We’re live from Braves’ miracle watch (day 21)
Javier Vazquez is be pitching for own future, as well as Braves.
Frank Wren went into the off-season last a year ago knowing he would need to add starting pitching. He will go into the off-season this year realizing he needs to subtract.
One obvious conclusion: “It will probably be a little less stressful this winter,” the Braves general manager said.
Somewhat. But a significant issue has been hanging over the Braves all season, and the core of that issue was on the mound Wednesday night. Javier Vazquez, the same pitcher whose heart and big-game ability was questioned last season by the Chicago White Sox’ turbo-lipped manager, Ozzie Guillen, has been Atlanta’s best starter this season. He went into the Florida game with a 15-9 record and 2.83 ERA (4-0, 1.93 in this improbable September).
There’s also a chance he was starting his final game as a Brave.
“I’m not going to get into our decision-making, and I don’t know, quite frankly, what we’re going to do,” Wren said. “We’ll sit down and look at all of our options. It just depends how we configure our ballclub. At the end of the day, it’s how do we put the best team on the field and what 25 players allow us to do that.”
This topic has been debated ad nauseam. The problem is that the season is about to expire, and we’re no closer to clarity. The Braves have six starting pitchers and one has to go – not just to the bullpen, but to another team. Payroll says this. Logic screams it.
The thought of dealing Vazquez seems ludicrous, even with a poor outing Wednesday. Imagine what the top of the rotation would look like next season with these three starters and their respective ERAs: Vazquez (2.83), Tommy Hanson (2.98) and Jair Jurrjens (2.61). But the only thing we know for certain is Hanson and Jurrjens will be here. We also know Derek Lowe and Kenshin Kawakami probably will be here because they carry bloated contracts that don’t nearly match their production. It’s likely no other team would touch them even in a normal economic climate, let alone amid today’s global budget-shrinkage.
That leaves Vazquez and Tim Hudson. Hudson has a $12 million option for next season. He has looked pretty good since coming off Tommy John surgery, Tuesday’s 5-4 loss to Florida notwithstanding. If you’re the Braves, can you just let him walk?
The answer should be yes. Hudson hasn’t been the dominant top-of-the-rotation starter the Braves hoped for when they acquired him. Now is not the time to assume he’s going to turn into that. If it’s really about keeping the best guys, Vazquez stays and Hudson goes.
Here’s Wren on Hudson at his non-committal best before the game: “He’s come back and he’s shown us that he’s healthy and he’s able to pitch at this level. When we get to the appropriate time, we’ll announce our decision on how we’ll move forward.”
I’m guessing he would’ve given the same answer if I asked, “What do you think? Plums or peaches next week at Kroger?”
It was clear Vazquez did not have his best stuff Wednesday. Through three innings, he had already allowed three runs (though only one earned), five hits, a wild pitch, a hit batter and a ground ball through the legs of Chipper Jones. Then came a two-run homer in the fifth. That said, he has had a career-best season. It’s odd, given the Braves are his fifth team in the past seven seasons, and he was ripped by Guillen late last season for not coming through in the clutch.
Wren obviously disagrees. Consider what Vazquez has done in September and on the road this season:10-2, 2.80. (Strangely, he has struggled on the road.)
“Knowing Javy from afar, and now seeing him up close, I think he’s as solid as a rock,” Wren said. “We thought we were getting a real good starting pitcher. He had a history of durability and going to the post. He’s lived up to it.”
Maybe not Wednesday. But he’s a better option than Hudson.
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461 comments Add your comment
Jethro
September 30th, 2009
10:15 pm
This aint the 90’s, no miracle here. Sad fact- Florida Marlins- 2 World Titles, Atlanta Braves- 1 World Title. Scary
tmac
September 30th, 2009
10:15 pm
me-
bases loaded, 2 out. ball get’s away from the catcher… matt diaz starts toward home, stops and then tries to get back to 3rd… catcher recovers and throws him out at 3rd to end the game. Diaz was the tieing run… most likely would have scored if he continues to go home all the way…
game over. season over.
Tyler
September 30th, 2009
10:15 pm
Well… typical.
JEFF
September 30th, 2009
10:15 pm
SEASON IS OVER…
VaBraveFan
September 30th, 2009
10:16 pm
Wow, what a way to end, doesnt even give the hitter a chance….. very sad way to go out, wasted effort
ExecutiveStinger
September 30th, 2009
10:16 pm
What the hell was Diaz doing???????????????????
Typical way to end it.
What!?
September 30th, 2009
10:16 pm
Incredible. That’s it. Unbelievable mistake. End of playoff run.
Jim
September 30th, 2009
10:17 pm
Another hapless nite for the loveable losers…da braves…hahaha
Trigg
September 30th, 2009
10:17 pm
I really hope the rockies lose tonight to make matt the idiot diaz look even more retarded. He would have scored easily had he run home. The pitcher was no where near home plate.
Mark
September 30th, 2009
10:17 pm
Once again a Bobby Cox’s team choking because of a lack of fundamentals. This is what use to happen in the playoffs. A Bobby Cox team winning just enough to get us interested and then when they play a good team they CHOKE!!
me
September 30th, 2009
10:18 pm
Thanks Tmac
LL
September 30th, 2009
10:19 pm
the braves and their redneck fanbase will have a chance to make the post-season in 2015.
