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
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445 comments Add your comment
the truth...
July 28th, 2012
12:49 am
the Braves do NOT HAVE the money to pay $20-25 million dollars for a pitcher and have him represent 25% or our payroll…………
If Wren had the money he’d do whatever it took……you guys don’t know Jack…………the days of Ted and Jane are over gang…..
Not until Liberty Media sets the Braves free will it change…………..
So you can pontificate and berate Wren and company all you want….it is what it is…..
NO RENTALS
Really?
July 28th, 2012
12:50 am
It’s all Ted’s fault. I hope that goodwill games colorizing doosh is enjoying all that worthless aol stock.
kral
July 28th, 2012
12:56 am
it is not a question of whether he made a trade or not.. my point is you do not know what he has tried to do..so well your right no trades..damn good point..really…he did not do what you consider best for the team and the overall organ..maybe..shame on him ..wish I your abilities.will check later ..sorry to run out but grandkids coming in the morning..3 and under 1..but keep on j…persistence is good
J-MAN
July 28th, 2012
12:56 am
Arent you tired of being in contention only to have a team out of steam in September.
3 years in a row this has happened.
Rockies beat us in 2009 because we didnt have enough pitching
2010 we make the playoffs but because Prado tore his oblique and D Lee and Glause were hurt along with Chipper.
2011 Our pitching sputtered out as D BLOWE kept going to the hill to lose games, and Hanson and Jurrjens were hurt.
Now in 2012 we have Huddy who is our Ace but now has a stinker game every 3 games.
Hanson now has an ERA near 5 and cant hold runners on.
Sheets has been amazing no doubt but he is still coming back from 2 TJ surgeries and its not fare to expect him to be the Ben Sheets of 2008, also cant go 100 pitches yet hopefully he will build his endurance up
Jurrjens has an ERA over 8 and has only 2 quality starts this season
Minor has an ERA over 5 and is near the league leaders in HRs allowed.
Delgado IMO is our 3rd best pitcher behing Sheets and Huddy and he is in the Minors
Teheran has an ERA over 5 in AAA
Yet after all of that your gonna tell me that the Braves dont need another starter??????
fsuboy
July 28th, 2012
12:56 am
my problem with all this . is that im tired off hearing about all these prospect we have but we never see them. sure we see them every once in a while. I think the braves will do nothing to help there teamand we might make a wildcard berth but will lose cause the team that beats us will be a team that took a chance on a trade. the cubs said today that they would eat all but 2 millions left on sorina of the cubs..sorry for the spellin.. BUT if i was the Braves i would get him and dempster to help the team.. WE dont need a untility player and bull pen help…Im tired of losing in the playoff…ITs hard to contnue to be a brave fan..I miss the days of TED..
J-MAN
July 28th, 2012
12:58 am
Arent you tired of being in contention only to have a team out of steam in September.
3 years in a row this has happened.
Rockies beat us in 2009 because we didnt have enough pitching
2010 we make the playoffs but because Prado tore his oblique and D Lee and Glause were hurt along with Chipper we were ousted quickly by the Giants.
2011 Our pitching sputtered out as D BLOWE kept going to the hill to lose games, and Hanson and Jurrjens were hurt.
Now in 2012 we have Huddy who is our Ace but now has a stinker game every 3 games.
Hanson now has an ERA near 5 and cant hold runners on.
Sheets has been amazing no doubt but he is still coming back from 2 TJ surgeries and its not fare to expect him to be the Ben Sheets of 2008, also cant go 100 pitches yet hopefully he will build his endurance up
Jurrjens has an ERA over 8 and has only 2 quality starts this season
Minor has an ERA over 5 and is near the league leaders in HRs allowed.
Delgado IMO is our 3rd best pitcher behing Sheets and Huddy and he is in the Minors
Teheran has an ERA over 5 in AAA
Yet after all of that your gonna tell me that the Braves dont need another starter??????
extremus
July 28th, 2012
1:31 am
I’m thinking that Wren is hoping that he struck gold with the cheap pickup of Ben Sheets, and that it will ease the pain of if not justify the Braves’ lack of a more cost-intensive trade for a front-line pitcher. While so far Sheets has been excellent, he’s one man in a 5-man rotation, and outside of Hudson we frankly aren’t sure what to expect on a given outing.
The real holdup here isn’t merely Frank Wren; it’s the faceless Liberty Media ownership (you know, the one out of Denver that pays their CEO more than the entire Braves roster in a year). Put Wren in charge of personnel moves with say, the Yankees’ payroll and readiness to sign big names, and maybe folks wouldn’t be complaining so much about his seeming ineptitude. But since the ownership is faceless, the only visible person most Atlanta fans have to aim their anger and frustration at is Wren. I’ll be honest; I wouldn’t want his job, because Liberty will never allow him to make the deals needed to meet fan expectations as long as they own this team.
