Braves, Wren would be taking risk without major move
Frank Wren would like to hold up a trophy other than Jair Jurrjens' pitcher of the month honors for May. But to that, he may need to make a major move first. (Jason Getz/AJC)
(UPDATED: 11 p.m.)
Unless there is a sudden change in wind direction, don’t expect much. Major trades happen when a team is willing to give up a significant part of its present or its future, and as of now the Braves seem to be predisposed to doing neither.
They didn’t get Carlos Beltran from New York because they wouldn’t part with Mike Minor. To get Hunter Pence from Houston or Carlos Quentin from the Chicago White Sox, neither of whom are impending unrestricted free agents, would take more than one young arm. Also, to get somebody Philadelphia really wants might mean showing a willingness to spend more money than the Phillies.
This doesn’t mean general manager Frank Wren won’t make some move. (Maybe Josh Willingham will be this year’s version of Ryan Church. You can never have enough former Nationals). It doesn’t even mean that the Braves, as currently constructed, aren’t capable of making the playoffs, or winning the division, or going to the World Series, or winning it all.
But can you be comfortable right now?
The Braves lost to Pittsburgh on Thursday night 5-2. In the last six games, they have scored 2, 3, 1, 4, 2 and 2 runs — and the 4 came in 19 innings. Record in that span: 2-4.
This won’t cut it in a pennant chase.
Wren would be playing a dangerous game if he doesn’t make a major move. The Braves aren’t healthy. They may not get healthy. Even Chipper Jones used the word “erode” when describing the decline of his own aging body the other day, adding, “For some reason, I can’t keep my leg muscles together.”
Wren wants to win. He certainly has done a nice job reshaping this roster the last couple of years (we attribute Kenshin Kawakami to temporary insanity). But without a significant acquisition, he would be banking on hitting a parlay. It goes like this:
♦ First bet: Nearly every injured Brave of significance gets healthy or can play at a high level with his existing injuries. That includes Jones (quadriceps, for now), Brian McCann (oblique) and Jordan Schafer (finger). It also assumes that Dan Uggla (who appears to have turned things around ) and Jason Heyward will be solid contributors in the next two months. Those are five assumptions.
♦ Second bet: Because sheer logic suggests that not everything will go right, the Braves will need to somehow recapture the chemistry and magic that enabled them to manufacture runs, wins games and endure injuries and obstacles down the stretch last year. And that has not always been evident this season.
When asked if he believed his team needed some help, manager Fredi Gonzalez chose his words carefully: “I think we can improve the ballclub, yes. I think if you ask 30 managers that, they’re all gonna say, yes. … If there’s a player out there who we’re able to acquire and he makes us better, I think we’ll do it.”
Is he more inclined to bang on Wren’s door after injuries like those to McCann and Jones?
“I think Frank’s watching the game,” Gonzalez said, smiling.
The Braves were a resilient bunch last season. They went through a blur of lineups and batting orders, survived a long string of injuries, made the playoffs as a wild card and ultimately lost three of four one-run games to San Francisco, the team that went on to win the World Series. A series of unlikely occurrences led to wins, with their final win of 2010 topping them all: Rick Ankiel (.210) homering in the 11th inning for a 5-4 playoff win over the Giants, making a winner of maligned reliever Kyle Farnsworth.
Ankiel and Farnsworth — there’s an unlikely exacta of heroes.
Much of the 2010 team remains in place, but chemistry isn’t an easy thing to recreate. The Braves need something more tangible — another bat.
Back in spring training, Gonzalez said: “It makes it fun to come to the ballpark when you’ve got good chemistry. When they take care of their own problems, it makes it easy.”
But it won’t be easy for the Braves to overcome their problems without some help.
By Jeff Schultz
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409 comments Add your comment
TheAntiMe
July 28th, 2011
10:57 pm
I disagree Cuba, and what’s with the name calling? What is this now, 3rd grade?
Mitchell
July 28th, 2011
10:57 pm
F this team.
Cuba Gooding Jr.
July 28th, 2011
10:57 pm
Would be amazing if the Braves got both Bourn and Quentin. Not gonna happen though… too much money involved. Cheapskate ownership.
Mitchell
July 28th, 2011
10:57 pm
F8ing embarrassing.
G
July 28th, 2011
10:58 pm
Another mediocre performance by the Braves
BravesFan
July 28th, 2011
10:58 pm
I like the new look Pirates..wish them well..
Now Wrens get Pence ….
