LIVE: Braves get Michael Bourn, now hope that’s enough
The Braves finally made a catch before the trade deadline: Welcome, Michael Bourn. (AP photo)
(UPDATED: 1:45 p.m. Folks, here’s the updated blog on the trade. I’m read to chat live now about the deal and the game. Sorry couldn’t get to earlier questions and comments but I’ve been kinda busy.)
It was the eve of the trade deadline, and Jordan Schafer was having trouble sleeping.
“I just had a weird feeling,” he said Sunday. “It’s something I hadn’t felt all along. I even sent a text message to my agent. I told him I thought I might be traded. He said, ‘No, there’s no chance.’”
And then he opened his phone to show a reporter the text message: “10:57 p.m. ‘Wonder if I’m going to Houston.’”
Sometimes, it’s not so great to be a prophet.
The Braves dealt Schafer to Houston Sunday. They made the move less because of what they believe Schafer might be one day than what he isn’t now: Michael Bourn. After dealing Schafer and three prospects to Houston for Bourn, the All-Star center fielder and leadoff hitter, Braves general manager Frank Wren said, “Michael is what we hope Jordan will be in three or four years. For a team that’s poised to win, we need a finished product.”
Wren needed the right sound bite. Braves fans have felt antsy, angry, frustrated, discontent and maybe even borderline hopeless after seeing San Francisco (Carlos Beltran) and Philadelphia (Hunter Pence) each spin major deals in recent days. So Wren hit on the right themes. What comes of this deal, we can’t possibly know.
Chipper Jones lauded Bourn’s speed, but when asked if the Braves are better team as a result of the deal, he said: “I don’t know. Talk to me in two months.”
The fact Jones was a big fan of Schafer’s might have fed into his comments. (At one point, he left his locker to walk over to Schafer, who was packing, to give him a hug, and the two spoke privately for a couple of minutes.) But Jones also struck the proper tone. There were some things about this year’s Braves team we projected back in spring training camp that haven’t panned out. So it’s best not to assume anything now.
Still, credit to Wren. He waited until the day of the trading deadline before pushing the button. The trade market had become increasingly difficult and expensive (opponents love desperate buyers). Wren made the best trade he could have possibly made at this point.
Bourn is hitting .303. He leads the majors with 39 stolen bases. He has 28 infield hits. He has won two Gold Gloves. He immediately becomes this team’s best and most established leadoff hitter since Rafael Furcal. So this is no minor acquisition.
“The perfect fit,” Wren called him.
The Braves certainly have World Series potential now. Then again, we thought that they had that in the spring. Championships assume two things: good health and expected production, and the Braves have used their opening day lineup only 11 times.
But consider this potential batting order: Michael Bourne, Martin Prado, Chipper Jones, Brian McCann, Dan Uggla, Freddie Freeman, Jason Heyward, Alex Gonzalez. If everybody’s clicking, there’s no escape. After all the angst, this may work out yet.
Some of what Wren said Sunday carried a trace of draft day spin. He acknowledged the team “inquired” about Pence and had interest in Beltran. But he also suggested the Braves never really wanted either that much.
“We could’ve had Beltran. … Same with Pence,” he said. “We were involved in everything but we weren’t really into everything.” (I’m assuming the comments would’ve been different had they acquired either.)
Wren got his wish: He held onto the organization’s four projected golden arms in the minors. He closed the deal for Bourn just before 9 a.m., then he phoned Schafer.
“I was backing out my driveway,” Schafer said. “As soon as I looked down at the phone and saw who it was, I knew. It sucks. But it’s a business.”
In a perfect world, Schafer goes on to have a good career, the Braves win a championship and Bourn turns out to be a lot better than the last time the team traded for a Gold Glove, All-Star center fielder who could hit leadoff (Nate McLouth).
We’ve learned not to project. But it certainly looks good.
By Jeff Schultz
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794 comments Add your comment
kerryb
July 31st, 2011
6:55 pm
Last year I think Utley was the only starter down. The only reason they caught us was because we had Chipper go down in August and Prado went down in September.
expert ?
July 31st, 2011
6:56 pm
kerryb: off by 1 year. Phils in 1980 and 2008 W.S. Wrong again.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
July 31st, 2011
6:57 pm
You got busted. Its simple now you are just trying to jump around and talk about fans showing up or not. Look if they meant that much you would have a 30 game lead. Fact is you do not. The Braves are close enough that it should make you nervous. So go sell out another 200 games and try and get a larger than 6 game lead on the Braves next time.
PhilliesFan
July 31st, 2011
6:58 pm
bravos007… We were very hurt the whole first half, i love how braves fans think they are the only team who had injuries. Remember Utley missing 42 games? Polanco, Victorino, Oswalt and Blanton on the DL?
bravos007
July 31st, 2011
6:59 pm
@philliefans- another philly fan with no reading comprehension skills. read a book every once in awhile
kerryb
July 31st, 2011
6:59 pm
Enjoy it while you can. When your aging over-the-hill high priced team is on the decline and you have a depleted farm system start crying to your GM. Meanwhile, the Braves will have their 4 golden arms along with Hanson, JJ, and Beachy, Venters, Kimbrell, O’ Flarety, Freeman, Heyward, and McCann dominating the east for the next 10 years.