Casey
July 28th, 2012
1:53 am
@Brooks “4. Resign bourn and McCann”
You mean re-sign not resign. If you don’t know the difference, look it up. It is basically the opposite.
Have any of you graduated from high school?
Casey
July 28th, 2012
2:08 am
For all of you morons who keep blaming Liberty Media and saying they won’t spend any money, the Braves’ payroll is higher than Washington’s. Explain that. Or better yet, explain the fact that the Phillies have the second highest payroll in MLB, more than double the Braves or Nationals. The same goes for Boston. How about explaining why the Marlins’ payroll is $40 million higher than the Braves? What about the fact that Cincinnati has a lower payroll than the Braves and a better record?
If the payroll was the only thing that mattered, then the Yankees would win every game every year and we could all stop watching.
AND STOP WHINING YOU SORRY BUNCH OF LOSERS! The Braves are the 6th best team in baseball with 63 games left. We are only 5 games behind the best team in baseball.
Jon Warren
July 28th, 2012
2:18 am
Enter your comments here
IlliniBrave
July 28th, 2012
2:18 am
What is getting old is your constant b****ing about trading away long-term future potential for a short-term rental pitcher. You wanted Dumpster the baby? And Greinke – Mr. Anxiety Disorder? You seem to want to give away the farm – aka Texiera – and yet Wren, along with most fans, does not want to go down that road again.
Give it a rest, guys (MB and Schultzie). DOB has got the story covered in a level-headed fashion, and we aren’t going to make another stupid move again.
Jon Warren
July 28th, 2012
2:25 am
Frank Wren needs to be fired, point blank, PERIOD!! He most definitely is running this team in the ground. Your only job is to make a ball club successful. He has yet to do so. We have a team that for the first time in a LONG time is capable of making it deep in October and very possibly winning a series. But its gonna take him comming off a few “Young talented guys” and some money to make it happen. We need a shortstop who can hit and lord and behold a freaking pitcher. James Shields is the #1 guy on my list. But more importantly if he doesnt make a move to get us there TERMINATED should be the letterhead on his next email!!!!!!
J-MAN
July 28th, 2012
2:40 am
Im not blaming liberty Media we have a payroll around 90 million dollars. But I do blame the use of said money.
Lowe is getting paid 10 million bucks not to pitch here.
Chipper is making 14 million (I love him to death but hes not able to give 14 million in production)
Uggla is making 13 million dollare to lead the Majors in strike outs and to hit .100 since June and to be slightly above .200 as an Atlant Brave.
So its not how much you spend its how you spend it.
I take to Burgers hold the cheese
July 28th, 2012
2:40 am
I have Trade Frank Wren for a New GM and two new sports writers ….No Trade no clue no Balls….Yes Angels got Grienke..And Wren will trade for walter Johnson oh wait he dead….well at least we 55-44 so should sweep Phillies we took Game 1 yesterday July 27…so as Pittsburgh finally gets in Playoffs we don’t
J-MAN
July 28th, 2012
2:46 am
But I do blame Frank Wren for being inefficient and lacking the courage to make a trade.
McClouth, Kawakami, Lowe and Uggla are moves he made.
But lets talk about the moves he didnt make like this winter when he should have traded Jurrjens and gotten a good reward of prospects for him, or the lack of effort to go after Grienke. I used to give Wren credit when it came to trades such as the Javier Vazquez trade and the Bourn trade but Wren has gotten gun shy when it comes to trades.
I hope he sees that he needs to go after Edinson Volquez, Josh Johnson, or James Shields.
J-MAN
July 28th, 2012
2:49 am
3 straight the Braves have been contenders only to sputter out in September…..Remember that
J-MAN
July 28th, 2012
2:49 am
3 straight years the Braves have been contenders only to sputter out in September…..Remember that
Najeh Davenpoop
July 28th, 2012
3:28 am
There are two huge differences between the current situation and the Teixeira trade.
1) Starting pitching is the biggest hole on this team right now. Offense wasn’t the biggest hole on the team when the Tex trade was made.
2) The Braves are an ace starter away from being a legit contender for the World Series. They were a lot more than just a cleanup hitter away from being a legit contender when the Tex trade was made.