BravesFan
July 28th, 2011
10:59 pm
Thanks Jeff..you the man!
AnotherJeff
July 28th, 2011
10:59 pm
Ok, now I know what Frank Wren whispered into Fredi’s ear….
“You suck.”
Mitchell
July 28th, 2011
11:00 pm
I’m so sick of Dan Uggla’s bull%$#@.
He’s not turning a corner. He’s not “back.”
His job is to hit game winning home runs. His job is to not swing at a ball with a f8ing 3-0 count.
His job is not to take $60 million dollars from us without giving us a damn thing in return.
&^%$ him.
Complete embarrassment.
Rilo
July 28th, 2011
11:00 pm
Our back up catcher and our Rookie are our best hitters. In the voice of Jerry Seinfeld; “and you want to be a World Series team.” I don’t think so.
Cuba Gooding Jr.
July 28th, 2011
11:01 pm
I disagree Cuba, and what’s with the name calling? What is this now, 3rd grade?
So, let’s just get rid of Sherrill and Linebrink, who have done a good job for the most part of the season. That’s just an idiotic statement. Have you watched the Braves this year? These guys have been solid.
O'Brien
July 28th, 2011
11:03 pm
45 hits, 9 runs.
Cuba Gooding Jr.
July 28th, 2011
11:04 pm
Frank Wren is going to acquire Jason Bay.
TheAntiMe
July 28th, 2011
11:06 pm
So, let’s just get rid of Sherrill and Linebrink, who have done a good job for the most part of the season. That’s just an idiotic statement. Have you watched the Braves this year? These guys have been solid.
Many of the games I’ve seen them pitch they give up gopher balls, which, If you are a starter you can get around but if you are only in the game for an inning or two then that doesn’t work so well. And one of the few games that Sherrill did not cost the Braves (against the Phillies) he loaded the bases in the 9th or later and came an eyelash away from giving the Phillies the win.
Brave Fan
July 28th, 2011
11:07 pm
The only time the pen has a problem is when a starter has a bad night and we are way behind in the middle innings. Doesn’t happen enough to address.
We need speed at the top(CF) and one hitter in left b/c Prado is the 3B the rest of the year for the most part. Father time is calling Chipper home unfortunately!
TheAntiMe
July 28th, 2011
11:08 pm
Why do you think that the Braves are looking for bullpen help? it isn’t just because of Proctor.
Athenzdawg
July 28th, 2011
11:09 pm
Please don’t waste our time for Josh Willingham if we needed another outfielder who was a “platoon” player who batted .240 which is his average now….we might as well keep who we have. We have won or lost with the crap thats in the field now, might as well keep our pitching and not give it up for more crap
DetroitBraves
July 28th, 2011
11:13 pm
McCutchen generally bats 3rd or 4th. Not leadoff. So while he is a good example of a capable hitter, he’s not an example of a leadoff hitter.
Sherrill and Linebrink have both provided slightly more than replacement level performances. So while their ineptness has probably been overstated, questioning their worth does not, Cuba, make one an “idiot”. In fact, projecting their already underwhelming performances to regress as the season goes on is probably reasonable. You may disagree. That doesn’t necessarily make you an “idiot” either.
Brave Fan
July 28th, 2011
11:22 pm
Our pen is as good as it can be. They can’t all be Ventors, Kimbrel. Thats why Sherril, linebrink are relievers but they are alright.
We need a leadoff and left fielder that can hit!!!!!!!!!!
Once you get to the playoffs the 5th starter and sometimes the 4th one end up in the pen anyway. How many times have the Braves won 95 plus games with a 5 man rotation and then get sent home by a team with 3 good starters(which we have) The other thing they had besides 3 starters were better position hitters.
We need a leadoff hitter and left fielder that can hit. It’ll allow our other guys to relax a little and wont be pitched around…
Need two hitters Frankie!!!!!!!!!
)
DetroitBraves
July 28th, 2011
11:31 pm
The greater issue isn’t how Sherrill and Linebrink have performed, but rather how they are perceived. Because they are obviously not as trustworthy, and for good reason, as the younger pitchers. As a result, Fredi has those guys logging too many innings. That’s the risk for the remainder of this season and the playoffs for the Braves bullpen. But as for your 4th and 5th starter idea, I would take it a step further and say the answer may be a 6th or 7th starter. Some of those guys in the minors have way more upside than our current relievers. It’s not unusal for teams to have rotation prospects log some innings in the bullpen to both keep their innings under wraps and get them some ML exposure. Given that the Braves have already set the arb clocks on 3 of those prospects that might be good in-house solution.
