Braves again watch while Phillies sign Lee, spend millions

thats more than newton made last year but i am pretty sure he will get a raise this coming season.

• Link
• Report this comment

Money can’t buy happiness, but having it, sure beats the heck out of being broke.

• Link
• Report this comment

Just remember the phillies will have one starter under the age of 30 next year…that’s Dominic Brown in right field and he will be a rookie. The Phillies are becoming old and it’s only a matter of time it catches up to them…it almost did last year until they got Oswalt. I expect Rollins, Ibanez, and Victorino to all have down years as well as spend some time on the DL. Carlos Ruiz will not have another miracle season and don’t forget they no longer have Jayson Werth. Sure their pitching is great but it is also old. They have a small1-2 year window to win a world series with this team, let’s hope the Braves don’t let that happen! Braves Country!

• Link
• Report this comment

Agree. The Braves will still be competitive. FW has done a good job this winter with what money he’s had to work with. I actually think our rotation stacks up reasonably well with the Phils. They do need another bat, maybe in LF (keeping Prado in the infield and making A-Gonz an Infante-like utility guy). And then they need everything to go perfectly: Chipper to come back to full form, Freeman not play like a rookie, Heyward to play like a veteran, McLouth and Schaefer to live up to expectations, and no injuries.

Oh well . . .

• Link
• Report this comment

Money may not buy happiness, but it does buy jet-skis. And how many people have you ever seen frowning while riding a jet-ski?

• Link
• Report this comment

Schultz – they’re definitely the favorite. I just think age is being overlooked here. Utley, Rollins, Howard all spent significant time on the DL last year. Im hoping something like that happens again. People forget how old they are. Hard to believe Utley and Howard are 31, not to mention Ibanez and Polanco at 38 and 35 respectively.

• Link
• Report this comment

Liberty Media controls the spending, and what money they do make available is wasted more often than not by Frank Wren’s horrible personnel decisions (Nate McLouth, Kenshin Kawakami, Troy Glaus, Derrek Lee, etc.).

• Link
• Report this comment

Shultz,
Do you beleive that there is any chance of a trade for Cy Young 09?

• Link
• Report this comment

I’ll make it seem real easy for everybody.

Philly sells out every game, and averages 14,000 more than the Braves.

Not saying that the Braves attendence of 31,000 per game last year was bad or anything, but do the math.

14,000 times 81 games = 1,134,000
1,134,000 times an average ticket price of say $40 comes to $45,360,000.

So when TEAM P has $45 million (not counting the extra concessions money) more to spend than TEAM A, to me it’s pretty easy to see how they can spend the money and why we can’t!

Doesn’t lessen the “suck factor” any, but facts are facts, especially in these bad financial times.

• Link
• Report this comment

I just looked at the age of our young pitchers it’s pretty scary

Beachy 24
Hanson 24
Jurrjens 24
Kimbrell 22
Medlen 25
Minor 22
O’Flaherty 25
Venters 25
Teheran 19 in January
Delgado 20 in February

• Link
• Report this comment

I for one don’t think that the Braves offense is all that bad. Sure, Chipper’s health and age is a concern and god knows what we will get out of McLouth (hard to imagine him being as bad as last year) or Schafer in center, but in my view they match up well with the Phils position by position offensively (McCann over Ruiz; Heyward over whoever the Phils play in right; Uggla and Utley have different styles but I regard that as at least a push and Utley showed signs of decline the last 2 years; I think Prado is at least a push with aging Ibanez in left; you have to take Howard over Freeman and Victorino over whoever plays center for Atlanta; that means that one has to conclude that Polanco and Rollins are cumulatively better than Chipper and Gonzalez to say the Phils have a better lineup overall.

Hinske and Ross are the start of a fine bench and, despite losing Wagner and Saito, I think the Braves still have a better and deeper bullpen. So let’s see what happens.

Having said that, I would like to see what Wren could do with a $165 million payroll like the Phils.

• Link
• Report this comment

I believe that McLouth and Shaffer will both have big comeback years.
I hope that Chipper can come back, and hit at the same level that he was swinging, when he was injured. I think that he will.
McCann will get his other eye repaired, and hit over 30HRs this coming year.
Freeman is ready, and will hit over 20 HRs.
I can’t remember the name of that guy that played RF last year, but he will start the year 100% healthy, and make a major contribution to the team throughout the entire season.
The Phillies are fomidable, but not invinceable.

• Link
• Report this comment

Let’s pick up Turner Field, get it out of the no-man’s-land ghetto, and drop it on 14th and Peachtree Street, where the Symphony Hall has supposed to have been built for th last 15 years. Make it the resident’s of Midtown’s team. Build baseball themed bars and attractions in the stadium’s shadow.

Then maybe we will sell tickets and have money to spend.

• Link
• Report this comment

Simple: Yanks need pitching, we need a lead off hitter with speed that can play the outfield, trade JJ for Brett Gardner, he had 97 runs & 47 steals, is only 27 & cheap, & from South Carolina so its close to home, hit around .280 last year & is on the rise, Git er done FW!!!

• Link
• Report this comment

Braves owner? The Braves don’t have an owner. They have a group that owns a chunk off varying businesses that the Braves are a part of.

There’s no accountability with corporate ownership groups (including the Atlanta Spirit who are losing money daily) and Frank Wren should win Executive of the Year in 2011 (and should have won in 2010).

• Link
• Report this comment

And don’t forget fans, MARTA has cancelled the free shuttle service from 5 Points to Turner Field’s front door this coming season. So do not bother taking MARTA.

This should decrease attendance by about 10,000 more per game.

• Link
• Report this comment

*nameless

• Link
• Report this comment

Thank God we got to play Cleveland in 1995. At least there was one win with all that talent for 15 years.

• Link
• Report this comment

still@bar

Declaring an area a ghetto is not racist. Maybe when you hear the word “ghetto” you instandtly think “black man with gun”…. but that is not what I said. So you are being more racist for thinking it.

The area around Turner Field is the most dangerous area around any Major League ballpark. Ithas been given this crown the last 10 years or so. A LOT of people do not come to games for this reason.