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CLASSIEST FRANCHISE IN BASEBALL. . YOUR 3RD STRAIGHT NL EAST DIVISION CHAMPION:
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES ! ! !
VaBraveFan
September 30th, 2009
10:19 pm
atleast they finished strong, picked off with bases loaded and last night hitting into double play in 9th seems like they didnt want to continue the hot streak. OUr we mathmatically still alive or are we done?
What!?
September 30th, 2009
10:19 pm
That’s just about as painful as it gets. Passed ball. Tie game and Prado still batting with runners in scoring position. Miracle win! Oops…no, never mind. End of season.
DHD
September 30th, 2009
10:20 pm
That’s a classic, Mark…blaming it on Bobby Cox. thanks for making it an entertaining night!! Funny stuff.
Trigg
September 30th, 2009
10:20 pm
Imagine if this happened to any other team. Diaz would be hounded. He’d never play again for that team. But bobby will rub his tummy and tell him it’s okay. Good riddance braves. No more money spent on this crap product.
4williec
September 30th, 2009
10:20 pm
A-ville Ranger nails it….Diaz would most likely have scored it Prado hadn’t waved him off….
Dr. R
September 30th, 2009
10:21 pm
Guy doesn’t score from third on a wild pitchand somebody still finds a way to blame Cox. That’s all on Diaz. Not Prado, not Cox, not Wren, not John Mullen, not anyone. The guy’s gotta make up his mind with two outs that he’s going if it gets away. But I guess Bobby called the wrong play, right Bulldog fans? Buncha idiots. This city doesn’t deserve a playoff team because its fans don’t know the game.
Trigg
September 30th, 2009
10:21 pm
It is basic fundamentals. When you see the ball that far away, and he saw it, you run and don’t go back. That’s taught in high school. I’ve never liked Diaz. His fielding sucks too.
Dr. Henry/Augusta
September 30th, 2009
10:22 pm
I believe he would have been out anyway whether he stopped or not – the ball just didnt roll far enough away from the catcher….I can’t remember a season where we lost so many games we should have won – tonight and last night were the worst though!!!!
BravesFanNboston
September 30th, 2009
10:22 pm
I can’t do this anymore, Schultz. I’m just an ol’ Braves fan. Kinda like ol’ Yeller. Just take me in the backyard and shoot me. If not, tell me it’s all going to be o.k.
tmac
September 30th, 2009
10:22 pm
Np me.
Tough play…hard to knock Diaz on that. very tough play…
Nobody wanted the Braves to win more than me…but i’m not gonna blast Diaz. i’m sure he’s more upset than anyone.
To big a hole to come back from… but, i agree with the TV guys = heartbreaking.
DHD
September 30th, 2009
10:22 pm
If Chipper doesn’t blow the double play chance, we don’t get to that point, but Chipper’s everybody’s boy.
Alan
September 30th, 2009
10:23 pm
Oh well. Pitchers and catchers report in 4 months. LOL
Reid Adair
September 30th, 2009
10:23 pm
I believe Wren will get rid of Tim Hudson AND Javier Vasquez. That is the wrong thing entirely, but he’ll do it.
The worst part will be that he won’t improve the offense (which has been the primary problem in 2009) at all with either of those moves.
What!?
September 30th, 2009
10:23 pm
LL…Classy, you’ve got to be kidding! Philadelphia, classy? Get real, dude. You guys spit on your own players.
LL
September 30th, 2009
10:23 pm
CONGRATULATIONS PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES ! ! !
JEFF
September 30th, 2009
10:23 pm
WOW just sickning .. yet we sign cox to another deal. so it will be the same next yr as well people 4 games to play for what? NOTHING. WHY BOTHER goin to a ball game this week. its football and hockey season. ANOTHER bobby cox run team not in the post season.
coach smith
September 30th, 2009
10:24 pm
Lonnie Smith anybody????????
This is why people don’t go out to the games…the Braves have a history of CHOKING
I love my Braves but they always find ways to lose and break your heart
Joe King
September 30th, 2009
10:24 pm
BELIEVE, yea right , I believe that they’ll find a way to choke. They did it last night and now again tonight. I have one word “pathetic” pretty much sums it up.
Steve
September 30th, 2009
10:26 pm
Can we let Frank go? keep a great pitching staff? maybe add a power hitter? here is an Idea move Bobby to Franks job, let him rebuild the farm system, tell Chipper to move to hitting coach since he is helping out the batters anyway, hire Ned Yost, Where has Frank ever beena GM and the Team succeded at winning? If they trade J.V. then they are a bunch of fools. on and TP time to retire from coaching. great player does not equals a great coach.
Braves Fan
September 30th, 2009
10:27 pm
The pitchers actually pitched good all year. The hitters are the ones who need to be run off. Get some hitters for God’s sake. Please don’t trade Vasquez you fools!
woodie
September 30th, 2009
10:27 pm
Thanks Braves for a solid year if not a playoff year. Where would we be if we wouldn’t have stuck with Francouer, Schafer and Johnson for so long ?