PhilliesFan
July 31st, 2011
6:59 pm
Lowcountry Bulldawg… Attendance matters moron. Why do you think we can spend more. Why do you think Lee chose Philly? I know you guys hate to hear it but you lack of support shows how diehard you are. Which is not too much
Lowcountry Bulldawg
July 31st, 2011
7:00 pm
Selling out the stadium mean crap to whether or not gets added. It boils down to ownership and its commitment to win or to the bottom line. Philadelphia to its credits demands its owners to compete on the field, not on the P&L sheet. The same for the Red Sox. The Braves unfortunately are not in the same class of ownership. So comparing fanbase attendance again is a stupid argument.
expert
July 31st, 2011
7:01 pm
Its getting into the playoffs that matter
we beat haliday,and cliff already,u gus r in trouble
PhilliesFan
July 31st, 2011
7:01 pm
kerryb… We will have money to spend on Free Agents. Plus NONE of those guys we traded in the Lee, Halladay, Oswalt deals are really producing yet. We sold high on our prospects. They have not turned out to be that good.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
July 31st, 2011
7:01 pm
Your lack of intelligence is astounding.
Braves Homer
July 31st, 2011
7:01 pm
The Braves are still Racist
dongkumong
July 31st, 2011
7:01 pm
fill your seats ATL. thats the only way you will get the money to play ball with the big boys. All of ATL knows that and they still dont go out and support the team and whine when they get bourn instead of their #1 option.
Skeezix
July 31st, 2011
7:02 pm
I like Bourne a lot. FW did a good job here. Bourne is the prototypical lead off man. With him and Prado batting one, two in the line up…we are going to be a better team offensively. We still need others to get well soon (McCann, Moylan, Chipper, Medlen)…… and for Jason to get out of his funk.
I don’t think it is enough to catch the Phillies, but should help ensure the wild card.
I will miss getting to watch Shafer develop his full potential.
kerryb
July 31st, 2011
7:02 pm
It’s easy to sell out a 35,000 seat stadium.
PhilliesFan
July 31st, 2011
7:03 pm
Lowcountry Bulldawg…. How do you figure all of those millions of dollars from attendance does = More to spend? Very simple formula
Bob
July 31st, 2011
7:03 pm
Lowcountry…don’t let them sucker you in this worthless debate. They are just jealous because they don’t have a decent college football team to root for. Joe Pa is 15 years past his prime and who cares about the U of Pitt. Go Dawgs!
dongkumong
July 31st, 2011
7:04 pm
attendance=money. you know it and to ignore it is stupidity.
bravos007
July 31st, 2011
7:04 pm
why are these race-bating people still on here? shouldn’t they be banned already….
expert
July 31st, 2011
7:04 pm
and once again wont win the world series this year
go spend 30 mil/year on reyes maybe that will do it
wait u will come up with some other excuse
u guys cant beat sf they took 2/3 from u at philly without beltran
HOW IS THAT HOME FIELD AVANTAGE WORK FOR YOU LAST YEAR?
PRICELESS
kerryb
July 31st, 2011
7:04 pm
We may not be selling out the stadium but we are playing with anyone. Lets see, 6-6 against the Phillies beating both Halladay and Cliff Lee. 3-0 against the Giants. 4th best record in baseball. No problem winning with no sell outs.
PhilliesFan
July 31st, 2011
7:05 pm
kerryb we average over 45,000 a night almost 20,000 more than the braves. Please get your facts straight. Also the Braves average 28,975 so even if they had a 35,000 seat stadium they would come up pretty short. Just case it Northeast Fans and fans in Chicago care more, show up more, make more noise and demand more from their ownership.
dongkumong
July 31st, 2011
7:05 pm
its not race baiting when neil boortz is the most popular radio figure in GA.
PhilliesFan
July 31st, 2011
7:06 pm
kerryb… Played us 9 times without utley. He is the most important player on our team.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
July 31st, 2011
7:06 pm
Bob,
You are right. Obviously he has little idea about how Liberty Media came into ownership of the Braves and the role the Braves play in the Liberty Media empire.
PhilliesFan
July 31st, 2011
7:08 pm
expert… Home field is no guarantee. There is no guarantee in anything. But if you think home field doesn’t mean anything then why do just about all teams have better home records then road records?
Bob
July 31st, 2011
7:09 pm
All you Philly fanantics…how many consecutive division championships have you won?
expert ?
July 31st, 2011
7:10 pm
And the dawgs have won what in the last 30 years ? They are not even worth me using a capitol D ! Ga. education 48th or 49th year in and out.
kerryb
July 31st, 2011
7:10 pm
Lets see, Braves fans cover the whole southeast. Braves fans are spread out in a large area a good ways from the stadium in a traffic nightmare. Because there are teams in Pittsburg, Baltimore, New York, Washinton, Phillie fans live probably 10 miles from the stadium. Not very hard to get there.
expert ?