We do not need to have a massive parking lot. A few decks would be built in some of the vacant lots around 14th and Peachtree and West PEachtree and Spring Street. So again, this will help clean up some nasty scenery already in Midtown.

MANY more residents wouldbe able to walk from their condos or houses in the VERY large midtown district, and they will.

With all the office buildings, and upscale environment in Midtown, it will be a main initiative to keep these standards with a Stadium. Nobody can convince me it will ruin the neighborhood. It wil only enhance it.

And you have Marta RIGHT THERE with the Arts Center Station. NO shuttles, no transfers. SO many people would be more willing than ever to not drive (lessening the need for parking spaces) and more people would WANT to take the Train. So it’s a big win for the environment, MARTA and the Midtown economy.

It will never happen though. Atlanta is too corrupt and too stupid to make any bold move of reason for something like this. So let’s enjoy the ghetto atmosphere of current Turner Field, and HAVING to drive there now that MARTA is not willing to help out anymore.

• Link
• Report this comment

As a Phillies fan, of course I’m hyped. For years we’ve labored under a cheap and invisible ownership. But when the puppet Bill Giles finally retired, the new president taught the owners that revenue can be had by putting a winner on the field. Just 6 years ago Adam Eaton was our #1 starter. Now, 149 consecutive sell outs later, we have a rotation we always thought was unfair (ala maddux/ glavine/ smoltz/ avery).

Imagine a mediocre team, getting about 22K fans per game (still not too bad). Now double that, over 81 home games, at an ave. price of $28 a ticket, and suddenly you have an extra 38MM, without concessions.

I seriously doubt that Philly will keep all 4 going into the season…I see Hamels being traded for a stud outfielder or Oswalt for top tier backend bullpen help. But either way, improved lineup, improved bullpen, or 4 front line starters, they are the favorites by far……unless they simply “expect” to win as they did in the NLCS……complacency is a killer.

I like Braves fans, they always seem to enjoy the game when they visit here, and after 13 straight titles, seem willing to suffer abit now. But don;t worry, when the Phillies core starts to erode in 3 years due to age, Atlanta will be next to run the table! And as long as it’s not the Mets, I’m happy with that!

• Link
• Report this comment

I think they should just go ahead and crown the phillies champs… someone go ahead and call Selig and have the trophy made,,, no you guys need to relax… this is baseball… there is a reason they play the games… The Braves will have a good team next year…

• Link
• Report this comment

Justin1, your mom called and said she needs the Computer back.

• Link
• Report this comment

still@the bar,

I also forgot to congratulate you on your racist banter on Tim Tucker’s blog, getting yourself banned.

His blog will be a MUCH better place without you!

• Link
• Report this comment

Jeff,

How can the most profitable sport in the world, The NFL, get away with salary cap, non-guaranteed contracts etcetera when a sport that claims to be losing money and fan base still operates like Wall Street circa 2009?

• Link
• Report this comment

A few things:

1. Mr. Schultz, this is a *very* good column.
2. to person who wants to build stadium in Midtown – I actually like Turner Field a great deal and go to quite a few games. nothing bothers me about it . But I have to admit – it would *rock* to have the stadium on 14th street….sort of like the Boston experience…and it would be tremendous for Midtown. How about move the Falcons stadium there?

• Link
• Report this comment

So what…the Yankees payroll is more than the Phils and they didn’t make the WS last season, so no guarantees Philly will this coming year. Plus, everything in Philly s*cks.

• Link
• Report this comment

Braverman-
The NFL union sucks, that’s how. And I hate salary caps. Look, it’s no secret the yankees outbuy everyone every year….but what’s their track record the last 25 seasons? Way less than 20% championships. So big dollars don’t equal rings.

• Link
• Report this comment

Nice Joe…..have fun watching NASCAR in your trailer this summer.

• Link
• Report this comment

Looks good on paper. But they are going to trade Ibanez and Blanton. They look on paper but we all know Utley will get hurt during the year. (Payback for roid use). Haladay put a ton of innings on his re-contructed shoulder so anything can happen. I also would not be surprised they turn and trade Oswalt to the Yankee’s.

• Link
• Report this comment

So, since the Phillies have shown themselves to be spend thrift idiots that want to pay men gazillions of dollars to play a boys game, then the Braves should too. I wouldn’t even want to support a team like the Yankees, Red Sox or Phillies. Anybody can over pay for good ball players, that doesn’t take any skill. The skill is in doing it within the reasonable bounds of common sense business practices. The Philly owner is an idiot so let him be an idiot. That has nothing to to with the Braves.

• Link
• Report this comment

Why can’t we just have the nutz to tell Chipper we got a 3 day a week spot at 1b for him and let Prado our most consistent hitter settle in and play one position. Then we can try to find some magic for a left/center fielder and if Chips goes down all we do is insert the rookie we already gave the job to anyway. Come on Chip, your hot corner days are long gone man, play some first base just like most over the hill hitters do in their twilight.

• Link
• Report this comment

You know if this was a business competition the Marlins are destroying everyone!

• Link
• Report this comment

Smarty

The one thing your missing is that if the Phils trade Blanton (now a 5 pitcher) the improve. If they trade Oswalt, they improve (both by adding to other needs) what the deal did was allow them to have bargaining chips. And dude…Utley on roids?????? Did you ever see him in person? he’s like 6-0 185 lbs, always has been. maybe leading the league fro 5 consecutive years for HBP adds to the injuries.

• Link
• Report this comment

I think that the Braves will be fine this year. Look at how our rotation matched up with the Phils this past season.
We matched them almost pitch for pitch towards the end of the season.

Also, don’t forget that Freddie G. has a history of taking a low-budget team and making a contender out of them. Fla. was always competetive, and with the Braves he has much more payroll and talent than with the Marlins. Awesome job Mr. Wren! Keep up the great work.

