Wren on his Braves: “It’s obvious we need more offense”

If defense was so important, then why in the blue h*ll did he sign Garret Anderson?

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Obvious? Yes, you have the worst offense in baseball and no threat of a homerun.

Lowe was a must sign but Kawakami has been average to below average. Garret Anderson has been a disaster and he acts like he doesn’t want to be here. Vasquez has been ok considering what you gave up. Signing David Ross was nothing because he’s a back up catcher giving Mac a day off (which is why he needs to be pick up that 1st baseman’s mitt).

A $7 million payroll in the OF doesn’t get it done. They better get someone of value in the next month and half or Turner Field will draw less than 2 million fans this year (they are already on their way).

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geez , i hope wren does not make a move he will later regret. Everything i read concerning the braves lately is that they need to trade francouer………. for what……….. 25 years old and everyone ready to throw in the towel does not make sense to me. At the start of your article you said Wren could not fix all the Braves problems in a year … give him time

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Man, do I get tired of hearing that “protesters on the web” don’t know what they’re talking about and should sit back and let the experts take care of it. The Braves had two huge, glaring weaknesses in the offseason– the starting rotation and left field. Dunn was sitting there, available for basically peanuts, and they passed on him. For the life of me I can’t figure out why. You think Chipper wouldn’t be hitting .360 with Dunn’s power behind him? Look how he performed in front of Tex the first half of last year. It’s not rocket science. The Braves signed Anderson for $2.5 mil– they could have had Dunn for $2 mil and one year more. Is he a great outfielder? No. Is he a great power hitter? Yes.

It’s not that hard. Wren goofed this offseason, and if he sits around and waits for 2 more months to find a hitter– who will now cost the Braves prospects AND money– there won’t be a point, because with that stinker of a AAA offense they’re running out there right now, they’ll be 10 games out by July.

Blah.

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that’s great to hear

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“We might have seven guys who’ll hit 20.”

Bwaahahaha, now that there’s funny, I don’t care who ya are…

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“It’s obvious we need more offense” says Wren……Thanks Frank, I just couldn’t put my finger on the problem.

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And, can Freeman play the outfield? Kotchman is pretty darn good.

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I’ve been a High School coach for 30 years and know it’s a given that sports fans are often
otherwise intelligent people who become idiots at sporting events, but bloggers must be the dumbest people on the planet. Who needs opponents when your own fans are doing their
best to tear down everything they can about your club. Real heartwarming support.

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“It’s obvious that we need more offense”. Uh, I think that was painfully obvious last year, yet Wren brought in Anderson and that’s it. As for pitching, Lowe is the only success story. He brought in a 33 y/o pitcher used to being in a six man rotation and a 32 y/o with a sub .500 career record. And, we have a rotation of fifth starters w/o a single win among them. Those guys can’t get it done w/o lots of run support, which they don’t have. So, where has this supposed investment in pitching gotten the Braves?

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Chip… Adam Dunn signed for 2 yrs $20mm. Not sure where you’re getting comparison to GA’s contract.

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Hey Mark,

It’s sad for us REAL Braves fans, to see our team’s leadership so helpless and pathetic. Cox is hopeless, he lost this team 2 years ago. Wren’s/Scherholtz trade for Tex, will haunt this organization for years. Yeah we need more offense, we need a at least 2 more bats with pop. The sad thing is the division can be won with 86-92 wins, and we as fans don’t see the urgency from management. Trade Franbooooer, send Schafer down, and find us 2nd basemen who won’t lose us 4 games a year because of errors. Mark, we used to be the pride of the National league, now we are becoming the secret joke everybody’s laughing at.

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I think signing Garrett Anderson, Frenchy being almost useless, not having an effective batting coach (Pendleton) and poor managing (Cox) have done a lot more to tear the team down than what a few bloggers have done.

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FIRE WREN

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Oh how we’ve become instant gratification fans. Relax everyone there are real struggles going on in the world right now and baseball isn’t one of them. Wren has done a good job with a restricted payroll. We are better this year than last and the idea is to continue to improve year by year not give up tomorrow for instant gratification today. Maybe we can land a solid bat this summer but really that will not change this so dramatically that we would all of a sudden be a World Series contender. We have other issues like the bullpen and who is going to hit lead off. If we can rid ourselves of a Vet or two to land some needed help this year fine but to trade youth is panic mode for a team that isn’t going to win it all this year anyway.

