Future watch: Braves lead locals in young talent (UPDATE: Heyward is No. 1 prospect)
Jason Heyward may win the right field job in spring training.
(UPDATE: Jason Heyward has been named the No. 1 prospect by Scouts Inc. and the Braves have five players listed in the top 85. See below.)
A little clarification this morning.
Last week, I suggested that the Braves needed to sign free agent outfielder Johnny Damon to fill their need for a leadoff batter. There has been a void at the top of their order since Rafael Furcal left town. That void has coincided with the Braves’ failure to make the playoffs. Go figure. For the record, Damon is still available and Frank Wren is still not taking my advice. Maybe I should send a nice email? Flowers?
Anyway, back to the clarification: At no point was it my suggestion that the Braves’ general future is doomed without Damon. In fact, there is some slight confirmation this week that their future is pretty bright.
Led by outfielder Jason Heyward, the Braves’ farm system ranks fifth in baseball in organizational talent, according to Scouts Inc.’s Keith Law (requires ESPN Insider subscription).
Loading ...The top 100 prospects is scheduled to be posted sometime Thursday and I’ll try to update this blog at that time. (UPDATE: See below.)
But in Law’s team rankings, the Braves ranked behind only Texas, Boston, Tampa Bay and Cleveland. Among teams in the National League East, the Braves ranked ahead of Florida (12), New York Mets (15), Washington (23), Philadelphia (24).
Law on the Braves:
Having Jason Heyward helps, but they have a troika of Latin American arms about to march up the system that would make a heck of a 2-3-4 behind Tommy Hanson starting in 2013 or so. They would have been higher except for a brutal draft in 2009.
Here’s a link to that 2009 draft if you’ve got a lot of time on your hand.
The rankings got me thinking. Of Atlanta’s four pro sports teams, who is best set up for the future? Right now, I’d have to say the Braves. The Falcons appear to be headed in that direction, but they’re still in transition and there are too many questions on the offensive line and on the defensive side of the ball. The Hawks are not quite as set up for the future as you might think. The Thrashers? A few nice pieces, but only a few.
I quickly ran down the rosters of the four teams and highlighted some young names. But I’ve linked all four rosters if you want to do some research. However, the rosters do not include everybody in the minor-league systems of the Braves and Thrashers. I’ve also got a poll up, but I want to read your comments.
The key here is to try to focus on players who are five years or less into their careers, and therefore potentially here for the long haul.
♦ BRAVES: Brian McCann has played only four-plus seasons. Heyward could make the team out of spring training. Jordan Schafer may not be far behind. Tommy Hanson will be at or near the top of the rotation a while. Others to feel good about include Yunel Escobar, Jair Jurrjens and Martin Prado. (Late add: thanks to “AthensMatt” for pointing out that I left out first baseman-of-the-future, Freddie Freeman.)
♦ FALCONS: They have their quarterback in Matt Ryan. Running back Michael Turner is six years into his career, the danger zone for an NFL running back, but he was a backup for the first four. Probable solid pieces for years: Roddy White, Jonathan Babineaux, Thomas DeCoud, Curtis Lofton, Harry Douglas. Defensive tackle Peria Jerry and safety William Moore, the team’s first two picks in 2o09, missed most of their rookie seasons with injuries. Tackle Sam Baker hasn’t been healthy in two seasons.
♦ HAWKS: Josh Smith and Al Horford will be staples for a long time. But after that? We don’t know yet about Jeff Teague. Marvin Williams: some good, some bad. Mike Bibby is on the downside of his career. Joe Johnson is nine years in and an unrestricted free agent this summer.
♦ THRASHERS: Kari Lehtonen was supposed to be the franchise goalie. But he has struggled with consistency and healthy. Ondrej Pavelec: still a bit unknown. Zach Bogosian, Tobias Enstrom and Evander Kane are solid young pieces. But Bryan Little seems to have fallen off a cliff and Boris Valabik is still struggling with his confidence (and now health). And yes, Ilya Kovalchuk could be gone before lunch.
So there’s your quick recap. Which team do you think is best positioned for the future?