The current situation is nothing like the situation back when Tex was acquired. This is the time for Wren to go all-in. Teheran, Delgado, who cares? Ship their asses out if an All Star is coming back here. This team has all the other pieces to go deep into October if they can get a starter, and the whole point of playing these games is to win a title.
najeh dappenfart
July 28th, 2012
3:55 am
Point 1,. Wrong Point 2.Almost wrong. All quit your whining… We whipped Hamels ace and right there on the heels of the Expos!!!
IlliniBrave
July 28th, 2012
3:59 am
Stupid is as stupid does. While I’m not always supportive of Wren’s moves, most of the comments here criticizing him for not giving away Teheran, Delgado, etc. for a two-month player are simply asinine.
J-MAN
July 28th, 2012
4:04 am
I never said to give up Teheran and Dlegado but if you give up 1 of them and maybe Edward Salcedo they that there would have been more that what the Angels offered for Grienke. But I think we should go all in for Edinson Volquez of the Padres. He has a low ERA he eats up innings and is top 10 in the Majors in opponent batting Avg.
Fearless Iranian Man from Hell
July 28th, 2012
4:10 am
Of course Schultz and the rest of the generic fanbase wants a panic move or a big name rental. Ben Sheets wasn’t on anyone’s radar, look at what he’s doing, that is a player you ADD to your team. Since when does a GM have to make a move to appease fans and a “writer” who never made it past bat boy status. Some of the best trades are the ones that didn’t happen. No wonder people criticize our ‘fanbase’, it’s mostly generic, sports writing in Atlanta is putrid. I didn’t hear one “expert” mention getting Ben Sheets, the guy is mint and the Braves didn’t dump any valubale prospects to get him, yet since Wren hasn’t made a panic move, all of a sudden the armchairs know best, like always. They should have fired you during the Thrashers departure Schultzie, you jumped on that BS bandwagon, it was a nice contrast to your normal neglect of hockey, you at least got paid to write about a team you never supported and pretended to care for when it left. My guess is that you secretly wear Mets underwear/panties.
mace224
July 28th, 2012
4:14 am
Braves interested in Edinson Volquez or Julio Reyes (Whatever his Legal name is). Forget him. Braves are holding their own without Simmons. He’ll return soon. Play Janish at second. His average should approach the Uggla line by then.
mace224
July 28th, 2012
4:34 am
I’m missing something. Everyone’s writing off a 25 y/o pitcher with an 11-5 record (ERA might be a little high). If all you armchair GMs want to get rid of him, I’m sure alot of teams would line up to get him. And they’d be laughing in your face afterward.
RunninWithTheDawgs
July 28th, 2012
5:26 am
Why are we so worried about our pitching when we’ve got players like Uggla and Bourne that are supposed to be generating offense and not doing the job. We all might be supprised how well our young pitching staff would do if we started producing more runs.
Mike Geigerman
July 28th, 2012
5:59 am
Can somebody get that nasty no nothing troll calling himself ” Braves Su —” off this site. It’s an embarrassment to the blog.
Jim
July 28th, 2012
6:44 am
Wren is SMART!!!! Ted Turner is not around with deep pockets anymore, NO MORE STUPID St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers deal a la Schuerholtz.
Delgado will be a superstar a la Wainright that we gave a way for NOTHING.
This team is more than one pitcher away for the World Series.
michael clifford
July 28th, 2012
6:46 am
once again the braves are ” middlers” middle of the pack boo hoo we only have 90 million to spend boldness is needed here I would trade Tommy Hanson in a heart beat he is a 4+ era pitcher at best trade hanson and delgado why is attendance down at turner field look no further than the braves mediocre record at home this season they are better on the road
michael clifford
July 28th, 2012
6:50 am
hey Casey the reason the nats have a lower payroll is that they have more players with less than 3 yrs of service so they get paid peanuts
matt
July 28th, 2012
6:58 am
Bring schuerholz back!!!!!! And Ted turner!!!!!!!! This is so bogus its disgusting. Chipper deserves a fair shot at it. Frank wren is a joke.
Charter Member
July 28th, 2012
7:12 am
I have followed and rooted for the Braves since that first season in ‘66. I have seen the highs and lows. I am glad Wren isn’t willing to overpay for a rental. I would rather go with what we have and package prospects for a bat (3B or LF) this winter.