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Getting swept by the Giants was the ultimate wake up call that something must be done more sooner than later. First send Schafer down and bring up Gregor Blanco. We’ll have a leadoff guy with experience. No he is not tearing up AAA but with Schafer in there it’s like having two no.9 hitters in the lineup. As far as making a deal, I would go ahead and pull the trigger with a team that has some excess offense and deal Vasquez now.
We got Tommy Hanson and Charlie Morton and Medlin is ready to assume his spot back up in Gwinnett (That’s cold) Hey but it’s the truth anyhow. This team is lousy offensively and now Chipper is reverting back to his old ways of playing no more than twice a week because he’s “gimpy”. Escobar looks down the bench at Chipper and say’s “hey that’s a good way to earn a living, I think I’m feeling a little ‘gimpy’ myself. There is no heart and fire on this team. If they don’t get it corrected soon, it’s going to be a lonnnnng summer, especially at the gate. Tune in next week: ALOHA!

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I disagree with G STATE BEN in his assertion that Kawakami has been “average to below average.” I think he’s actually pitched pretty well, all-in-all, given that he moved to a new country, playing in a new league, having NO personal knowledge of the guys he’s facing and all. I think his signing, along with Vasquez and Lowe, were terific pickups. What I question is in putting (my opinion) unnecessary money aside for Tom Glavine WITH all those signings, as well. Lesson learned, last year, sure, but it would seem we only learned HALF the lesson with that move.

Ibanez stands out as a GLARING miss, but more easily a flub, to me, was the Josh Anderson trade. We picked up WHAT for him? Josh SHOULD have been the “insurance policy” in case Schafer wasn’t ready (which he obviously isn’t). Oh, and he was speedy on the bases, as well. At LEAST if we were able to fall back on Anderson, we’d have Yunel, Kotch, Chipper, McCann as reliable bats behind him, with the streaky KJ, the non-dependable Francoeur, Garrett Anderson/Matt Diaz to come with on a nightly basis.

As it is, we have a guy (Schafer) who appears to emulate Francoeur’s plate (lack of) discipline. Prime example, last night in the 9th, with a runner on, needing THREE just to tie the game, and his only being able to – at MOST – bring in two… first swing, hacking away, and he popped out.

The kid’s TOO inexperienced to go to the plate with a 100 mph closer throwing darts to think he’ll automatically have a “fix” on that speed. He was clueless with that approach, and the LAST thing a struggling offense needs is two ‘Francoeur-like’ hackers at the back-end.

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Fans have every right to b1itch, just watch the Philly faithful at Citizens Bank Park.

Honestly, I think it’s too late simply because the upcoming June schedule is an absolute monster. 18 of the 29 games played in this month of May are against losing teams. Our record stands at 13-12 so far. The Braves can’t beat bad teams.

June’s schedule has 19 of 26 games pitting us against teams with winning records. Among them are the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, Mets, Phillies, Brewers and Reds. These are all better teams than our Braves.

In my not so humble opinion, we are about to get run over by a runaway freight train, and there is nothing Frank Wren or anybody else for that matter who can stop it.

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Voice – Trade Glavine for 3 (three) young and hungry AAA players? Where do people like you get ideas like this? Why would a team trade anything beyond a bucket of baseballs for a 43 year-old pitcher who has yet to pitch this year and is seriously considering retirement?? Why? What are you thinking?? Is your name Frank Wren or Bobby Cox?

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How about letting Greg Norton go to free up another spot on the roster. Norton is batting an anemic .107!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Mark – why can’t the Braves just completely tank one year and be patient with their prospects? Look where we’d be if we had taken our medicine two years ago and not traded for Tex. I understood the gamble, but true success will come from a replenished farm system, the same as the foundation for the 90s. Consistently trading young talent for today’s success will fail in the long run.

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Lowe is hardly the only good pitcher on the club. Jair, lowe, vasquez have all been really good. Kawakami has pitched ok for a 4th starter except for one outing. Lincecum and Johnson make a lot of teams look bad. There is a need to worry about the hitting but not the panic. Dunn we couldn’t afford. If we got Dunn we wouldn’t have gotten Lowe or Vasquez and everybody would be crying about pitching. If Yunel and Chipper are healthy then this team will be fine. Don’t give up a big bat that won’t make that big of a difference. Beat the snakes. Go Braves

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I thought he did a pretty good job given the limited income… but they are eventually going to have to address the corner outfield spots cleanup and leadoff. I don’t think it has to absolutely get done this summer because I still don’t believe they are more than an 85-88 win team and that’s 10-12 victories better than last year. That’s tough to do as it is.