Its me RYAN
July 28th, 2011
11:33 pm
You need to understand this……The Braves will always be a team like this because they are cheap. Its just something to do in the ATL until football season starts. They never do enough to be the best team……always just pretty good, but not the best.
LoweGoAway
July 28th, 2011
11:44 pm
MAGGGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOF, sucks
stanco
July 28th, 2011
11:45 pm
@ Brave Fan 11:22 and @ Its me RYAN 11:33
You both are dead-on!!!
Brave Fan
July 28th, 2011
11:48 pm
I hope they pull the trigger and make a significant trade.
Nobody was talking about Beachy, Medlin like they are these guys, Teheran, Delgado…now. I know they are good but they all aren’t going to be great. The Martinez guy now, he is really tough but came in way under the radar.
I say all this b/c if we gwt the two players we need, we could win the whole thing. We do nothing or do an Ankiel or Derrick Lee deal, we just get the same old crap.
jgral
July 28th, 2011
11:59 pm
Dont force a trade, there is always next year with a great young group, The Phils look stacked anyway..
–
Atlanta Insight: Top 5 Moments in ATL Sports History – http://bit.ly/atlblog
Roland's Office, Hunter's Pence
July 29th, 2011
12:00 am
One of the biggest problems with having an inconsistent, inadequate offense is that it gives your pitching staff and defense NO margin for error. Also, our weak offense has contributed to the large number of extra-inning games, which taxes the bullpen.
Overall, Sherrill and Linebrink have pitched surprisingly well except for their slow starts. Adding to the pressure on the bullpen is the tendency for our starters to get removed around the 6th-7th inning too often, mostly due to elevated pitch counts or choosing the 5th or 6th inning to hit a rough spot.
If our offense could get an extra run per game, the starters could be stretched more often, and the primary relievers could get more rest. Also, the back-end guys would have extra cushion when they come in. It’s time for the offense to wake up — maybe it’s time for a legit leadoff hitter (with a good on-base pct) in CF and someone to platoon with Heyward against lefties – he’s hitting .167 against them. If they don’t produce more runs, it’s unfair to expect our pitchers to continue carrying all of the load into October….. GO BRAVES!!!
BravesFan
July 29th, 2011
12:18 am
Detroitbrave@11:13 McClutchen was lead-off hitter till one of there players got hurt and he was put batting 4th. He was and is still a dang good lead-off hitter if they put him there. Some smart a@@’s like to cut everyone down..get a life.
Hillbilly D
July 29th, 2011
12:32 am
Atlanta Insight: Top 5 Moments in ATL Sports History
The top 5 moments in Atlanta sports history doesn’t include Sid Bream’s slide?
heartofdarkness
July 29th, 2011
12:51 am
wait ’til next year…
Larry
July 29th, 2011
2:33 am
Braves jus traded for hunter pence
REALLY?!?
July 29th, 2011
3:55 am
Larry… you better not be joking about this. If we actually did get Pence, get out your tomahawk chops because this team just got waaayyy better. Also.. Great article Mr. Schultz. You’ve put my thoughts into words.
Old Timer
July 29th, 2011
5:26 am
Last year the Braves were bashed by many bloggers here and won the wild card and lost to the World Champion Giants. This year, they are getting bashed by many bloggers here and they have the 4th best record in all of baseball. The highly critical bloggers should be sentenced to Cubs, Royals and Tigers season tickets. I bet 90% of the highly critical bloggers on here were season ticket Thrasher fans. STFU! and let the Braves and their supberb management handle the Braves. Or better yet, move your azzes back up north where they do everything right!
DetroitBraves
July 29th, 2011
7:41 am
Bravesfan, no. Jose Tabata was the leadoff hitter until he got hurt. But perhaps what you meant to say is that McCutchen, like many other all-star caliber hitters, can be a capable leadoff hitter. With that I can’t argue.
DetroitBraves
July 29th, 2011
7:45 am
Roland’s Office, good point. One way to save the young arms in the pen is to get another quality reliever or two. But another way is to score more runs so that the bullpen isn’t always pitching in high leverage situations.
Vicdawg
July 29th, 2011
8:13 am
MATT KEMP…..MATT KEMP…..MATT KEMP. Right Handed bat. Lots of power. Plays centerfield. Doesn’t get hurt. MAKE THE TRADE!!!