♦
UPDATE: Scouts Inc. listed five Braves in its list of top 100 prospects. Here they are:
♦ 1. JASON HEYWARD, OF: Heyward’s ascent to the top of these rankings was swift and unimpeded, and his path to the majors appears to be much the same, as he’ll have a good chance to win the every-day right-field job this spring. Heyward will be a middle-of-the-order bat with power and patience while playing above-average defense in right with a plus arm. He has an advanced approach at the plate, something that was already in place when he was a 17-year-old high school senior, and strong, quick wrists that let him commit later to pitches while still driving the ball to all fields. He gets good leverage in his swing and has plenty of loft to eventually produce 30-plus homers a year, and so far hasn’t shown any tendency to expand the zone because he’s trying too hard to hit for power. In the field, he has outgrown center but moves extremely well in right with good reads off the bat. And you can see from all of the above that he has a high baseball IQ, with good feel and/or instincts in every area of the game, especially for someone his age. He murdered Double-A pitching at age 19 in a 200-PA sample, and his career stat line reads .318/.391/.508, nearly all of which was compiled before he turned 20 in August. His swing isn’t perfect — he does bar his front arm very briefly — but he’s so strong and has such bat speed that the minor flaw has been irrelevant at every stop of his pro career. Everything else here points to stardom.
♦ 43. ARODYS VIZCAINO, RHP: Vizcaino was the key to the Javier Vazquez trade even though he has yet to appear above short-season ball, which speaks to his potential as a front-line starter. His fastball is already 91-93 mph, flashing a little above that, with good life, and he hides the ball well to help the pitch play up. His best off-speed pitch is a hammer curveball that is plus at times with good depth and a slight two-plane break. His feel for pitching is advanced for someone his age, and while his arm action is short and repeatable he can lose his slot and start to drift downward, something he’ll have to eliminate via instruction. He has a chance to move up the Atlanta system quickly and could catch up to fellow high-upside arms Julio Teheran and Randall Delgado soon.
♦ 63. JULIO TEHERAN, RHP: Teheran was one of my picks to jump on this list last offseason, and now he’s one of my picks to jump up into the top quarter of it. Teheran, the nephew of an Atlanta scout, barely pitched in 2008 after the team took a conservative approach with his sore shoulder. But in ‘09, he showed why teams are increasingly scouting the north coast of Colombia. He’s got a huge arm already despite his rail-thin frame (6-foot-2, 150 pounds), 91-96 mph on the fastball with an above-average changeup, and his curveball also has a chance to be above-average in time. He’s a good athlete, but his arm action isn’t pretty and he has to work to stay on top of the ball if that curveball is going to be a consistent weapon for him. He has good rhythm on the mound and pitches very aggressively — he hit almost as many batters as he walked in 2009, which usually isn’t an accident — but he has to avoid telegraphing his off-speed pitches. He still has a lot of room to fill out and could easily end up a No. 1 starter or, if he doesn’t get stronger or doesn’t develop the breaking ball, an upper-echelon closer.
♦ 67. FREDDIE FREEMAN, 1B: Freeman is yet another former two-way star on this list — if you’re a legitimate prospect as both a position player and a pitcher, you’re probably a pretty good athlete and offer more upside than the typical one-way prospect. At the plate, he sets up with a wide base and doesn’t stride or really transfer his weight through his swing. So while he has good rotation to hit for power, he’s mostly hands at this point and has traded some power for high contact rates. Unlike a lot of young left-handed hitters, he shows no appreciable platoon split, and while he’s not exactly patient, he’s not a hacker. Freeman is an above-average defender at first base, and there’s some reason to expect more growth as a hitter given his youth and frame. But I still see him as a guy who’ll hit for average with doubles power, but not the high OBP or home run totals that would make him a star at first base.
♦ 85. RANDALL DELGAGO, RHP: Delgado pitched in the shadow of Julio Teheran this year, and I’d bet you could find a few scouts who rated him over Teheran even though I have Delgado second. Delgado is 6-foot-3 and has already put on a good 25 pounds since signing, with improvement in his stuff to match. His fastball is just above average and will touch 94-95, with a changeup that has improved to above-average and a chance for the curveball to be the same. He’s still looking for a consistent arm action, which is part of why he’s behind Teheran, but his upside isn’t much lower than his teammate’s. It’s to the Braves’ credit that they found two top-flight pitching prospects from outside the traditional Latin American talent markets, getting Teheran from Colombia and Delgado from Panama.
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173 comments Add your comment
Jeff Schultz
January 28th, 2010
9:02 am
DPelfrey — Sounds like you know your stuff about baseball prospects (either that or you fake it well). But as you know, any draft is a guessing game, so we really won’t know who’s right or wrong for at least 3 years, maybe longer.
