Braves, Wren whiff on Greinke — and this is getting old
Zack Greinke: On his way to Angels. (AP)
Frank Wren: Looking for help. (Curtis Compton)
(UPDATED: 9:10 p.m.)
The first pitcher they went after (Ryan Dempster) said no. He prefers Los Angeles.
The second pitcher they went after (Zack Greinke) was traded to Los Angeles (no, not that L.A. team, the other L.A. team).
The Braves are trying to get better before Tuesday’s trade deadline. We think. But this journey is turning into some weird nightmare, or at least a Randy Newman retrospective. (“I Love L.A.!”)
Remember when the Braves used to get what they want? Remember when 90-plus-win seasons and playoff games seemed as plentiful as potato chips?
General manager Frank Wren said Friday night that he didn’t believe the Braves were close to a trade for a starting pitcher of significance. No kidding. I’m not sure how many are left.
When Wren was asked if he was balking at parting with a coveted prospect like Julio Teheran for a rental player like Greinke, he responded: “I really don’t want to go there. We’ve had a sense for what [teams] are looking for with all these big guys. Some may be a little cost prohibitive.”
And there it is.
At some point, maybe it will be about this season, not next year or the one after that. But right now it’s not looking that way.
The Braves still have a few days until Tuesday’s 4 p.m. deadline to fix their starting rotation, which has been dropping engine parts for the past several miles. But if they don’t succeed, it will be because Frank “You’ll Get My Prospects When You Pry Them From My Cold Dead Hands” Wren is focused on tomorrow, not today. Again.
Try to explain that to the players in the clubhouse. They believe the team needs a boost to catch Washington in the East (or survive a six-team wild-card cage match with all limbs intact.)
Even Tim Hudson, the current No. 1 starter, said of the team’s attempts to get a starting pitcher: “Everybody’s encouraged by it. It’s an area that’s been inconsistent for us all year. We’re here to win. There’s no reason to take it personally – unless I’m being bumped out of a job.”
It’s obvious where Chipper Jones stands. This is his last season. He wants another shot at the World Series.
When word circulated the other day that Florida had exploded another dumb-bomb and traded Hanley Ramirez to the Dodgers, signaling a housecleaning, Jones was sitting on the Braves’ team bus in Miami. On walked Wren. Jones began his mock throat-clearing and in a humorous hoarse tone said, “Josh Johnson!”
Wren smiled. But he didn’t make a move.
Wren satisfied the Cubs in a potential trade for Dempster, so we can’t put that one on him. (Dempster still hasn’t been traded to the Dodgers, so there’s at least some possibility he could change his stance.) But Wren generally has been resistant to parting with top young pitchers Teheran and Randall Delgado for a potential rental player.
The Brewers traded Greinke to the Angels (for shortstop Jean Segura and two prospects) because Wren wouldn’t give up enough for a pitcher who potentially could lead them to a World Series. The Marlins are asking for the moon and the sun for Johnson, as they should. He’s not only good, he’s signed through next season. He might be worth more than even Greinke. Great players don’t come for cheap.
Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci reaffirmed the upside for teams that acquire starting pitchers at the deadline. He noted that over the past five years, contenders have traded for 19 starting pitchers in July. Those pitchers accumulated a record of 94-45. Nine pitched in the postseason. That includes Edwin Jackson, who went 6-3 (including playoffs) with St. Louis last year following a trade and helped the Cardinals to the World Series. Verducci referenced other recent “sudden-impact” pitchers at the deadline: Cliff Lee (Texas, Philadelphia), Roy Oswalt (Philadelphia), Ted Lilly (L.A. Dodgers), C.C. Sabathia (Milwaukee) and Joe Blanton (Philadelphia).
Friday did not pass without the Braves making a move. They signed 41-year-old Miguel Batista, who was just released by the New York Mets, to a minor-league contract.
Wren doesn’t necessarily see Batista being called up and becoming a factor for the Braves down the stretch. But you never know. It was worth a shot. Batista comes cheap. And isn’t that what’s most important of all?
By Jeff Schultz
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
445 comments Add your comment
TampaGator
July 27th, 2012
10:21 pm
How many times has Janish walked since he arrived? It seems he walks once, twice, or three times in every game he plays…..and he plays excellent defense. That was a great trade by Wren…to fill in for Simmons. You got to give him credit for that move so far.