Atticus
July 29th, 2011
8:20 am
Jeff we don’t follow Twitter because Twitter is a joke and we have lives.
DetroitBraves
July 29th, 2011
8:21 am
Vicdawg, is Matt Kemp still available? I know when Torre was there that he supposedly didn’t care much for him – kind of like Colby Rasmus with La Russa in St. Louis. But now Torre is gone and Kemp is having a big year. Love the idea though.
@Old Timer, hey I get what you’re saying but the Tigers are in first place. Granted, it’s a terrible division but the Tigers have a pretty good shot at making the playoffs. It’s possible they’ll be the worst team in the playoffs but have the best hitter in the field (Miguel Cabrera) and best pitcher (Verlander). That’s a recipe for an upset in a short series if I’ve ever heard one.
the truth...
July 29th, 2011
8:33 am
I don’t want to give up any of our talent…but we do need some offensive help…cannot deny that. We are a hurting team and need an infusion of energy and talent with the bat.
Want to see what CAN happen; one of the best trades ever in mid-season was pulled off here in Chop Town…..
Fred McGriff
Braves, 1993
Atlanta took advantage of the Padres’ fire sale to bring in McGriff, who sparked the Braves to a 51-18 record the rest of the season and the NL West crown. The Crime Dog batted .310 with 19 home runs and 55 RBI.
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0707/mlb.Best.Deadline.Deals/content.4.html#ixzz1TUrkNKlD
51-18 imagine that….
That would do it I’d say.
Steve
July 29th, 2011
8:42 am
I think Wren needs to get moving on a deal for Bj Upton!!!!!!!
DetroitBraves
July 29th, 2011
8:42 am
For those familiar with Buster Olney, he had this post this morning: Observation from an NL official about the Braves’ interest in Hunter Pence: “They don’t value on-base percentage as much as other teams do.”
Um, not good.
Steve
July 29th, 2011
8:45 am
We send the Rays a package of Minor, McClouth and Lowe and throw Kawakami in for FREE since we have already lost enough on him for Bj Upton! Sounds fair to me!
RB
July 29th, 2011
8:49 am
Is it just me, or does anyone else wonder about Larry Parrish? Has any hitting coach ever gotten less out of his players? Even TP was better than this. If the players we have were healthy and hitting even twenty points better, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.
Holoman
July 29th, 2011
8:51 am
If the Braves don’t sign a good hitter there scores if they make the Wild Card would be losing 3-0,6-0,and 2-0. They have absolutely no offense. I feel confident in only McCann (hurt) and Freeman hitting.
Mr. Wren needs to make a move for a young bat under contract for several years. Can you say Hunter Pence ?
Holoman
July 29th, 2011
8:53 am
I’ve told you before, Larry Parrish is like the Buddha on the fireplace. He’s just a novelty item posing as a hitting coach. They could do away with that position along with bench coach in a minute and nothing would change.
Holoman
July 29th, 2011
8:55 am
Trade Teheran and Minor for Evan Longoria.
DetroitBraves
July 29th, 2011
8:55 am
RB, I think the problems run deeper than Larry Parrish. Organizationally, they just don’t seem to value a patient approach at the plate. So this is what you get – low on-base percentages, low batting averages, not very many walks, and then you don’t score because it’s hard to score when you can’t get on base. I think Francouer is Francouer, I don’t know that the Braves deserve a lot of blame there, but there have been some other guys with good approaches that have tended to become less accomplished hitters the longer in the organization. Kelly Johnson comes to mind, and I’m fearful that they are messing up Jason Heyward. Just an observation. What do other people think?
Holoman
July 29th, 2011
8:57 am
Pence,Kemp,Quentin,Upton,etc. are all available but Wren sits and does nada. A blind mute could see and tell you that the Braves offense cannot win in the playoffs.It figures…
Holoman
July 29th, 2011
9:04 am
Jurrgens has a great month wins award. Nate,Gonzo,and Heyward can’t even have good days let alone a whole month of production…
HAL
July 29th, 2011
9:07 am
heywardsoutfield play wouldent be accepted by a lotof double a teams probably about the livels hes capable of carlos q qould be an upgrade in right heck diesels an upgrade in right at least he moves when the balls hit not when its arcing over his head as one right fielder does
Holoman
July 29th, 2011
9:16 am
Damn those Red Sox & Phillies. They also want Hunter Pence. Read this link.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AoUxaDKf88Zr7KjzonaszWgRvLYF?slug=ti-brown_hardball_trade_buzz_astros_pence_072811