Jeff Schultz
January 28th, 2010
9:03 am
Get outta here: You’re right about me not being a Braves fan. I’m a not a “fan” period. I’m a columnist. … As for Damon, I’m aware of his outfield shortcomings, primarily his arm. But tell me who on this roster would be a better leadoff hitter this season than Johnny Damon? This is about making the lineup better for this year, not next year or the year after.
just wait
January 28th, 2010
9:05 am
the teams with the real upside in atlanta are the hawks and falcons. They have good players and owners that will bring in what they need. the hawks are our best team right now. two years ago they got the 8 seed and took the celtics 7. last year they were the 4 seed and made the second round. This year we could get the 2 seed and maybe make a run at the eastern confrence.
UGAFan
January 28th, 2010
9:06 am
You’re right Extremus, except the sports and entertainment worlds are not affected by the recession. $120M for Matt Holliday, $42M buyout for Conan O’brien, one boy-actor making $50M in one witchcraft movie (names escape me), etc. It just goes on and on …..
Jeff Schultz
January 28th, 2010
9:07 am
Extremus — You make some good points. But long story short: These are all Collective Bargaining issues. Both sides signed off on the structure so apparently it works for both sides.
Nate
January 28th, 2010
9:09 am
“TommyP – I’d monitor that name if I could say it, who is that guy?”
Riann Spanjer-Furstenburg (Ryan Span-yer – First-in-burg).
Born in Pretoria, South Africa – Feb. 8, 1988
6′-2″, 235 – 1B, drafted out of Florida Atlantic Univ.
Hit .359, 8 HR, 53 RBI in 62 games with the Braves short-season A affiliate, Danville Braves.
No Clever Name
January 28th, 2010
9:14 am
I am not worried about the future. I am worried about this season. We are relying on Chipper Jones and Troy Glaus to anchor our lineup. Neither one will play 100 games, I guarantee it.
Jeff Schultz
January 28th, 2010
9:19 am
No Clever Name — I agree with you. And that’s one more reason why I believe holes (like leadoff) need to be filled. … By the way: I like your name.
NCbravesFAN
January 28th, 2010
9:19 am
I like it that the braves farm system loses T.hanson (#3 overall prospect last season) to the big club and we still have a top 5 ranking. Hopefully Heyward makes his debut in ATL this summer and F.Freeman is ready to make his next year!
UGAFan
January 28th, 2010
9:21 am
Jeff, isn’t it just sad that MLB is content with a handful of teams accumulating 90% of the best talent, and leaving the rest of the league playing for nothing? I guess I’m just longing for the time when the Braves had the second highest payroll in MLB back in the day ….
NCbravesFAN
January 28th, 2010
9:26 am
I would like one of the haters on here to inform me of these “big time free agents” the Braves used to get? The Braves have never been that team, even when we did spend big (96-2000) we did it on our own talent not bringing in others. We have always survived off our farm system and supplemented with role playing veterans.
ChippersLoveChild
January 28th, 2010
9:28 am
I don’t see how the Falcons are second… You may or may not have something in Ryan…. Lofton is a good young talent… Roddy White…. where is all the other young talent you speak of with them? It certainly isn’t on that D, and I wouldn’t exactly consider Turner or Gonzalez young talent… I don’t see that much young talent on the Falcons.
ChippersLoveChild
January 28th, 2010
9:32 am
For the record, I’d put the Thrashers second… their system is rebounding nicely after years of hurting for young talent. Bogo and Kane are going to be studs, Enstrom is one of the better defensemen in the league, imo, Pavs has promise, just needs to be more consistent, and BRYAN Little is having a mini slump, but the kid still has talent. Mix in future guys like Klingberg, Postma, Morin, possibly Esposito, I like the future… especially if they can re-sign Kovalchuk, who is still young and about to enter his prime.
just wait
January 28th, 2010
9:36 am
Ncbravesfan here are the free agents in the 90s, and they were all big time: terry pendleton, fred mcgriff, marquis grissom, kenny lofton, greg maddux, and andres galarraga. I think that should be enough big names to prove my point.
Nativebird
January 28th, 2010
9:37 am
Playoffs?! Playoffs?! Let’s dispense PUUlease with all this goal setting of playoffs, Divisions “Championships” as Schuerholz likes to call them, wild card or otherwise.
The goal should be World Series win….period. Lead off hitter is not your problem. (roll eyes, sigh). The ONLY times the Braves won, or threatened to win a World Series were when they had a big RBI producing, HR hitting, All-Star calibur first basemen. and it will stay that way until they get another.
just wait
January 28th, 2010
9:38 am
o and they were not role players they produced. so i think that takes off those rose colored glasses
ryan
January 28th, 2010
9:40 am
The Falcons are impossible to predict due to the unpredictability of the NFL.