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Signing Kawakami and Glavine were Wren’s two biggest mistakes. Hanson could have been plugged into the 5th spot from day one and we would have had the money to sign Dunn to play left. But, oh well, what’s done is done, I guess.

For the time being, I’d put KJ in left, release GAnderson, play Prado at second everyday, send Francoeur to AAA and start Diaz in right. Obviously it’s not an ideal situation and would downgrade us defensively somewhat, but we need offensive help more than anything right now. KJ probably has the most power on the team after Chipper and McCann, and Diaz has an .839 OPS. As a stopgap measure, both of those guys would give the outfield a little more punch until a bigger bat can be brought in.

At this point, as utterly anemic as our offense is, you’ve got to find someway to get your eight best hitters on the field.

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Kenshin Kawakami is a tomato can! He must be gotten rid of. What a horrific contract. Frank Wreck really blew it on that one.

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Ever know what it feels like to be in ” way above your head? ” ask Mr. Wren!!!!!!!!

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I think we need to wait until all star time to see where we are at. If we are more then 6 games out or so- throw the towel in early.
I would like to see the Braves get rid of Chipper and 15 million somehow. Maybe he could go soak his toe in the Yankees clubhouse and steal their money. I would love to see McCann tried at 3rd base.
The Braves also need to just leave Francoeur at the dang airport somewhere, and while there at it, handcuff G. Anderson to him.
This team has great pitching…if they are within 5 games at the allstar break, then trade for a slugger, but in the meantime, lets just all boo the hell out of the team until something happens. Seems to have helped in Philly.

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Good post, Mark. I think the job Wren did is pretty remarkable, especially given the zigs and zags this offseason (Furcal, Burnett, etc.). I do think the Braves badly miscalculated how the offense was going to perform, and it now looks like a lot of their thoughts were based on wishful thinking and not much else.

And the wishful thinking precipitated a couple of other blunders as the season got close – signing GA to play left and dumping Josh Anderson to turn the keys over to Schafer exclusively.

That leaves the Braves stuck pretty much where they are until the trade market heats up.

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Garret Anderson is a proven hitter and will hit again. I would rather see him AND Diaz in the line-up more consistently. Perhaps moving one of them to RF and perhaps send Frenchy back to the minors might help. Garrett Anderson, by the way, while no Gold Glove as a fielder, is certainly a competetent outfielder. Yes, he is in the down swing of a very good career, but they guy can still play.

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Steve get your head out of the sand.

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Is it just me or does anyone else think Pendleton is the problem? Andruw goes from 51 homers and 2nd in MVP to getting cut. Frenchy goes from the cover of SI to trade bait as a back-up. The young guns never pan out once they get to TP.

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Wren says what??….Wren signed the aging Anderson to beef up the outfield from an offensive standpoint. It hasn’t, plus he loafs on defense. Can it be more obvious that our centerfielder wasn’t ready for the big time? We all wish Frenchy well, but the fact is he still isn’t able to do his job (offensively). Now it is almost June and Wren tells us we got offense issues with the outfield. HEY WREN! WE KNEW THAT BEFORE THE SEASON STARTED! Mark,this is just more proof of Wren’s incompetence.

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The thing that irks me the most is that we had a chance to get Adam Dunn, a 40 hr a year guy and Wren was not interested. It makes me sick to my stomach every time he hits a bomb for the nats. Way to go on that one!

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Mark – I disagree on Kawakami. The MLB hitters are really hitting him. His fastball isn’t fast, and his movement isn’t so great either. For that contract, we should be getting more talent. Especially for a team where dollar allocation is precious.

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We could trot Claudell Washington out there to do what Francoeur has done.

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Give BC enough big boppers (40 Homers) and he is a great manager. Give TP any number of average to abopve average hitters and he will ruin all their numbers. When your players are not hitting, the first thing you do is look at the hitting coach. Tradeing for a big bat will solve nothing unless you keep TP away from them. He would screw up Ted Williams swing.

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“The offensive players who were available this winter would have been hard to put into a National League outfield on an everyday basis,” Wren said. “As we were trying to improve our pitching, we had our eye on defense as well. It was a balancing act.” – Frank Wren

I’m sorry but this is total BS. Dunn was dismissed because he is a poor defensive outfielder. Through yesterday he has made two errors. Right now, who wouldn’t trade those two errors for 16 HRs 42 RBI and an OPS of 1.026.

