via text message as a mutual friend of mine and John Smoltz informed me….yeah I know, sounds crazy), Wren has assembled a solid pitching staff to which he will be getting credit in the weeks to come. Braves fans need to realize that although the Braves won’t be hitting as well as they have as of late for the rest of the year, and the pitching may have a couple hiccup weeks, the Phils aren’t going to stay as hot as they are right now for the rest of the year. And while I doubt we can over take them to win the division, I feel like we have one of the best chances to take the Wild Card…with solid pitching from start to finish, and with a lineup that has finally got some chemistry.
We aren’t sellers…it’s time to commit to who we have and believe. Where has the belief gone in baseball?
beBrave
July 21st, 2009
8:11 pm
dont buy, dont sell – at least till we are out of the wild card race… future looks good with JJ, Hanson, Esky, Prado, Infante, and Diaz. I dont even think we need a better Ist baseman, Casey is a solid gold glove contender with a decent batting average and good situational hitting. Stay the course
Stephen Scouten
July 22nd, 2009
9:35 am
UGA 75. I just died laughing. You’re right, if Pendleton learns Spanish we might as well just pack it in.
I love Vasquez, but we need to trade him for one majore league ready OF prospect, and two lower level pitching prospects.
Jared
July 22nd, 2009
9:54 am
The Braves have a shot because their pitching is miles above the Phillies. Right now is when pithcing starts to take over.
The Phils offense isn’t always going to score 7 and unless they make the trade for Roy Halladay, they’re basically a one-man show.
And unless we are getting a guy named Albert Pujols, we need to hold on to Vazquez, who is signed through next year.
All you Wren haters are crazy. He cut dead weight, assembled an incredible pitching staff, and made the McLouth trade, which is probably the most lopsided trade of the last 5 years in MLB.
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8:34 pm
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