You simply can’t forecast out for ANY team two years from now. Who, two years ago, saw the Pats falling down?
The Braves do look promising, but unless something drastic happens to baseball payrolls, there is no way we’ll be able to keep most of those guys together through 2013. It’s going to cost dearly when Hanson hits arbitration.
just wait
January 28th, 2010
9:41 am
nativebird the first base point is spot on.
collegeballfan
January 28th, 2010
9:42 am
The Braves. The talent already in the organization is really strong.
The young pitchers are really strong.
El Bravo
January 28th, 2010
9:42 am
If we are talking about young talent and what the future holds then the rankings is Hawks, Braves, Falcons, Thrashers. The Hawks have a young, stablished team that will only get better with age. The Braevs are stocked with quality players in the minors. The Falcons have had two quality drafts and in a row and there is no reason to believe we won’t have a third this year. By the way, the comment about the 2009 Braves draft being brutal is just asinine. Unlike other sports you can not judge a baseball draft less than a year into it. It takes too long for players to develop and only rare talent is able to bypass the learning curve…
NCbravesFAN
January 28th, 2010
9:45 am
TP was not a big time free agent, he was aging vet who had a career year in 91.
Gallaraga was cut by the Rocks because he was old n slow, then signed by us.
Grissom, lofton, crimedog were all trades.
Maddox is the only big time free agent on your list, and times we different back then, we werent even the biggest bidder on him, he just wanted to be a Brave and win!
NCbravesFAN
January 28th, 2010
9:50 am
We didnt win in 93, 96, 97,98,99 with a BIG rbi 1st baseman, or in 2007 with Tex! Its not an easy one player fix. You have to produce talent from your system, hope the young talent starts to peak before your vets wear down too much. The recent Phils run is a great example!
NCbravesFAN
January 28th, 2010
9:51 am
Just wait/Native bird: Who would you have added this offseason if you were the Braves GM with the Liberty checkbook?
Nick n Nash
January 28th, 2010
9:56 am
Just putting it out there…Johnny Damon would be a better fit over Johnny Gomes. Sure Gomes would hit more HR’s, but he is even worse in the OF than Damon, and we need a lead-off guy. I think if Damon’s $ tag comes down to the $2M and below region, we sign him.
I honestly feel it would be in the Braves best interest to let J-Hey start the year in Gwinnett, and bring him up in late May early June (if he’s ready). In this scenerio, if he’s doing well, trade Damon away at the deadline or in early July.
I think we stick with the Melk-man, as he is young, under control for a few more seasons, and is coming to the National league. Players tend to fair better in the transition from AL pitching to NL.
Just a suggestion. Either way…Go Braves!!
Nick n Nash
January 28th, 2010
10:00 am
I also feel the next Braves manager should not come from within (unless its Eddie Perez). TP sucks and can barely do a decent job as hitting coach. Atlanta needs to go find Don Bayler and get him to be their hitting coach again. He did an awesome job with Chipper, and the other hitters on the team. If I recall, they did get to the WS that season.
NCbravesFAN
January 28th, 2010
10:06 am
Nick: I dont see Damon coming to ATL, dont think we need him either. To me its like the Hawks drafting Sheldon Williams…WHY??? Why would we need ANOTHER slow, weak armed, bad fielding, no power OF, dont we have that guy already? He is named Diaz/Cabrera/Hinske put that with Nate who isnt much different and we have…..you catch my drift. I do think we need a true leadoff guy, if wish we would have went after Scott Pods who signed with the Royals, That would be a leadoff man on the cheap! I think we start with Diaz/Nate/Melky and hope Jordan can take the CF spot from nate (moving him to LF) and Heyward can take RF, then we have Melky and Diaz as backups. Just my $0.02
NCbravesFAN
January 28th, 2010
10:12 am
I like TP as a coach but I think we need some new blood also. Wren is gonna bring in his own guy I would assume, he doesnt seem to want to follow in JS footsteps.
Richard Nieh
January 28th, 2010
10:13 am
Damon is just ok for leading off. He is not that speedy anymore and is an offensive burden. I really rather have McLouth continue to lead off. His OBP is not high but that is only because he was hitting 3rd for so long, he is young and he will improve. I don’t like Wren’s decision this offseason but I support not to go after Damon.
Educated
January 28th, 2010
10:13 am
I’m sure someone’s already pointed this out, but tell whoever puts the title links on the AJC sports main page that it should read “Whose future is brightest?”