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Its funny how everyone on this board “faults” TP for all of our bad hitters, yet doesn’t credit him for any of our solid hitters. Keep in mind that TP is the only hitting coach that McCann has ever had in the pros. I’m not saying TP is perfect, but I don’t think he’s to blame either. Also, TP has as many batting titles and MVPs as the rest of the Braves starters combined (or the same as Chipper, same thing)

Mark, lets get your thoughts on TP…

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What the Braves need is an entire new outfield in order to have a real chance at being competetive for the division title. Some team (whether Mets or Phils) will go on a run at some point during the summer, and the Braves will have no shot with the 3 outfielders they have.

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The fact of the matter is that it doesn’t matter if this team adds Albert Pujols, it is not going to compete in August and September with the Mets and Phils.

It is time to cut bait and chalk this season up as lost. We do not need to try and add veterans, but another young stud starting pitcher and some young relievers who throw in the high 90’s.

The nucleus of McCann, Hernandez, Schaeffer, Freeman, Heyward, Hanson and Jurrgens has the making of a nice long run. We need to be supplementing that talent right now with other young talent.

We could get some really good prospects for Lowe and Vasquez. It is time for the Braves to give up on this notion of being “competitive.” It’s fool’s gold. That is why Elvis Andrus and Saltalamaccia are not with us. We need to trade valuable veterans for stud youngsters. It’s time for the Braves to be sellers and do what is right for the organization.

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Speed never goes into a slump.

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Joe, I think you are right “The nucleus of McCann, Hernandez, Schaeffer, Freeman, Heyward, Hanson and Jurrgens has the making of a nice long run.” I totally agree! But I don’t think that we throw the towel in so quick. Granted, we do need to make a move for a power stick.
Michael – the blame is on TP…as for McCann only having one hitting coach, that’s not true! The kid was a hitting machine in high school. His brother (Brad) was a hitting machine. Why? His dad, Howie!
I have had Howie give me a few hitting and pitching lessons back in high school (about 6 or 7 years ago or so) But you have to believe in pure talent! Pujols didn’t get to where he is today from someone telling him how to hit. It comes as second nature to a natural! I think McCann has the “natural” ability.

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Mark,I bet you would be a great attorney. I would not hesitate to hire you. I just don’t agree with Wrens miss judgement. Your 12 year old daughter could do better, well?

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For ATL Chop-
“Natural hitters?” ATL Chop, your own comments disprove your thesis. You say he’s a natural, yet you give all the credit to another hitting coach. Again, you’re just not giving credit to TP. And please go re-read my previous comment. TP is the only hitting coach he’s had in MLB. I never said TP was the only coach, ever.

And Dave 55- Would you prefer to get bad hitters to make coaches from? TP was one of better hitters of his generation. For you to say that all of that is irrelevant doesn’t make much sense. You have to “know” good to “teach” good.

Mark, please chime in here and straighten these guys out on TP.

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Mark:

Mentioned this on the DOB blog and a few thought it was interesting…

With the idea of limited funds and trying not to give away the farm to get some help, what do you think about the idea of looking to make a trade with the Reds for Micah Owings?? Not for pitching, mind you, but with the idea of putting him in a corner outfield??

You would have to believe we wouldn’t have to give up that much to get him; his salary is only about $400K; and he’s a local boy to the ATL….

The Reds are looking for another outfielder and some pitching… How about Frenchy and someone like Jo Jo, or Morton, etc… for Owings?? And, then we’re not trading away a young outfielder who still may have potential for an older rental as is usually the case as Owings is all of what, 25??

Owings is a true hitter that managers have always struggled to put in the outfield because his pitching was so good… I mean, he’s a lead pinch hitter for goodness sakes… He rips it in limited at bats – I can only imagine what he’d do if he had a daily opportunity to rip it…

And, if the experiment doesn’t work, we’ve got a pretty good young pitcher to fall back on and not have to just drop for the next year…

Thoughts????

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I owe you a LOT because you taught me how to blog and gave me a greater appreciation for the SHRIMP SAMMICH. I have twice asked you to join me for a delicious SHRIMP SAMMICH but you continue to IGNORE my pleas – almost like Francoeur ignores suggestions to take an occasional pitch. Well, one more time (you know who you are) I invite you to meet me for a tasty SHRIMP SAMMICH. We can talk some baseball, too. Your thoughts on Schafer and Francoeur mimic my own. Hoping to see you soon for a delicious SHRIMP SAMMICH.