J-MAN
July 27th, 2012
10:22 pm
Can the Nationals finally lose a game. It seems like they win 2 games a day.
Plate Appearance
July 27th, 2012
10:22 pm
APPLAUDING FRANK WREN
I don’t consider not trading for Greinke a whiff. He was far too expensive for the Braves budget and would have been a liability in building future squads — from a financial standpoint.
I applaud you Frank, for showing restraint!
Ben Sheets is our Greinke!
Well done!
TampaGator
July 27th, 2012
10:22 pm
Opps…..a rude and insulting Dawg fan just arrived….using highly immaginative and never used before adjectives to describe me. So impressive.
Trey
July 27th, 2012
10:22 pm
Wren needs to stop being a hoarder. He’s going to wind up on Hoarders. Wren is worthless.
TampaGator
July 27th, 2012
10:23 pm
Plate….
But he needs to tell Gonzalez to put Medlen into the rotation…..and he will become our Dempster.
J-MAN
July 27th, 2012
10:24 pm
@ Tampa I agree I like Janish. He atleast gets on base. Granted he cant hit for anything but he works the count everytime. Way better than Jack Wilson.
J-MAN
July 27th, 2012
10:25 pm
Wait your gonna give praise for Wren doing nothing……..Then hell I deserve praise because I’ve made as many moves to improve the Braves as Wren has????????
TampaGator
July 27th, 2012
10:25 pm
Braves win….Braves win…..and burry the Phils a little deeper in the Clearwater training “sand” a little deeper…….Did you like that creative pun….Dawg fan? See ya…..
kral
July 27th, 2012
10:26 pm
braves win and dang they beat the 100 million dollar man..sweet ..sorry jay..I know this does not contribute to the quality of blogs..but everyone can not live up to your high standards
collegedude
July 27th, 2012
10:27 pm
Good to see that the AJC is finally picking up on what has been obviously wrong with the Braves for the last 3 years. Wren has to go for the Braves to have a chance again.
J-MAN
July 27th, 2012
10:28 pm
Wow I’m looking at the Brewers pitcher Mike Fiers and he has a 1.77 ERA in 10 starts including shutting the Nats down tonight
kral
July 27th, 2012
10:29 pm
and it was the hated phillies..try to enjoy the victory jay…oh..nevermind
Teddy B
July 27th, 2012
10:31 pm
Miguel Batista huh…I see. Didn’t he strike out Babe Ruth one time? I think he’s old enough to have done it. Well, GJ Wren we’re all set for the stretch, thanx.
Guess the one bright spot is Ben Sheetz. The guy is doing awesome, now only if we had 3,4 more of him
J-MAN
July 27th, 2012
10:31 pm
Its ok Kral you try at least and you do well for someone whos mom misspelled Carl on you birth certificate. And even though you name sounds like something hacked froma chain-smoking tuberculosis patient at least you try little buddy. And hey who knows maybe you will one day write something that has merit. I rooting for you little buddy.
Columbus
July 27th, 2012
10:33 pm
Not getting as old and your negativity Schultz. We can county on your consistency. Even if they fail to make a deal at least the Braves try to make changes and do a better job….you have no room to criticize the Braves…NONE
J-MAN
July 27th, 2012
10:35 pm
I enjoy every victory I just remember last year as well. But Kral maybe you can one day be able to change your name to Carl. Instead of having a name that sounds like something a chain-smoking Scotsman drinking some expired mike hacked up…….
J-MAN
July 27th, 2012
10:36 pm
chultz is 100% right the Braves needed to make a move and chose to stand pat.
Billy
July 27th, 2012
10:37 pm
About time someone from AJC called out Wren.
farm system is not worth a damn if you never get anything for them and they stay on the farm.
To get something you got to give value for value.Get off you a@@ FW and get Johnson are Shields.
J-MAN
July 27th, 2012
10:37 pm
Schultz is 100% right the Braves needed to make a move and chose to stand pat
Big Crimson 75
July 27th, 2012
10:40 pm
Damn , I wish Beachy didn’t get hurt!!
Get use to Ben Sheets doing this. The guy was a quality pitcher in Milwaukee.