LL
September 30th, 2009
10:28 pm
CONGRATULATIONS PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES !!
Eat dirt rednecks. . .go slap your sisters in the back of your pickup trucks. . .
gayle
September 30th, 2009
10:29 pm
I believe, I believe in the bandwagon that are the Braves fans.
Like so many other crucial games, the Braves make a so-so pitcher look like a Cy Young winner. Nolasco spent a couple of months in the minors this year and he strikes out 15? That’s clutch Braves fans.
And now after making the final out at third base, I can’t think of a more fitting way to drive the final nail in the coffin of this pretender.
Save your faith until 2011 when there will be a new manager and new ownership.
All you fans who got sucked into this run, I’m sorry. This team will never contend until the house is cleaned and the stink removed from the dugout.
Dr. R
September 30th, 2009
10:29 pm
Yeah, that’s four straight years with no playoffs for Cox. Never mind the 14 straight before that. Fair weather, thy name is Atlanta. And as soon as the team loses, you just go find something else to do. In real baseball towns, they sacrifice their oldest child and spent months wandering in the wilderness. You guys just go watch hockey. OK then. Good to see you bounce back this quickly. If the Braves were my team tonight (mine’s already in the playoffs, thank you), I’d be howling at the moon in my boxers after that.
tmac
September 30th, 2009
10:29 pm
Typical Bobby Cox in the post game calling Matt Diaz “our best baserunner on the team” (twice). Give me a break. Whether he is or isn’t doesn’t mean jack… quit trying to protect your player, that’s called “spin.”
SH
September 30th, 2009
10:29 pm
You could hit me in the nuts 10 times with a hammer and it would hurt less than that loss.
Greg
September 30th, 2009
10:30 pm
Come on. It’s ALL on diaz. Would you rather make the last out at third or home. You don’t go halfway and then stop. Bonehead play. If he’s back next year, I’m not going to a game. And he would have scored had he kept going no doubt. The ball was at least 15 feet away from the catcher.
Skeezix
September 30th, 2009
10:32 pm
They were deffinitely feeling the pressure tonight, you could see it in their faces and stiff at bats. Javy picked a bad night to be slightly off, but Chipper’s error didn’t help Javy and I haven’t a clue what could have been going through Diaz’s mind on that last play to end it. Stay on third or go home but you can’t stay halfway between third and home—that usually gets one picked off.
crap man
September 30th, 2009
10:34 pm
Enter your comments here I haven’t commented all year, but WTF?!? Read this blog more than most, but that was your Atlanta Braves. Play Just good enough to make me second guess my opinion of Bobby, the whole crappola?!?….. and what happens…….go braves……rrrriiiiiiiiiigggghhhhtttttt !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a relief. Now I can sleep with good conscience. Psst..did we really (believe)?
The Truth Hurts
September 30th, 2009
10:34 pm
Um….go Falcons.
Dr. R
September 30th, 2009
10:34 pm
But though as a fan you hate Bobby defending players when they screw up, put yourself in their shoes: Wouldn’t you want to play for a guy like that? That’s his secret, guys. No, he’s not a tactical genius, never has been. But his people skills are off the charts. If any of you mouth-breathers manage people in your day jobs (those who have one), you understand how important that is. You don’t manage numbers or stats, you manage people. That’s Bobby’s strength. It’s why he’s going to Cooperstown, whatever y’all think of it, and it’s why REAL baseball people respect him. They understand that getting players to play hard for you for 162 games is the real challenge to being a skipper, not picking which pinch-hitter to use or when to bunt.
MarlinsForever
September 30th, 2009
10:34 pm
Want something to believe in? Try 16 strikeouts and a Rockies lead in the 6th! Suck it, Braves!
Joe
September 30th, 2009
10:36 pm
This is why people in Atlanta have lost interest in The Braves over the years they always choke when something is on the line. I don’t know what it is in the origination it’s like they have lost their true identity they are not even the favorites every year to win the NL East like they use to be I don’t know if it’s managing or what but something needs to change next year we need to be in the playoffs.
Greg
September 30th, 2009
10:36 pm
Just saw the replay. Prado was telling Diaz to come home. Not stay. He wasn’t even looking at Prado. It’s all on Diaz. What a sorry dumb player.
woodie
September 30th, 2009
10:36 pm
Time to enjoy the Falcons, Bulldogs and Yellow Jackets.
SH
September 30th, 2009
10:38 pm
Diaz may be the smartest player on the team. Greg is a dumb poster.
alwaysbeencarl
September 30th, 2009
10:38 pm
I watched it over and over like the Zapruder film. He who hesitates is lost. Diaz hesitated. Twice. Prado didn’t help holding him up but Matty has gotta go with instinct there. It looked like Snitker was doing nothing as the third base coach except watching with his hands on his knees. And Greg Norton was on the grassy knoll…
4williec
September 30th, 2009
10:39 pm
Oh yeah…it’s all on Diaz….brilliant baseball minds here. Never mind all the runs Vazquez gives up…the hits we didnt get, errors, etc…..yeah, it’s all on Matt and that one play…jeeze.