Julia

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Michael, let me set YOU straight on TP. The results speak for themselves. The Braves have had one of the least productive offenses in MLB for a few years now. The players that have been successful don’t go to TP for help, they go elsewhere. And having been a good hitter doesn’t mean you can teach it. I certainly like and respect TP as a former player that meant a lot to the organization, but that doesn’t mean he gets a free pass to be the hitting coach for life.

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THE ONE THING THAT I HAVE NOTICED IS THE DEARTH OF RH BATS IN THE ORGANIZATION…I DON’T KNOW WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT THAT, BUT WE NEED TO RESTOCK OUR ORGANIZATION WITH A FEW RH STICKS….BUT I’M THINKING LONG-TERM, NOT A RENTAL…IT SEEMS LIKE THERE ARE MORE LH BATS OUT THERE THAN EVER BEFORE…DUNN HAS GREAT STATS, BUT HE WASN’T WORTH THAT MUCH MONEY WHEN WE WERE ALREADY STACKED WITH LH BATS…SHEFFIELD WAS A QUESTIONABLE CHANCE…I WISH WE HAD WENT HARDER AFTER NELSON CRUZ

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I think a new hitting coach would go a long way in helping some of the guys reach their old form. It’s worth a try, and no minor league prospects will have to be given up for a new hitting coach who has paid their dues in the minors.

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Obviously, ’something’ isn’t working for this team but I believe it goes deeper than just the lack of timely, power OR hitting in general. Are these Braves really a TEAM? I just don’t see any ongoing continuity of play or group chemistry between the players as a team.

Fundamentals? Weak. (Reflects on leadership or lack thereof). Until the TEAM buys into being a team, another bat or two won’t solve the main problem or so it seems to me.

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Have you heard the news? The Red Sox wanted to trade Jason Bay to the Braves for Francoeur, Buddy Carlyle and Jeff Bennett. But Wren turned them down. He is holding out for Big Papi! You know how he loves those aging DHs that are in decline. You know he does as evidenced by his signing of Garrett Anderson.

Seriously, how can he say with a straight face about over the winter stuff when he said they have to think about defense too. He’s either a liar or incompetent. He signed Anderson for goodness sake, who was a DH for most of the last 2-3 years. As most of us can tell by his horrible attempts at fielding this year. One game he could have made a catch if he had just bent over at the waist, but he didn’t and several runs scored because he didn’t. Diving for a ball? Forget about it!

That wouldn’t be so bad if he was absolutely rakin’, or hitting for power. But he’s a .250 singles hitter. Has ZERO home runs Frankie. .250 singles hitters are a dime a dozen. The bottom line is he is done as a player. A Raul Mondesi, except even when Mondesi was a Brave he could still field. Mondesi did the right thing, saw he couldn’t play any longer and gave it up. Do the same thing Garrett. Except you won’t. You’ll continue to draw a check and drag down this team.

Bad sign FW. BAD SIGN!

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i am with you B-man………buy some tickets go to a game and cheer for this team

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Need some help, please. If the Braves are 27th in home runs, why is Bobby still managing like we need a 3 run homer to win the game? Why does Chipper use his dad and Frenchy consult the Texas Rangers’ hitting coach, rather than Terry Pendleton? And, why doesn’t Wren tell the fans the truth…”our owners are not going to spend the money because they are just waiting out the clock to be IRS legal with the stock swap”? For the past 4 years we have been average and will continue to be so until new management. Peace.

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Grotesquely overpaid bunch, as in all major league sports. I wouldn’t pay a penny to see them play.

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B-Man

IIRC it was JS not Frank who pulled the string on the Tex deal..other than that I agree with ya

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Ridiculous that we’re less than 4 games out of first, and folks are ready to “chalk up” the season as a loss and prep for next year; get real.

And ‘DEVIL WEARS PRADA’ the reason we don’t bring Tommy Hanson up sooner is because we GAIN an extra (affordable) year of his services before he’s eligible for free agency by waiting.

Besides, we haven’t lacked with quality starting pitching; Lowe, JJ, Vasquez and KK have kept us in most of their starts. If Tommy Hanson were a power-hitting corner outfielder, I’d agree with you; but he’s not.