Sheets, Hanson & hudson give us 3 good arms for the Postseason.
Jair Jurghens is costing this Team badly.
With Beachy, we’d be set.
Go Braves
Roll Tide
J-MAN
July 27th, 2012
10:44 pm
I wonder if the Padres would trade Edinson Volezquez. Has a good ERA and eats up a bunch of innings
CSP
July 27th, 2012
10:44 pm
Wasn’t Sheets the First Pitcher pursued? And isn’t that working out pretty well? So get off Frank’s sack…
kral
July 27th, 2012
10:48 pm
that was funny j..you sound like you would enjoy every win…man they were hard to come by in the ’70s..I may have a little scottish blood..smartess guess you have made all night..but whose to judge..I mean you work for a professional baseball org..right..dang seems like one of us is flim and one is flam..dang first time I WAS EVER glad I was spit
Don
July 27th, 2012
10:49 pm
So you really want to trade several of your top prospects for a 2 month rental of a starter that might get 12 starts in before the end of the year, we cannot afford to re-sign, and does not perform well under pressure because of a well documented anxioty disorder?? Thank goodness none of you are the GM.
BrandonLee49
July 27th, 2012
10:50 pm
With The Dodgers Wasting their efforts on Hanley Ramirez, that hardly leaves any funds avail for Dempster. So unless Demp would rather Stay in Chicago.. you Kiddin me!!!, I don’t see that deal coming… Demp isn’t thrilled about the Prospect of being a Brave, but his other Choices just dried up. There are of course Other Options for Wren to make a move on or dismiss. Dempster is Not our Best Choice, so Wren may be perfectly content on Waiting until that Better Fit comes along, and it may be over the Winter, which I would Prefer, rather than throwing Good after Notsogood with Dempster, Let’s face Facts… Neither Dempster nor Greinke, Nor Iron Man is gonna make the Braves into a World Series Contender. Sure, in the Best of All Worlds, THe Braves pick up a Top Starter And a Power-hitting Outfileder, but That’s Worse than Obama’s “Dream”Scheme.. Frankly it isn’t Reality… So Chill-out… Celebrate a Nice WIN Tonight, McCann, and Sheets provided high Quality Performances, very Nice Game !!!!
kral
July 27th, 2012
10:53 pm
and you j ..you know rhyme with a word ..sounds like spit..smells like..dang I LOWERED the overall quality of this blog again..when will I ever learn..to late
Biff Henderson
July 27th, 2012
10:56 pm
It’s amusing to me to read about how the Braves are afraid to part with prospects to try to win now when the same crowd saying this also chastised the Braves for making that Teixeira trade a few years ago. You can’t have it both ways. If you’re gonna constantly ride them for the Teixeira trade and bring that up at every turn, you can’t really turn around and blast them for never wanting to trade prospects for a rental player. Sure, a guy like Greinke could possibly be signed to a contract extension, but that was also the thinking with Teixeira at the time the trade was made.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but at least try to have some consistency with the core principle of your argument.
John Schuerholz
July 27th, 2012
10:56 pm
Fire Frank
Kyle
July 27th, 2012
10:57 pm
Great article. We need more stories like this concerning Atlanta sports and calling out these bums that run the teams….into the ground. To sit here and hold on to players that you think might be something one day and pass up the ones that you know are good just shows Wren is a stupid SOB.
JC Boscan III
July 27th, 2012
10:57 pm
Maybee Franck Renn wood peigh morr atension two theeze blogz iff posturs wood mayke sum smalle atimpt too spel korrectkly. Jusst ann opinyon.
john
July 27th, 2012
10:58 pm
Wondering if Jeff and all his followers are Yankees! Braves are looking good and all I see here is bitching bitching bitching. You people need to find something else to bitch about—sick of it. GO BRAVES!.
kral
July 27th, 2012
11:02 pm
and by the way no offense to JS..no one is ever 100% right …lived long enough to know that
Mister Frisky
July 27th, 2012
11:04 pm
J-Man,Kral is Lobosolo in disguise.
david
July 27th, 2012
11:05 pm
Looks like Wren did OK by Signing Sheets. Nobody give him credit for that move.
kral
July 27th, 2012
11:05 pm
Good-night j..hate I might have offended you at some point…cause i saw from your blogs you are sensitive to others..hope you do not have to spank yourself
J-MAN
July 27th, 2012
11:05 pm
I bet he is lobosolo in drag lol
kral
July 27th, 2012
11:11 pm
mr. frickasee I AM NOBODY IN DISGUISE..and for you to blog something about me to a 2nd party after all the crap I have directed at you after all the crap you have spouted on blogs..in the south it is called chicken snit ..give or take a letter..if you want to address my comments to you or j..so be it..but do not go 2nd party..that is gutlees
Delbert D.