NCbravesFAN
January 28th, 2010
10:15 am
Just wait/Native bird??? You were both full of negative posts until I asked a question about how YOU would have handled it and then you disappear. Do you only have criticism and no positive input?
The Grinch
January 28th, 2010
10:16 am
Brandon, I know Jeff agrees with you for some reason, but I hope you’re not serious. Quite recently, JS the genius left us with Chuck James as our 3rd starter and gave half the farm system up for one season of an overpriced and overrated 1st baseman. Now we have perhaps the best rotation 1-5 in the majors (and much more on the way), and a lineup that has a hole or two but is at least CAPABLE of being very good without our payroll having gone up. Both of you need to drop the whole “Glavine and Smoltz should still be our 1-2 starters” and realize the right moves were made then and since.
As for the Hawks, watching Mr. Potato Head vs. Greg Popovitch last night was a total embarrassment for the franchise. Potato Head gets confused early, and it’s back to “Iso-Joe” and a run away loss to a team who’s best player is a big man with 1,500 games on his odometer. Popovitch could’ve out-coached Woody texting with one hand and eating a sandwich with the other.
Extremus
January 28th, 2010
10:16 am
Mr. Schultz, I understand the Collective Bargaining point, but the fact is the fans never signed that agreement (and if we had there would have been some very specific caveats to prevent the current situation from having happened). That means the folks whose monetary input (meaning butts in seats) is most responsible for driving the economy of MLB and their ability to sustain the increasing payrolls and excess of players and owners have been totally ignored. You can’t build a structure without an appropriate foundation to support it, and in MLB’s case that foundation is tickets, concessions, and other revenues. If the fanbase of a given city can’t keep up with the demands of the costs of those things in order to come out and support their team, they’ll either watch the games on television or simply lose interest in the sport altogether. Either way that means loss of revenues and potentially eventual doom for many sports franchises, especially smaller markets. Regardless of the quality you put out on the field, it still has to be affordable for the fans, and more and more of us are finding ourselves with less and less income nowadays. Sports and the entertainment industry ARE NOT recession-proof; eventually what affects the rest of us will affect them as well, it may just take a while longer. History is replete with empires which thought they’d last forever and who didn’t recognize the consequences of their actions until it was too late, and MLB, much like America on a larger scale, is fast becoming in danger of being the next footnote.
NCbravesFAN
January 28th, 2010
10:18 am
The positive spin I put on this Braves offseason is that Wren did not trade away or block any of our (#5 rated system) players from their progression to Turner Field. Much to the dismay of Wren haters, he did not trade for TEX in 07, in turn making the Rangers into the #1 farm system 2 years in a row. He has a vision, we may not agree with it but I am trusting him to lead us back to October! Go Braves!
NCbravesFAN
January 28th, 2010
10:22 am
The Grinch; I hate you on college football blogs but I respect you very much on the Braves. I couldnt agree more about Glavine and Smoltz! The future is here!!
SOUTH GA DAWG FAN
January 28th, 2010
10:22 am
I hope its the Falcons but I am still very leary of the Georgia Curse I mean look at the run the Braves had with only 1 championship to show for it . Could care less about Hockey (sorry) love to see the Hawks win but not to much confidence in the management, Falcons are headed in the right direction but injuries and other crap seems to get the falcons more than it does the top teams .and as always
GO DAWGS !!!!!!!!!!
Rowland Lawrence
January 28th, 2010
10:24 am
There will never be a bright future for the Falcons. They are cursed. We thought in 2003 we had the greatest team since Lombardi’s packer only find out our QB was an undiscovered felon and Arthur was a Jerry Jones wannabe. This team had a chance but they chose to let Dan Reeves go and now we have Jack Del Rio’s watewr boy running the team. We will be 3-13 next year.Book it!
Rowland Lawrence
January 28th, 2010
10:26 am
FYI, Drew Pearson was out bounds in 1980.
Dr. Phil
January 28th, 2010
10:27 am
The Braves have some very good talent, but until the organization becomes willing to spend some big money, there will be no championships and probably no post season.
The Grinch
January 28th, 2010
10:31 am
NCbravesFan, there was another guy posting under my name for weeks while I was gone and did not share my tone or interests. He is no longer with us. I’m a major Dawgs fan, but I try not to be classless like some of my brethren.