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Amen to Maestro in reference to Chipper and Escobar getting paid these high salaries and sitting on the bench “gimpy”. It is a proven fact that Chipper is not going to play over 4-5 games in a row and then come up with something hurting and here lately Escobar is the same way. Wren should watch the enthusiam that Elvis Andrus has with Texas and how he loves to play, run, and is a heck of a fielder too. By the way Salty is not playing that bad either and Harrison is going good and they tell me the best player in the giveaway to Texas is still in the minors. The braves don’t know how to make a decent trade. The only one in recent years was Renteria to the tigers. Right on Maestro.

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I’ve got it!!! Send Glavine to the Rangers for Josh Hamilton.

Wait, I have another good idea — Greg Norton to the Cardinals for Albert Pujols.

*pondering thoughtfully*

Oh — and Kotchman to the Phillies for Ryan Howard. We could throw in Frenchy to REALLY seal the deal.

Presto!! Problem solved.

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Why does nobody look at the injury bug we are currently dealing with. Mac came off a 15 day stint and has been great since coming back but once he is back, Chipper is playing on one leg and Yunel has been out for the past week. this team is fine if they can get over the little nagging injuries. they are right in the mix of things. another bat would be nice but all of this freaking out needs to stop there is a lot of baseball left to play.

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Ok, I was giving Wren the benifit of a doubt until now! This is his quote: “The offensive players who were available this winter would have been hard to put into a National League outfield on an everyday basis,” Wren said.

Well Frank, Here are the games played for the last few years for Adam Dunn:
2004 = 161
2005 = 161
2006 = 160
2007 = 152
2008 = 158

Looks to me like you could pencil in Adam Dunn to play everyday!!

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A vast majority of bloggers are totally clueless. They make statements without checking even the simplest of facts. Kawakami started slow but he has brought his ERA down to 4.73. He is 2-3 in May with a 3.03 ERA. Yet idiots in the blogsphere are already labeling him a disaster after two months of MLB experience. Vasquez has a 3.80 ERA and yet many are unsatisfied. Lowe has been outstading. Yet people are still complaining that Wren did not fix all the problems. Wren’s signings this year have been very good overall. The bottom line is that there are two players that are absolutely killing this team and they were both farm products: Schafer and Frenchy. Now, I was never a fan of handing Schafer the CF job but he won it in Spring Training by raking like crazy (can’t fault Wren for that). And you can’t fault him either for sticking with Frenchy to this point (the guy is 25, has a ton of talent and showed promise again during Spring Training). Sadly, neither one is panning out and we have to make changes at both of those positions. Unfortunately, we are not going to be able to address those needs until the trade deadline and, by then, we may be out of it. However, if we are not out we will have a ton of trade chips to play with. We have a wealth of MLB ready starting pitching and that is usually the hottest commodity at the deadline (Lowe, Kawakami, Vasquez, Jurjens, Medlen, Hanson, Reyes, Glavine, Hudson). Not to mention Frenchy, whom I fear will no longer be a Brave come July. All in all, we are in pretty good shape for the next few years and, if we manage to keep it together for another month, we may be ok this year… may…

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TP’s not taking the at bats. If you are going to blame him for Frenchy and Schafer, then you have to give him credit for McCann, Escobar, Diaz, and Infante. If you watch Frenchy, he gets himself out (opposing pitchers must love to pitch against him). Andruw was the same his last year with ATL. How can you coach someone who won’t listen/learn and adjust– that was the problem with Andruw and now Frenchy. Blaming TP is like blaming public safety personnel everytime a habitual criminal, despite efforts at rehabilitation, repeats the same mistake again and again.

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Oh!God here we go again, Failurecoure, cannot play his own damn position much less CF!!! and some of you Gwinnett County Homers need to get off the dudes jockstrap, your nose is turning Brown!!! Goddammit This team sucks hell no don’t go to Turdner Field, pay your Mortgage instead.

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don’t know how much truth may be to it but on mlb rumors, starks reports the braves are interested in bringing back derosa, and he suggests they could look to jim edmonds, even if they got 85 percent of what did for the cubs last yr, it would be more than what their getting out there now, just hope when wren does decide to do something the teams not 8 or so games out.

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Send Francoeur & Reyes and Medlen to Washington for Dunn.

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Re: Garrett Anderson, he has always looked/played like he’s disinterested. That’s not new in Atlanta. Now, why the Braves thought it was a good idea to sign him to fix their OF problem is beyond me. He could look like baseball is pure torture if he at least had a prayer of hitting the ball over the fence.