July 27th, 2012
11:12 pm
Liberty Media. Is there anybody in charge, or are the Braves being run in automatic by QuickBooks Pro?
MJinATL
July 27th, 2012
11:13 pm
I know everybody is going to blame Wren, but we are a mid market team. Liberty Media doesn’t view us an asset to invest in, plus no mega TV contracts in the next decade or so, and once our TV deal is up for renewal its not going to be for much money because those billion dollar TV deals are gonna go by the wayside by the time we are eligible for one
J-MAN
July 27th, 2012
11:14 pm
Ok Kral I dont even need to respond to your lunacy. All you have is lame insults and you cannot even come up with a decent retort. I think everybody knows you are just psychologically inadequate to engage in a verbal debate with me. Just like your physically inadequate to be able to satisfy a woman.
At the end of the day your just inadequate in every way.
And that is how you finish it off with a rhyme, little man.
Dawg Whisperer
July 27th, 2012
11:16 pm
Jeff… when you ante up the $100,000,000 to pay these absurd contracts, Wren will be happy to make the deal. Until then, your belly-aching is getting old.
Mister Frisky
July 27th, 2012
11:17 pm
Kral you are a complete Amateur!I will forget more about Brave baseball than you will ever know.Good Night Now.
Peanut gallery
July 27th, 2012
11:18 pm
The Braves are owned by Liberty Media.
Liberty Media doesn’t give a flip about the World Series if it costs them too much.
Frank Wren can’t say his bosses are cheap.
Skeezix
July 27th, 2012
11:22 pm
Never been a Wren fan. I just think the man is in over his head. But I’m a Braves fan first and so I hope he rises to this challenge and gets us a quality starter. Adding a top flight starter to Hudson, Minor, and Sheets could be the difference maker. Without another starter…………well, that would just be disappointing. Josh Johnson would be awesome! Medlen deserves a shot and I hope he gets it soon.
But what to do about Uggla. The man is completely lost.
What’s with signing Batista? Don’t get it.
Let us give FW credit for taking a chance on Sheets and Durbin. Both good pick ups (that I was skeptical about at first).
LostCasue
July 27th, 2012
11:24 pm
Guys it is a business and the Braves don’t have Turner backing Wren. He is working with what he has room to work. I for one am glad he hasn’t made the stupid moves. A two month rental is useless to give up ML caliber pitchers. Trade Hanson and get some of the other teams top prospects. Minor and Delgado are still kids! Let the grow up and enjoy the ride, remember 1988-89? Patience, patience, patience!
LostCasue
July 27th, 2012
11:25 pm
Enter your comments here
J-MAN
July 27th, 2012
11:26 pm
I think the Braves need 2 starters because of Hanson’s inconsistancy, to go with Minor and Jurrjens. Now we could add Medlen but we still need somebody else.
Colt
July 27th, 2012
11:29 pm
Ok, so Greinke is gone, but Wren shouldn’t stop looking, and he won’t. Did anyone see Brewers pitchers Mike Fiers tonight? He shut down the Nats, and while his record is only 4-4, his ERA is 1.77. In fact, over his last eight starts, Fiers has gone six or more innings and only given up five runs. This guy is good, and he’s gotta be affordable for Wren and Limited Liberty Media’s pocketbook. Go get him.
kral
July 27th, 2012
11:30 pm
yes sir when you call someone out who says things that they state as the gospel..you are so sexually inadequate..might wonder how you have 7 grand-children..that’s the problem frickassee..your forgot so much baseball..you now have become an authority..bless you..how dare anyone question your knowledge.I mean you know exactly how much baseball I have forgotten..well there is one thing about bb you need to remember ..if you think think you have the answers to this amazing game you are truly a fool..typical frickasee. insult someone and run