NCbravesFAN
January 28th, 2010
10:38 am
Tech fan here (not the st.simons type). Nothing pisses me off more than someone typing under my name on a blog…wish there was a way to stop that
Nick n Nash
January 28th, 2010
10:39 am
NCBraves….I did not state we needed to get Damon…I was simply saying he would be a better fit over Gomes. I honestly think that Nate will have a better season as leadoff, and maybe get Melk-man some AB’s there to see if he is a fit other than the 8-hole.
I agree that Wren hasn’t blown the future by trading away prospects. In that regard, he is terrific compared to JS. Wren hearts prospects, JS hearts ready/proven ML players. For years JS traded top prospects for proven ML’s, and 2007 really killed the Braves farm system. It makes me sick to think of how awesome the braves would be now if we had Andrus, Jones, & Feliz. Salty and Harrison are injury busts.
Coach (2011 or Bust)
January 28th, 2010
10:39 am
Exactly Jeff, the Braves have had no semblance of anything resembling small ball since Furcal left. In fact, over the course of the last four seasons since he defected to the Dodgers, the Braves have averaged 58 stolen bases. Which is dead last among all thirty ML teams.
No lead off hitter indeed. This is one contentious issue where both Frank Wren and Bobby Cox have their heads up their asses. Look at the Phillies. Pitching, Defense, Power and Speed is why they are so dominant. Our Braves haven’t kept up with “Jones” so to speak nor will they in 2010 as long as Cox has his way.
PMC
January 28th, 2010
10:45 am
Right now it’s the Hawks…. but it depends on what you mean by bright future. It’s difficult to picture any of them at this juncture winning a championship. I think the Falcons are poised for relevance which is a huge step foward. The Thrashers are essentially non existant.
The Braves don’t have the players to compete with the best teams offensively especially in the playoffs.
Daniel
January 28th, 2010
10:46 am
Good article Jeff, I would like to say it is nice that 3 out of 4 pro sports teams have a bright future(sorry Thrashers). So I will be splitting hairs to rank them, because I think they are all headed in the right direction. But, hey makes for a good sports topic, so here goes:
1)Hawks: Josh and Al are potential All Stars, Marvin, Za, and Childress(?) represent a solid, young group. Joe will resign with the Hawks, Crawford is already locked up, and we have become a destination for vets (see Joe Smith). Plus, the Hawks are currently the closest to winning big.
2) Braves: Biggest stockpile of young talent, but negatives for aging 3rd and 1st base, plus a retiring HOF manager.
3) Falcons: We have the GM, Coach, and Quarterback, which in the NFL is A LOT. The rest is still shaky (like Roddy though)
4) Thrashers: Will they even be in Atlanta by the time Hanson plays in an All Star game?
nash
January 28th, 2010
10:46 am
yeah the brave have it because they are loooooadddded with pitchers ( thanks Mr. Wren ) then comes the falcons because they have a Qb and have been able to get guys that can and are ready to play the last 2 or 3 drafts. Then the hawks beacuse well they haven’t found a good point guard yet and well Teague doesn’t play until garbage time so we really don’t know what he is now or what he is going to be and then the Thrashers because they are the Thrashers
The Grinch
January 28th, 2010
10:47 am
Jeff, I apologize if I sound like an @$$; normally I agree with you on most things. I just couldn’t disagree with you more about Wren. We’re still homies though, right?
If Dimitroff’s injured players (including Baker and Douglas) ever get healthy, he will have gotten a lot of top-tier talent for middle-tier prices. They’re not healthy yet, though. We shall see. Got to admit Tony G. for a 2nd rounder should have him in jail for rape, though (I meant class with respect to the Dawgs…I slip in other areas).
NCbravesFAN
January 28th, 2010
10:48 am
Nick….didnt mean to accuse you of being a Damon supporter, been alot of those around recently. I think Elvis and Feliz are the 2 that will haunt us in that deal, Having Yunel and Tommy help ease that pain a little though!
Jeff Schultz
January 28th, 2010
10:49 am
UGA Fan — Agreed. Further illustration how the baseball salary “cap” is a farce. There needs to be a higher floor and a hard ceiling for it to work.
Jeff Schultz
January 28th, 2010
10:52 am
NCBravesFan — you’re right about the Braves not going free agent shopping frequently, like Yankees, Mets or Red Sox, but they did spend a lot of money to keep key players. Now they’re more likely to let a guy go. They’re also far less likely to sign a mid-range free agent, hoping to do it on the cheap instead. That’s where the budget issues come into play.
Jeff Schultz
January 28th, 2010
10:53 am
Chipper — I agree in part with you on the Falcon assessment, but not to the point of dropping them behind the Hawks, if that’s where you’re going with the comment.