• Link
• Report this comment

Please stop the whining about money……..in case you haven’t noticed last years WS’s winner was about 9th on the spending list……the Braves have a pretty solid team as is………I do agree ownership hardly gives the city that warm fuzzy feeling of giving a #%@& about the team………hopefully they will bail sooner than later………maybe we can put together Spirit Group II to buy the Braves………sorry, that’s too depressing a thought for this holiday season……..be careful what you wish for……..one final thought – after almost two decades of putting winning teams on the field, Atlanta fans are still lukewarm in showing up to support their team- ie revenue is always lower than it could be……..leading to lower payrolls…….oh the vicious cycle…….Braves 13th in attendance and guess where the Phillies were – you got it numero uno……..surprise! – that can pay some bigger salaries………..so where’s the real problem?…………..

• Link
• Report this comment

http://www.libertymedia.com/contact-us.aspx

• Link
• Report this comment

I feel like Schultz/Bradley writes this EXACT article four to fives times a year. Scenario: Some team makes a big move for a big player, cueing said rant about our sub-90 mill payroll.

My take: Boo fricking hoo.

Think of all the contending teams in the past years who worked with less money. Our reality is our reality. We made the postseason last year and this off-season, we added an All-Star for a bag of balls. Winning the way we’re winning is WAY MORE satisfying/fun to cheer for than winning the way the YANKEES, RED SOX, METS, PHILLIES, ANGLES win. Which is by sheer force of checkbook, leading to empty, soulless championships.

• Link
• Report this comment

No argument that Braves ownership lacks passion for the game and we work with a constrained budget. Reports are the Yankees may not even pursue Greinke because he has history of anxiety issues.
Signing a free agent pitcher to a 100+ million dollar contract is also not guaranteed to work out. Anyone remember Mike Hampton? How about Barry Zito? Phillies will be prohibitive favorites, but the games still have to be played. Let’s just field an exciting and productive team and see what happens.

• Link
• Report this comment

……oh and one more thought…..while some lament the supposed dominance of the Phillies keep in mind that they have by far the oldest lineup in all of baseball (that’s position players as a group or just pitchers – both are the oldest)……..their window of opportunity is small and fragile (as in injury potential to significant players)……….they are buying for right now……..the Braves have many young players and can still compete now and the future looks bright also………

• Link
• Report this comment

I’m still mad at the “Atlanta National League Baseball Club” (the Liberty Media subsidiary that actually owns the Braves) for moving our AAA franchise from Richmond after 42 years. Lot of disgruntled Braves fans around here…

• Link
• Report this comment

braverman…I feel the frustration. The professional sports team with the most losses…Philadelphia phillies, over 10000……Look, we suffered for over 20 straight years while Ted Turner made something great. The Phillies have to buy right now because you are correct, the team is getting old, but at least the owners are doing the right thing and making moves now, rather than try to scrape by on “lightening in a bottle” that would not have happened here 10 years ago.

• Link
• Report this comment

Id be willing to bet my house and life savings that we have no chance of winning this year, because we have no leadoff hitter… when does derek lowes contract run out? he makes way to much money to suck in the regular season

• Link
• Report this comment

Why don’t the Braves persue Micheal Bourne in Houston? Speedy outfielder, and Ed Wade is the GM. You guys could get Bourne for an old pair of Chippers cleats when dealing with wade.

• Link
• Report this comment

The Braves aren’t quite the Tampa Bay Rays – having to wait on prospects to get good enough to become a formidable team before we lose ‘em to free agency; but they’ re very much somewhere between Tampa and the Phree-spending Philths, Sawx and Yanks, for sure.

But “big picture,” here…what’s the goal? We can’t shed any of our prospects for fear they’ll win us a World Series in the immediate future after 2011? Who cares WHEN we win a World Series, so long as we win, right? If there’s a big-hitting outfielder out there available to us for 1-2 years at the expense of a couple of top-tier prospects, or a prospect and a Beachy or Minor… aren’t we well-stocked at pitching that we could handle that loss and do quite fine, anyhow?

I mean, at some point and time, you have to either make room in Atlanta FOR these prospects or move them for guys that can help you win now.

I’m concerned about Chipper’s return; I’m concerned about Freddie Freeman being our everyday 1B, with only the safety net of Eric Hinske behind him; I’m concerned about “hoping” Nate McLouth gets it back together; I’m very much concerned about our bobbling SS and our error-prone 2B.

Prado, Heyward, McCann are all gamers, but boy we sure have a lot of “ifs” in the other starting five spots. Things could go well for some or most, or dramatically bad; same for our rotation – JJ could be great (again) or not; Derek Lowe may have found his groove (or somehow lost again in the off-season); and which Tommy Hanson will show? And what to make of the “chances” we’re taking in the bullpen?

• Link
• Report this comment

As much as it pains me, I gotta tip my cap to the Phillies for going all in to try and win a title. They’ve been to the playoffs the past two years with nothing to show for it, so they went out and made a move to get better while their core group is in their prime.

As for the Braves, they should be in pretty good shape to contend for the WC. The WC is a little more dicey in some ways in that a team’s final record is reflective of both how talented the roster is AND the strength of the division they happen to play in.

• Link
• Report this comment

If you can tell anything from payrolls, it’s you have to spend a little to be competitive, but once you reach the playoffs, it’s anybodies ballgame.

2010 Giants 9th in Payroll – $99 million
2009 Yankees 1st in Payroll – $201 million
2008 Phillies 12th in Payroll – $98 million
2007 Red Sox 2nd in Payroll – $143 million
2006 Cardinals 11th in Payroll – $89 million
2005 White Sox 13th in Payroll – $75 million
2004 Red Sox 2nd in Payroll – $127 million
2003 Marlins 25th in Payroll – $49 million
2002 Angels 15th in Payroll – $62 million
2001 Diamondbacks 8th in Payroll – $85 million
2000 Yankees 1st in Payroll – $93 million
1999 Yankees 1st in Payroll – $88 million
1998 Yankees 2nd in Payroll – $63 million
1997 Marlins 7th in Payroll – $59 million
1996 Yankees 1st in Payroll – $52 million
1995 Braves 3rd in Payroll – $45 million

• Link
• Report this comment

Gotta give it to AJC writers & most of the Braves bloggers the glass is half always half empty! Minnesota Twins & the Tampa Bay Rays players are on a small market team, don’t whine about off-season or ownership they just show up to every game & compete at high levels.