July 31st, 2011
7:12 pm
kerryb: You obviously have never been outside your trailer park limits. 10 miles from the stadium ? Go read/look at a map.
rabiddawg
July 31st, 2011
7:13 pm
Why get into a pi$$ing contest with Philly fans? They have the better team right now, and I’m a lifelong Braves fan. Just tip the cap to them and know that it all runs in cycles. We were the better team for all of the 90’s and half of the 2000’s. Give them their nice little run and we will see a changing of the guard in about 2 years. All we can do is show up, play our best and hope we can beat em head to head. No reason to feed the fire. They are in first and we are in second. We will see what happens in the next 2 months. Go Bravos….
Bob
July 31st, 2011
7:13 pm
@expert…if you’ll check your stats, you’ll probably find a UGA grad heading up most of your universities. Of course, I’ll tip my hat to your Philly steak sandwiches and to Rolling Rock beer.
kerryb
July 31st, 2011
7:14 pm
Most Braves fans are like me. If I wanted to go to a Braves game I would have to drive an hour and a half to get to the stadium. when the game is over and I drive an hour and a half back it would be midnight when I get back. Then have to get up and go to work at 7:00. Some of us have jobs, are great fans of their team, but have a life. Apparently Phillie fans do not.
bravos007
July 31st, 2011
7:15 pm
if you are a PHILLY fan and coming to this website to attack braves fan, you are pretty much a worthless person…..yes, there are braves fans that do the same BUT YOU ARE HERE so go away….karma sucks in october
kerryb
July 31st, 2011
7:16 pm
The Phillies are the Yankees of the NL. They load up on expensive players and don’t win anything
expert ?
July 31st, 2011
7:17 pm
@Bob: Heading up U. of Penn? Ivy League ? Maybe in charge of the mailroom.
expert ?
July 31st, 2011
7:19 pm
kerryb : The Braves are the Buffalo Bills of baseball. Keep hanging up those division banners.
chief pitchanono
July 31st, 2011
7:19 pm
Just love how the philly phans are cry’n on their blogs over this trade. You would never know they have a 6 game lead. The rivalry is awesome, but they got a great team and a comfortable lead, they should just enjoy it. Yeah Weren probably did out smart them by sneaking Bourn out the backdoor for very little while they were unloading their farm for Pence, but its not like its the end of the world. Were celebrating a great season and getting Bourn and were 6 games back! Don’t like to think what would happen to those guys if we were to get within a game or two of first. Go Braves!!
Seattle Braves
July 31st, 2011
7:21 pm
Looks like we should win the WS now…
Still think we need another RHP though. Hopefully Peter “from down under” Moylan or call up one of the untouchables and fill in the GAP. Whenever we need to pay off an empire, then we can use Proctor again…
traffic dude
July 31st, 2011
7:21 pm
If he is anything like his brother Jason Bourne he will be a bad*** player for the braves. His brother is lethal.
bravos007
July 31st, 2011
7:22 pm
OBVIOUSLY the philly folks are concerned, regardless of their filthy mouth online. you don’t see them on the mets or nats websites acting like this.
instead of provoking people on a braves website, you would think they would go outside and clean up their trashy city. would be more productive.
Seattle Braves
July 31st, 2011
7:23 pm
“The Bourn Express”
PhilliesFan
July 31st, 2011
7:25 pm
chief pitchanono… The rivalry sucks… It’s only on blogs. Our Mets rivalry was much better. They came to our stadium and we went to theres. Also the braves are a likable team as I think the Phils are. The Mets were easy to hate. I can honestly say that if you guys are in the WS I will root for you. I like Chipper, McCann and i love Freeman.
Taylor Woote
July 31st, 2011
7:25 pm
I like the move….better than the ones that were being talked about. Of course, time will ultimately judge.
Go Braves.
PhilliesFan
July 31st, 2011
7:26 pm
bravos007.. we are not on the Mets or National websites because they are completely out of it. I come here for an out of town perspective.
Braves Homer
July 31st, 2011
7:29 pm
I want to hear more about you guys opinion on the Race issue. This is a big deal, Bourne coming to the ATL
SR
July 31st, 2011
7:29 pm
Enter your comments here
PhilliesFan
July 31st, 2011
7:31 pm
Braves Homer… Stop Race bating. Bourn is coming to ATL because he is a good lead off hitter and a great centerfield. He could be a green martian and they still would have traded for him
expert ?
July 31st, 2011
7:31 pm
@chief Pitchanono and rabiddawg: I agree with both of y’all. This is a GREAT trade for the Braves. This is going to be a great Aug. / Sept. for both teams. Bob, I apolgize for the Bulldawg comment. Any college education is good. We all want better for our kids. This is just a game. Something for all of us to take our minds off of Mon. with our jobs, kids and bills. Good Luck to the Braves and Phils. They will see each other in Oct. Just had a couple of Yuenglings today ! Godspeed y’all .
bravos007
July 31st, 2011
7:31 pm
@philliesfan for an “out of town perspective” is just an excuse to be a troll
@braveshomer- no it’s not a big deal. to YOU cause you appear to be obsessed with race but not to normal braves fans