BamaBill
July 28th, 2012
7:22 am
Medlin will have to go into the rotation, and I think we’ll see that. I also think we’ll continue to see Sheets pitch well. Remember, he’s had almost 2 years off to heal and rest, which is the expected full recovery time frame from his type of surgery. You also have to see that we are entering crunch time, have a good offense, good pitching staff (no, not great), and the players that are having off years so far are one good swing or pitch from turning that around. We don’t have to give up the farm to get a 2 month rental. IF, and that’s a possible if, Delgado builds upon his last start, Uggla gets it together mentally, and we can get a good RP to bolster our bullpen, then we have a good shot. People are acting like the Braves are the Royals..
shorty
July 28th, 2012
7:26 am
Fire Fredi and Frank ..the twins of Fail…and while we’re on the subject of pink slips give one to Bud Selig…he is just a notch above David Stern as the worst commisioner in pro sports.
GoBravos
July 28th, 2012
7:26 am
Unless you are missing that last arm to get a lock on a WS, it does not make sense to trade long-term talent for someone who is going to be a free agent at the end of the season. I am glad the Braves learned from the Teixeira fiasco. While we do need new ownership to infuse some funds and flexibility into the organization; the Braves put a good team on the field year after year.
dcb
July 28th, 2012
7:30 am
Sorry for those Braves fans who want instant gratification and fixes with “rental” players. To this long-time Braves fan who paid the bucks for MLB.com this year in order to watch the Braves play during a 3-month Maine hiatus from Georgia’s summer, it makes no sense to trade future pitching staff aces for a two-month possible flash-in-the-pan. With due respect to Chipper Jones and his desire to get to another World Series during his last year with us, stick to your Plan Wren. We’ve already seen what giving up a lot of talent to get the savior who would take us to the World Series has done for us in the past.
RealGoodDeal
July 28th, 2012
7:45 am
Uggla’s reputation-potential for a real good starter.
Fed up
July 28th, 2012
7:46 am
Frank Wren should return his paychecks from the last year. He did nothing over the off season and he is doing nothing now.
RealGoodDeal
July 28th, 2012
7:48 am
fyh
a fan
July 28th, 2012
7:49 am
GoBravos & dcb you are right on, trading for a rental is “foolish”
a fan
July 28th, 2012
7:56 am
Some of you people need help, 283 responses to Schulzts’s negative nonsense, only 23 to Sheets winning 3rd in a row.Could Greinke or Dempster have done any better? If we got either one of them and still did not win the WS you would all be crying like you have done so often over the Tex trade. Grow up!!!
Bobbymahlon
July 28th, 2012
8:17 am
Who would you rather have for a right hand pinch hitter Mejia or Pastor, one hits 300 one hits 250, one has 20+ home runs one has around 5. Well we have the one with the inferior numbers, don’t tell me we have the Pastor for backup at short because Prado proved he could fill in for a day or two.
clay
July 28th, 2012
8:19 am
Wren will make a trade everyone, just calm down.
JE
July 28th, 2012
8:25 am
look…i get everyone’s frustration, but dempster didn’t want to come here. wren did what he could regarding dempster. oh, and he picked up ben sheets (3-0, 1 ER in 3 starts) for absolutely nothing. everybody seems to have forgotten about that jewel at the garage sale.
shorty
July 28th, 2012
8:25 am
Even going after rentals is something alot of contenders do including the past few world series winners..right now Delgado and Terehan look like flashes in the pan..I want a winner in atlanta Now..waiting so Fredi and Frank can screw things up more is unacceptable.
Scott Puckett
July 28th, 2012
8:35 am
I am an old timer. I don’t agree with trading off young talent to get the short time rental of talent. I got two trades for you youngsters to research. Wainwright for Drew and Barker for Jacoby and and Brett Butler.
Nurse Ratched [aka Randal Patrick McMurphy]
July 28th, 2012
8:49 am
Liberty Media, management & coaching… ’nuff said. Would the last person to leave the stadium please, please turn out the lights… |-)
reckingball
July 28th, 2012
8:49 am
Shultz, you would not make a pimple on a bad GM’s arse.
reckingball
July 28th, 2012
8:56 am
If the Braves trade anyone, it should be Hanson.
Don’t know what they could get for him?
Trade JJ(and pay the rest of his salary) for some low level prospects, if they can get that.
Jfreak13713
July 28th, 2012
8:59 am
Lets see how the next couple of days go before we hang Wren in the town square. I’m guessing Wren understands what this team needs and will TRY to make deal to ge it. The Dempster deal was foolish anyway the guy has a career losing record with an ERA similar to Hanson. Not worth the money!
PMc
July 28th, 2012
9:02 am
I disagree that it’s terrible the braves didn’t get Grienke. Wren found Sheets for nothing, we should be celebrating that. This is a major market city with a medium market budget and fan base.
Not to mention Grienke is a head case sometimes.
There are other guys they can get to make an impact but true top of the rotation pitchers were going to have to draft or do without.