• Link
• Report this comment

“Gotta give it to AJC writers & most of the Braves bloggers the glass is half always half empty! Minnesota Twins & the Tampa Bay Rays players are on a small market team, don’t whine about off-season or ownership they just show up to every game & compete at high levels.”

AMEN!!! although I see great struggles in the future for Tampa Bay.

• Link
• Report this comment

Braves should sign Manny Ramirez.

• Link
• Report this comment

Braves should sign Adam LaRoche to play 1B.

• Link
• Report this comment

Baseball has needed a salary cap for 10 years, there are so many teams that have no chance at winning a World Series because spending money to buy a championship has gotten so far out of control, hard to develop players and then watch them leave the team that took a chance on them by drafting and working with them so they had a chance to be good only to lose them in a bidding war when they became good, makes no sense and why would Pittsburgh or Kansas City fans bother spending money to go to the ball park when you know you have 0 chance to win , baseball had better wake-up before it is too late because there is no fairness in the way this sport is run.

• Link
• Report this comment

I am not one if your fans,but you have expressed the views of many who know this is a true statement.

arthur blank attempted to buy the team but was turned down,and we will continue to play second fiddle to the phillies and other teams who are committed to win.

• Link
• Report this comment

Sorry Jeff Shultz your a good journalist, but I think this article is strictly for the “Panic Depressants” ! Man up Braves fans, we haven’t even thrown the first pitch of Spring Training & your crying & whining.

• Link
• Report this comment

“Dan11991

December 14th, 2010
3:51 pm
Philly fan, The difference between smoltz/glavine/maddux and lee/halladay/etc., Is that we drafted them and raised them. Philly just pulled out their checkbook. I hate Philly fans, Disrespectful, worthless, stupidest people on earth”

MORON!!!!!!!

• Link
• Report this comment

Does anyone agree that Cliff Lee is OVERRATED???? mediocre regular season numbers…

• Link
• Report this comment

@ steve great point about Pitts & KC, but remember that great pitching staff we put together when made our great playoff runs, we still only won one ring. Baseball still comes down to making good contact, putting the ball in play, & scoring runs no matter who’s in your batting order.

• Link
• Report this comment

Sanford Drive – you are correct Sir!

Atlanta sealed the Braves fate 45 years ago by stealing the land from the inhabitants there because Atlanta civic and political leaders were el-cheapo good ‘ol boys…..
and plopped the stadium down in the at-that-time worst area in the whole what-was-then metro area.

The Braves had poor teams in the 70’s, but you were taking your life in your hands to attend a night game there. You had better go then with buddies. I saw personally some bad things go down there in the parking lots.

No wonder attendance has been such a challenge there.

Building a stadium anywhere else (mid or north side) makes too much sense, but with this city government, you can guarantee the Ted will collapse on itself before the Braves move elsewhere. They have blocked preliminary fact-finding on this subject many times.

Schultzie – you should write a book about how that first stadium got built and how they came to put it there – it would blow your and our minds.

Oh, about the payroll – this is the new world order. Expect nothing else.

• Link
• Report this comment

@ Come’on Man Most of these part-time baseball fans don’t realize he is overrated, because they only tune in to baseball during the postseason. Oh Yeah the reason there is no salary cap & steroids ran rampant is because MLB is ran by Bud Selig the “Collusion King”

• Link
• Report this comment

probably never gonna happen but here’s my idea. But if the Yankees will go for it, trade McLouth, KK, and Beachy or some other minor league dude like Barbaro Canizares to the Yankees for Brett Gardner. stick Gardner in CF. Then take all the money they saved by dumping McLouth and KK on the Yankees and sign a decent free agent to play LF.

• Link
• Report this comment

With the Phillies adding another quality left handed pitcher, it makes the Braves letting Matt Diaz go appear even dumber than before. He might be an average at best Left fielder, but we really dont know what Prado can do there and Diaz was one of the best right handed hitters against left handed pitchers in the NL.

• Link
• Report this comment

logic smogic

• Link
• Report this comment

Plus, the day fans become satisfied with .250 15 homers and 75 runs scored is the day McLouth lives up to his expectations. Too many people overhyped him from the get go. He is a above average player thats all he has ever been. You didnt expect Otis Nixon to hit .300 with 30 bombs and 100 RBI so dont rely on McLouth.

• Link
• Report this comment

Amen Sanford Drive, ive been saying it for years!!! I live North Metro ATL and Maybe make it to 2-3 games a year. I know a lot of people who like myself would love to go more games, however are just not comfortable in thug village. The enviroment for baseball just isnt there. I think a move a lttle north would increase attendence substantailly. I could at least by a couple hot dogs instead of more rounds for my ak47.

• Link
• Report this comment

My proposal is since there isn’t anything left out there power wise on the market, go get an OF who has above average speed & plays solid defense. When Chipper returns we will have one of the slowest lineups in the NL, gotta keep them honest on basepaths Heyward is all we have as threat. To many times after a good double guys already on first still still ended up stranded at third!

• Link
• Report this comment

Braves vs. Phills – In my opinion, the only addition i foresee may be a utility infielder on the bench. Diory and Brooks dont seem to be the answer if someone goes down in the middle. I believe the CF position will eventually fall to McLouth or a much improved Schafer (both can provide speed) Rotation looks good, the pen looks good, and the lineup looks improved from last year.

• Link
• Report this comment

C’mon man, learn to spell c’mon man!!! lmao dumb donkey hee haw lol Go Bravos

• Link
• Report this comment

Jeff Schultz – You dont see what happening?

• Link
• Report this comment

Jeff, if you were writing with a sense of panic… how would that read?

• Link
• Report this comment

I don’t understand what is so scary about a guy that is streaky during the regular season and holds an ERA near the likes of 4.