Re: Heyward, those advocating the call-up should take another look at Jordan Schafer because that’s what Heyward would be doing against major league pitching today.

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… and Nick Swisher pitching.

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I can see it now: Micah Owings starting in left field, Mike Hampton in center, Rick Ankiel in right.

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Mark, that would actually be a more productive OF than the currrent Anderson, Schafer and Francine!

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i was scolded earlier this year, just a few weeks ago, when i said that i had heard, from an inside source, they were looking to move flyball frenchy, or kelly johnson, but i’m here to tell ya, look for a move to happen sooner than later, not matter what wren says…

at the time it was going to be for some solid relief pitching, but they didn’t realize they had made the mistake of keeping strikeout schafer instead of josh anderson. and they are EXTREMELY disappointed on frenchy, not only his lack of production, but his little attitude he has come up with. just watch his expressions,they tell the whole story.

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I was one of those who thought they needed Ibanez. But thought he was too pricey for his previous production and getting on in years. Can’t honestly say I foresaw what he is doing. No way! But I don’t think the Braves can give up on Francouer. At the time I thought letting Anderson go to Detroit was not a good business decision. More veteran. Could have sent Schafer down for development and brought him up if A failed and Schaffer performed. Now they are stuck. They must do something either in center or left. Left is an aging veteran (G Anderson) and a platoon player (Diaz) who actually would be an upgrade to be somewhere every day- left, right, etc. Francouer has at least shown the ability to succeed. If he leaves, then they will have to plug a youngster in there. No need to panic. Got to attempt to succeed now without mortgaging the future. Do nothing rash. Only 3 games out. Panic leads to bad decisions. Period

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So far it looks like Colorado, Arizona, Houston, Pittsburgh, Chicago (WS), and Oakland are the most likely candidates for getting an OF bat, maybe add Cleveland and Baltimore to the list here soon. That’s a lot of options really. Let’s give these teams a couple more weeks to fall on their face; then we pick them apart. Devious – I love it!

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I’d like to just see some accountability, I mean with jordan and francine’s struggles send them down, their grown we think, either they’d work hard and get their jobs back or sit down there, no crying in baseball just business, bring someone up, if they do well use them awhile, but sometimes you just wanna see booby shake things up, with this stale offense. what could it hurt to bring up b.jones and in a year we hope, can see possible heyward,freeman and co. I hope any deal doesn’t include cody johnson though he may not have the best avg but puts up the numbers, could be somewhat like dunn one day. just can’t be buried in the race by the allstar break,

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Hoss is Ova-Rated – You must not not s*** about hitting to think Chipper is over-rated. When he is healthy, he finds away to at least go 1-3 against every pitcher in the game. No matter if it’s Santana, Halladay or a younger Randy Johnson. What an moron!!

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Anyone who does not think Terry Pendleton need to be made head coach of the Braves is just a hater and a racist who don’t know nothing about baseball. That is what wrong with this whole city. Only coward and racists hide behind they computers and call for a man to lose his job. Pendleton could be both the batting coach and the head coach. TP!!

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Why don’t we trade for a speed guy in the outfield, since the power guys will be hard to get. What about Juan Pierre who will be available when Manny returns (he wants out of the dodgers). Dodger’s may cover some of the cost since that’s a lot of $ for a backup outfielder. He’s been the star of my fantasy team the last few weeks.

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I can’t tell if Pendleton and Vick supporter is serious or not. I really hope he’s not.

Great article, Mark. It’s quite obvious that this offense is lacking. It’s starting to become more obvious that coaching is a problem. I hope your article on TP is tough and honest. It seems Atlanta sports writers aren’t keeping the coaches accountable, asking them tough questions, etc. I think because after 14 years, Bobby’s been immortalized.

I hate how everyone’s blaming Frank Wren and calling for his job. Given the circumstances, he’s doing a great job.

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It is fantasy to think that all the guys you name are legit 20 dinger bats. CJ when healthy. McCann. After that, Anderson hasn’t hit 20 since 2003. Francoeur hit 29 once, then fell way off. Kotchman’s all-time high is 14. KJ’s high is 16, which he is unlikely to match as a lefty platooner playing shaky defense. Yunel’s high is 10. It defies logic to think all these guys are suddenly going to blossom into 20 HR threats. Not without roids.