• Link
• Report this comment

The Phillies were suppose to be unbeatable this year as well. Ask both NY teams how ovespending on great starting pitching on the backside of thier prime is working? Its good to have the 4 they have in 2011 but how are those players going to look in 2013? They basically have 4 Tim Hudsons. The Braves on the other hand can get away with not spending as much because of the debth in the farm system. Reality is that Jurgens willl probably sign somewhere else when he can b/c he is a Borris client. The Braves have 3 or 4 potential guys ready to step in when he and Lowe leaves. Basically Braves are now built for the long term again and Phils short term. Atlanta had all the pitching in the 90’s and only 1 world series. The Marlins have won 2 since! Explain that.

• Link
• Report this comment

Jeff Schultz – No “Greinke” was to correct your spelling. :”Greinke” is overrated. Not interested in a pitcher that banks his pay stub on one particular season nor the affiliation that pays that check.

• Link
• Report this comment

A couple of things we’ve learned from this year’s free agency. First of all we better go ahead and give Uggla his 5 years and $71 million if he’ll even still accept it. Because if he hits 30 hrs and 100 rbis again, he’s going to cost $18-20 mil per season to sign in free agency instead of $14 mil per now. Secondly, we desperately need another legit outfield bat. If we go into the season just hoping that Chipper, McLouth, and Freeman all pan out, we’re going to lose a lot of low scoring and one run games. If just one of those guys has problems, we’re in trouble, but if two or more have bad seasons were screwed because we don’t have enough depth to replace them.

• Link
• Report this comment

The best thing you can say is, at least it is not the yankees.

• Link
• Report this comment

Could be worse – imagine being in the AL East with the Yankees and Red Sox

Bottom line is baseball needs a salary cap but since that will never happen the sport’s drift to irrelevance willl continue

• Link
• Report this comment

Im at a point now where Im just sick of the Braves organization.I want to be a fan of a team that spends money on elite players like the yankees,red sox,angels,cubs ,and hell even the phillies out of all teams.Lets face it the braves would be lucky to win the wildcard.

• Link
• Report this comment

Today JS moved the dial back on the dumb-o-meter. Maybe he is so drunk that his brain cells are, of their own accord, firing a little. Still, alas it is JS. Therefore, as a fish must swim, Jeff must run the train of the track.

Lasting winners are built through a quality farm system. (Most assuredly Texas’ great year came at the expense of our dumping the farm system. One is equally convinced that without the ill conceived Tex trade, the Braves would not have ordered gloves from a brick factory. Also, a few Braves may have been able to outrun a pregnant lady.) Sure JS, money helps but one may very well argue the bulk should go the farm system rather than to one of two players who may or may not live up to expectations.

As an example in another arena: The AJC pays you with money they should spend on a farm system so to speak. Each week give a chance to writers from local high school papers. Soon, you would find yourself writing in Japan. Yet, the AJC continues to waste the money.

• Link
• Report this comment

Braves are going to lose JJ after this year anyways, Lowe and Hudson are gettin up there and Tommy is about to give us a Boras sized punch in the gut come seasons end. Sounds like suring up Grienke would make sense if we could dump JJ and Minor or Beachy (Prefer Minor) and poss get a CF prospect out of it… Get on it Super-Wren!

• Link
• Report this comment

Witko – Insulting but good point. Premium example of continued success through the farm in the Atlanta Braves and more so the Minnesota Twins. Would say the Tampa Bay Rays, but several years of the #1 pick helps them.

• Link
• Report this comment

Uncle Harriet – Jair is arbitration eligible through 2013.

• Link
• Report this comment

I’m happy with the Braves off season moves. Save this latest move by the Phillies, the Braves had made a pretty good dent in the so called Philly armor. Come 2011 and beyond all the pressure falls on the shoulders of the Phillies. They will be expected to win every game and every year, and I don’t care who you are, the heat of that spotlight will be intense. Let’s play the games, and may the best TEAM win. Come get it Philly fans – we’re ready!!

• Link
• Report this comment

162

• Link
• Report this comment

You’re right, the Phillies are weak in a few areas…for instance – their number SIX starter won only 9 games last year. BUM!

• Link
• Report this comment

I’m not sure Lee is the great deal folks think he is. I think he had a tremendous last half of the season and playoffs, but I don’t think he is worth the money or length of the contract. Look at his career stats, usually his ERA is closer to 4 than 3. The downside of big money ball is the mistakes get very expensive.

Still, nice work pointing out the CEO makes more than the entire team. When you make pro athletes look underpaid, that’s something.

• Link
• Report this comment

If Cliff Lee had about a $500 million tax holiday attached to him, the Braves would have been there bidding. It is a pretty good illustration of trickle down economics, however.

• Link
• Report this comment

The Braves need Chipper to come back strong…..we need McClouth to return to his 2008 numbers…we need our starting pitchers to stay healthy…we need Heyward and Freeman to produce…we won a ton of 1 run games last year…that won’t happen again this year…(and that is what scares me)

• Link
• Report this comment

The Braves will win the Eastern Div. of the NL in 2011.

• Link
• Report this comment

C’mon Man– Oh, and as for the starting pitching, that’s not as big of a deal for us. As long as the No. 5 starter can prove/show stability/consistency at a high level, that will be fine. But, since we do have 7+ quality starters with more on the way, and all are very young…you can only stick with 5 eventually. Yes, Lowe’s contract will be up soon and Huddy isn’t getting any younger, but that would still leave us with more than 5 solid starters. So, if the Braves could somehow get a veteran high quality starter for a reasonable price (without giving up the farm), then that would solidify the rotation 1-5 for now (to contend with Philly) and for years to come. (And I’m not convinced that Greinke is necessarily the answer…). Again, not as high on the priority list, but could certainly solidify the team.

• Link
• Report this comment

Dude, what happened? Well, here’s a little story about a man named Ted.A poor mountain boy,barely kept his family fed.Along came a girl (North Viet Cong), named Jane.See Dick, see Jane run.Soon the poor mountain boy donates his fortune to the United freaking Nations.Soon Ted uh,er,divests I believe the term is of his one true love,our Braves.Now,CEO dude makes more than entire team payroll? Who needs that kind of cash to live? Point being,everyone should win.Fans first,owners second, players third.Why fans first? Who’s paying the freaking bills Mr.CEO?

• Link
• Report this comment

the pressure to win almost completely derailed them last season. there will be even more pressure now, having failed in 2 out of the past 3 postseasons in spite of having marquee players and a bloated payroll. welcome to braves country phillies, how does it feel?

• Link
• Report this comment

The Phillies better hope that their old gun rotation can keep runs off of the scoreboard because they are going to miss Jayson Werth’s bat in the line-up more than they know.

• Link
• Report this comment

Werth prove his value when guys went down for Philly. We had injuries but loss a key player for the rest of that season. With the new changes pending next season, there is no way around we must have depth in the OF, or this could prove a disaster. As for Philly they may have picked up a decent arm, but they also lost a key bat from a lineup that couln’t get them to the world series.

• Link
• Report this comment

If Freddie Freeman gives us any type of pop at first base, it will be like Christmas in July. On the other hand if he struggles badly like Shafer or McClouth we will be juggling lineups all season. All I can say is Good Luck FF

• Link
• Report this comment

Can we at least sign Greg McMichael?

• Link
• Report this comment

Let’s see, the Braves have been in Atlanta 44 seasons and have won 1 WS. One divided by 44 = 2.2% chance of doing it again. Sounds about right, Lee or no Lee.

• Link
• Report this comment

So, Jeff, does this mean that Ruben Amaro Jr. has stolen Theo Epstein’s genius hat right off of his head? Or do they both do some sort of a sharing thing with Theo getting it back on even-numbered days?

• Link
• Report this comment

As much as I’d love for Arthur Blank to take over the Braves, from what I’ve read neither he nor Ted Turner are capable of purchasing the team any longer. Liberty Media will probably sell the Braves after their tax write-off ends (I believe after this coming season), but after that it’s anybody’s guess who (or what, if they get handed off to another corporate entity) will take them, and hence whether Atlanta will ever again be a legitimate player during the offseason meetings.

• Link
• Report this comment

That is empty seats.

• Link
• Report this comment

I’m not stressing over the Cliff Lee signing because I like our rotation. I do wish we could afford Werth. I also wish Liberty would sell the Braves to someone who isn’t afraid of spending some money on a good center fielder.

• Link
• Report this comment

@ Dan 6:57 pm I think that what he was saying is that there is no turning back now on this salary cap issue. Selig was sitting back enjoying the revenues during the steroid era & teams were clamoring to sign those sluggers out there to ridiculous contracts. Pitchers were also receiving serious money as the long ball stoppers.

How would you implement a salary cap now when teams have guaranteed money they have to pay those guys, is MLB gonna help pay those salaries already on the books? Selig not gonna do anything to address this issue as long as MLB gets their cut of huge TV contracts & merchandise profits from the major market teams. He has his new stadium in a small market city as well as a decent TV contract for the Brewers.

This thing is so outta control its like trying to stop a runaway train. Selig is like a high roller in Vegas that won’t leave the crap table. The hand writing was on the wall in New York when they couldn’t sell those luxury seat at those outrageous prices & were cut almost in half!

• Link
• Report this comment

Look who made the World Series last year. The Yankees bought everything in sight and sat home watching television.

The Braves have more pressing problems than their roster. They need to rediscover how to play the game of baseball. Moving a runner with a bunt is an adventure. (It would have almost been worth bringing Glavine back just for this role.) The fundamentals of fielding the ball–the ones we learned in little league–are no longer applicable to the Braves. A number of times fielders failed to cover the correct base. These pitchers are not Maddux and gang. They take little pride in bunting, hitting, or fielding their positions. Now, if they take care of these matters then we could address the issue of team speed. But there is no point of doing that until the organization makes fundamentals important.

• Link
• Report this comment

Just looked up attendance and ticket price figures for Braves and Phillies. Philly attendance 3,777,322 Braves 2,510,119 a difference of 1,267,203. Braves average ticket $17.05, Phillies $32.99. So total ticlket revenue Brabes 42,797,529, Phillies $124,613,853 a difference of over $81M. If Braves matched Phillu attendance with their ticket prices additional revenue would be $21, 605, 811. And all of this does not include impact on parking, concessions, etc. Again, it is nice to blame budget disparity on the stingy corporate owner but better attendance might cover some of that difference.

• Link
• Report this comment

Honestly as much as I hate to say it the people that talked about the location of turner field are kinda right when it comes to having bigger attendance numbers then teams like the phillies. The Braves are the more popular team and have more fans than the Phillies fan base…The braves are actually still the third most popular team in baseball even after struggling from 05 to 09… I personally enjoy going to Turner field and when its sold out its as loud as any baseball stadium if not louder. This team we have now though will increase attendance for the next season but I would like to see a smaller more fan friendly stadium within the next decade.

• Link
• Report this comment

Please sale the braves to someone who cares about the Atlanta Fans and winning!

• Link
• Report this comment

That big four of the Phils should land them on top again in the East. They are repeating the Braves formula of the nineties. Hard to play for the wild card if a team like the Phils is consistently beating you down in your Division. The Braves have multiple question marks in their lineup, their pitching is more fragile and not as top-heavy as the Phils, and their defense figures to be – ahem – atrocious, except at first base (perhaps center field and shortstop won’t be “atrocious”, but Gonzalez and McLouth aren’t plus-players anymore).

• Link
• Report this comment

extremus is all over it

• Link
• Report this comment

Money can’t buy true love but it will be so close that you can’t tell the difference, I would be happy if we finished third or fourth or worse if all the tickets were less than $20.00 and hot dogs and drinks were a buck. I can’t and won’t spend half my paycheck on watching these overpaid athletes. TV is fine because it is cheap and no parking problems. Other than thal PLAY BALL.

• Link
• Report this comment

Juice Sourcer The CEO makes too much money but so do the greedy players. There should be a cap on what the players make too if you are going to limit what the owners make. A million dollars is more than enough for any player and the CEO is limited to 2 million. No more capitalism. And your salary should not be more than $10.00 per hour like everyone else’s. Socialism and Obama rules.

• Link
• Report this comment

yea i miss ted. if ted was still the owner we wouldnt be talkin bout the cheap owner now

• Link
• Report this comment

You know, I don’t even care – if getting to the post-season involves shelling out millions on a Ramirez or Teixeira, or even Lee, I just do not really care. Baseball has made itself so much a clique of haves vs have nots, that by the time September rolls around, no one even cares, deep down – admit it, this year, despite the Braves participation in the post-season, we were all into football by mid-September, and baseball was a boring side-show.

When baseball has lost someone like me as a committed fan, it’s really in trouble. Of course I will follow with interest during the summer, but baseball championships have been rendered meaningless by free agency and enormous salaries.

• Link
• Report this comment

Just reading Bowman on MLB and he said Braves only had 1 million to spend on back up outfielder. Thats a alot of crap…screw the Braves and there cheap a@@.

• Link
• Report this comment

Dang, I thought Philly was pretty much invincible last year… those 18 games are going to be tough.

• Link
• Report this comment

I totally agree that the Braves need to grab some more bats. When will the ownership change?

• Link
• Report this comment

Mr. Schultz, this would have been a nice article without the subtle hints of “wealth envy” and over played scenario of the horrible Liberty Media ownership and having “only” about a $90 million payroll.

• Link
• Report this comment

Atlanta fans should strike against going to the games next year. All Liberty Media is doing is taking our money and not investing anything back into the Braves. We strike until those idiots put money into the organization or get an owner that cares.

• Link
• Report this comment

For those interested: A good article on who owns the Phillies: http://blogbatter.com/?tag=phillies-owners

Written in 2008 by a Phillies fan upset that they traded Cliff Lee in the first place.

Maybe the Braves will interest some oil mogul in Dubai. Then other fans would contribute to our success every time they put gas in their car to drive to a game.

Hopefully there will some day be a movement for the outside teams to refuse to play the Red Sox, Yankees, Mets, Phillies, etc. Let’s see how much money they can make off of a four team league where they play each other 54 times per season.

• Link
• Report this comment

[...] About Cliff Lee, The Yankees, And Other Yankees MovesPinstripe AlleyPhiladelphia Inquirer -Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) -Toledo Bladeall 2,922 news articles » [...]

• Link
• Report this comment

Where do you stop with the money? There should be a salary cap. Also baseball is’nt fair anyway untill all playing fields are the same dimensions. Why should a flyball out in some parks be a homerun in another? How about the foul area being different?

• Link
• Report this comment

Of course money can buy happiness. What else can it buy?

• Link
• Report this comment

JYack – WHAT A STUPID IDEA!!!

No fans = no money coming from the gate = Liberty trading off our few high priced players and slashing the budget.

Do you even have a clue?

• Link
• Report this comment

I love it. I hope the Phillies win the Division.

• Link
• Report this comment

They absolutely have to get another big bat. In the freaking OUTFIELD.

• Link
• Report this comment

Jeff-
Let’s all take a deep breath here before we concede the World Series to the Phillies. The combined records of Roy Oswalt, Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee in 2010 was 37-33, not exactly Hall of Fame statistics.

• Link
• Report this comment

Dang, I just hate to see business owners exercising fiscal responsibility.

• Link
• Report this comment

I don’t agree with this Mr. Schultz’ position. Money does not buy championships. Teams win with a cooperative effort. Money can bring in talent for sure…but there are NO guarantees. I like our team and the Phils can be had. SF showed that. Halladay et al. didn’t man up as we were lead to believe they would…HA!!!
Play the game not the paper voodoo!!!!

• Link
• Report this comment

just me – Lowe wae probably the hottest pitcher in the NL down the stretch. If he continues that he will be well worth the money he is owed this upcoming season.

• Link
• Report this comment

Why are we still relying on Chipper to produce!?

• Link
• Report this comment

because the Braves owe Chipper $28 mil!

• Link
• Report this comment

I agree Liberty doesn’t care about the Braves and its true the braves will will be in the middle of the pack budget wise untill were sold. The good thing is Wren and John have done a great job working with the money we do have. As far as the Phills are concerned if you take the unpredictables out and say both teams have no significant injuries next year.(not likely) It really then boils down to the offense of both teams, because starting pitching is pretty evenly matched. They probably have an edge as far a starters go, but we have the edge with the bullpen. This takes pressure off our starters and reduces the chance of injury and fatigue due to over use – phillies don’t have this option – so I say overall pitching is even. So it comes down to the offense – the phills had the better offense overall last year, even though it was inconsistent. They lost Jason Werth, a huge piece of their offense last year. The Braves got a glimpse of what their offense could be when they had that R handed power bat (Glaus) who was putting up Uggla type numbers, unfortunatley it was only for a six week period. When Glaus was hitting their offense was just as good as the phillies and they won allot of games. Now the Braves have Uggla who will bring that to the offense all season long. Even when Glaus was hitting and the Braves were winning allot of games, we still had no production in centerfield and chipper was struggling to the point of considering early retirement. Odds are that the Braves will be better in centerfield either by Nate getting it together or through some type of platoon and they proved last year when Glaus was hitting, that they can still have a good offense with whatever they get from Chipper. So I have to give the slight edge to Braves on offense, and if they happen to get a good year out of Chipper, and if Freeman just has a decent rookie season – then its a big edge because this will be a truly nasty offense no matter who is pitching. So don’t go handing anything (other than the wildcard, maybe) to philly just yet.

• Link
• Report this comment

LJ I agree with you 101% “Where do you stop with the money? There should be a salary cap. Also baseball is’nt fair anyway untill all playing fields are the same dimensions. Why should a flyball out in some parks be a homerun in another? How about the foul area being different?”

• Link
• Report this comment

A couple of thoughts:
You’re certainly right, Jeff, in that the Phillies continue to be aggressive in signing talent. Their team sure looks strong on paper, and I expect them to produce on the field, as well. As mentioned many times, it’s a big flaw in pro sports (baseball especially) that there is such a wide gulf between the “have” teams and the “have nots”. When Ted Turner owned the Braves, he was willing to spend what it took to improve the team (not that all his expenditures paid off until he got good “baseball people” in the front office)…so we’ve been on both ends of the see-saw.
It’s nice and refreshing to see Cliff Lee sign for less than he could have gotten elsewhere because he wanted to keep his family where they were happy. Considering the amount of money involved, it’s amazing that more players don’t do that. After all, what can you do with $25 million a year that you can’t do with $20 million a year? But some players in recent years sure have judged themselves by total dollar amount. Guess it’s a “macho” thing…

• Link
• Report this comment

Too bad some of our home based corporations e.g.,Coke, Delta, UPS will not get involved and try to purchase the Braves. I don’t think the Braves will ever be winners again until ownership is local.

• Link
• Report this comment

Carl – Never be big winners again? The Texas Rangers payroll was around $55 million last year. The Giants were only at $98 million.

• Link
• Report this comment

Everyone seems to think that Lowe will perform like in September and October. That just ain’t gonna happen. We’re obligated to get rid of Lowe. I bet a lot of teams (Yanks especially) would love to have him. He gives us innings. But innings with a high ERA just means he gave up a lot of runs in a lot of innings. His ERA was lowered due to his strong finish. He’s just gonna get rocked and I prefer to use the spot for a younger pitcher (Minor/Beachy) and to free up 15 million dollars.

• Link
• Report this comment

Stew – We dont know what he will perform like, but the truth is no one will want to take on that salary either. The Braves tried last off season. Although he may have a high ERA at times the guy still wins, He is a hard worker and has good clubhouse presence. When the game is on the line he is one of the best. I wouldnt trade that for anything.

• Link
• Report this comment

IF JJ has a good first half, he will be traded for a outfielder, probably to the Yanks, hopefully for Gardner, DO IT FW, we have plenty of pitching & Gardner is good & affordable!!!!

• Link
• Report this comment

Schultz, you are spot-on with this article. The Braves need new ownership desperately.

Now, if you could get your colleague, David O’Brien, to realize this, then that would be good.

On THAT particular blog, you can’t go ranting about the bad ownership and bad contracts. There are so many “blind homers” and koolaid drinkers over there, that they will tear you up and not even think twice.

Well, the Braves could have a record of 1-161 and those folks, including O’Brien, would still responding with sarcasm and smart@ss remarks defending this rankness!

Well, just my opinion…I’m sure there will be someone who will dissect this….

• Link
• Report this comment

Braves, Hawks…have cheap owners…and then wonder why fans are flighty about attending games.

Just once, we want the owners to try something. Bring some stars to Atlanta on the sports teams and then maybe people will be enthusiastic about teams.

But constantly seeing other big cities like Philly, NY, Miami, Boston, Chicago, etc. acquiring big name players for big money and Atlanta teams constantly scraping the bottom of the barrel is discouraging.

Not saying our teams are a pack of scrubs or anything but can we get some excitement swirling like an Amare Stoudemire or a Cliff Lee signing would do? Can we make a move at the trade deadline every now & then? Can we do some real contending instead of hope contending?? I’d rather be going for it all then maintaining and hoping as far as sports go.

• Link
• Report this comment

Jurrjens had a better ERA than Halladay in 2009. I think I would want more than a .268 Career hitter with no pop.

• Link
• Report this comment

Cheap bastards, Ted where are you help us.

• Link
• Report this comment

Liberty Media is a corporation owned by thousands of faceless shareholders. I hate it that a large corporation owns the Braves. I would much prefer one owner or a small ownership group.

My bet for next year is that the Braves will compete for first in the NL East. To accomplish this, I’m assuming that eventually the CF problem will get resolved.
PS: I sure wish we still had Wagner.

• Link
• Report this comment

Just because I gave a job to a recruit’s relative doesn’t mean I’m cheating.

• Link
• Report this comment

You might as well stop making an issue of the Braves not spending money to acquire big time players, especially pitching. As long as the franchise is CORPORATELY OWNED, the franchise will be held to a limited budget. Sports franchises are more profitable to corporations as tax write offs, rather than income producing investments.

They establish a point where the team either breaks even, or doesn’t lose money, and then milks the franchise for the tax write offs it can provide. Salaries are the most controllable aspect of any franchise. These corp don’t care about filling their stadiums or arenas to capacity, or even near capacity, as long as they don’t lose money.

As long as the Braves continue losing money, ON PAPER ONLY, the corp owners will never give them a budget that will allow them to go after quality players that can take the team over the top.

• Link
• Report this comment

Every year you post something like this and every year you are the voice of reason. Hopefully after the 2011 season Liberty Media (it is not Liberty Financial folks) in Colorado sells the team.

If they don’t I hope Selig replacement makes their behavior (no interest in team, never attend a game, payroll frozen, etc) issue. Liberty is not good for baseball well at least ATL baseball.

Selig was a corporate shill and should have never let TW trade the Braves to Liberty as part of a tax dodge deal to exchange assets/settle debts between the two companies.

He could had demanded the Braves be sold at that time but instead he caved and hoped Liberty would make good on increasing payroll and being an active owner.

Between TW & Liberty this team has been rudderless at the ownership leve for over 10 years. It’s amazing they have not come in last place every year and or have a 50mm payroll.

They are great for the NL East as they are determine to make the Braves the second lowest payroll team in the division.

Thank goodness the Marlins are run but a cheap stake.

• Link
• Report this comment

OZZIE-I don’t know how far back you go, but during the futile days of the braves before Ted Turner took over, the team was owned by another coorporation, Cox Broadcasting. To be honest, the only success this franchise has seen, at least on a consistent basis, was when Ted Turner owned the team.

It’s funny, the Braves are being held hostage by corp ownership, and by teams that are loading up and investing heavily in quality starting pitching. This is a formula for success that was established by the Braves. Another problem is Chipper Jones. When he’s healthy, he produces big time, but he’s seldom healthy for any extended period of time.

We also need to stop platooning LF to save money. We need a left fielder with:
1-the ability to play solid DEF and cover a lot of ground,
2-the speed and ability to steal bases,
3-the ability to draw walks, put the ball in play and consistently get on base.

Any player that can do all of the above shouldn’t be measured strictly by his batting average. Also, if McLough can return to form, or if Shafer can live up to expectations, that would give us a solid #2 hitter, and a very solid 1-2 punch at the top of our order.

• Link
• Report this comment