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Who’s this Glavine guy in rehab.Can he play CF or RF? If not, who cares when he toes tha’ rubba’.One thing I do know, sun of a gun yusta could lay down a bunt with runners on.Now if he could hit maybe 270, knocks of around 15,along with the gratuitous bunt from time to time, put him in coach.

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Ok the complaints about vasquez are silly he’s pitched well but without run support alot of pitchers tend to be less aggressive when the have no help. As for the outfield. Mark Derosa can play just about anywhere so he fills multiple holes. But my question is why isn’t anyone bringing up Carlos Lee. The Astros are terrible and have no chance in th NL Central. They need young pitching and thats the one thing we have.

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Oh and PD I like the Pierre proposal but I don’t think the way he’s playing now that the Dodgers would be willing to let him go.

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GTSteve-Where did you get info that CW was on the white stuff? I lived next door to CW . His kids played with my kids and I rode back and to games with him. He has a beautiful family and would go out of his way to be nice to everyone. I don’t believe a word you said.

Does it make you feel big, are a man or something to say something so stupid. If you have facts are etc. produce it. I bet you didn’t even know him except seeing him on the field. Get a life.

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After hearing how Schafer was a raking machine before the season started and actually earned his spot over Josh Anderson, I have to ask: What the heck happened to him? I can understand him playing somewhat poorly because he’s a rookie and all, but I hear he was great pre-season. So if he bats now how he batted then, we’d be alot better, and if he batted then how he bats now, we’d still have Josh Anderson, and again, be alot better. But then again, I guess Francoeur had a great start too…weird. I hope Schafer isn’t messed up for life because of this season.

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If the braves have a runner on first with less than two outs, the braves should make Frenchy and Shaffer stand there and take pitches till they walk or take third strike. do not let them swing at any pitch

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Frank wren was fired from baltimore doin same lousy thing to bradley dear….But since he clueless as Bobby cox n his friends TP why should he worry..better idea fire bobby cox n TP and get new coach’s n soon we hear bobby in jail after beatin his wife up….if we had different coach in 90’s we could had 6 world series rings..like we had the fellow who coachin detroit we would!We need a new coach if chipper is cryin oh i hurt me money hand well Trade him if u trade frenchy he go some place and hit near 340 avg. then folks here will say Oh wren u goof again,

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Mark, Is Bobby even aware that his offense blows chunks? Why isn’t Bobby even held the slightest bit accountable for his teams total lack of offensive effort? At least 1 coach needs to go, and we all know who that is, to at least show the fans that the Braves might be trying to work on their ridiculous offense.

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My only thing is that if and when this trade comes that we do not give away the house for a rental player. I say it is time to get rid of the Steve Avery of the 2000’s decade Reyes. Just add him to any trade just to get him off the roster. A change of scenery could to him some good

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The Braves should have recognized by now that Terry Pendleton is the problem. They need a hitting instructor more than they need to make a trade. Look what happened to Andrew, now Jeff and some others have not been as good since Terry has been the hitting instructor.. I say REPLACE TERRY PENDLETON now not latter.

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So you admit the Braves can’t hit at all this season? So then why don’t you start calling out people like TP instead of being cowards and caring more about your status around Turner Field?

GET SOME BALLS AJC WRITERS!!

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Worst OF in Baseball in terms of offensive production and whose fault is that? Who placed all his bets on a Right Fielder whose skills have clearly been in decline since the latter half of the 2007 season? Who rushed a clearly overmatched punk into the starting CF job, when he is clearly not ready? Who thinks a journeyman outfielder (Diaz) who even though he sometimes hits for average is a legitimate everyday starting outfielder? Yes, he deserves some credit for trying to patch together a viable starting staff but two things can be equally true as they are in this case- Wren deserves all the scorn he can get for the pathetic group that forms this team’s outfield. It is the worst in baseball, it is embarassing and the blame should be placed squarely on his shoulders for trying to get by with this sub-par group. Anyone possessing a hint of knowledge and objectivity who saw this collection of players prior to the beginning of the season could see that they would have problems. He built this team on a foundation of wishing and hoping and it is now crashing down upon him as the house of cards it is and always was.

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Personally, I have no fault with the way Frank Wren has rebuilt the Braves. Rightfully so, he gave Franceour a chance to prove that he can be the kind of player we all hope he can be. However, reality has set in. I’ve watched pretty much every Braves game the last 4 years (I get the MLB Ticket here in San Francisco). Franceour kills rallies. Too many to not take notice. Plus he is no longer a power hitter.

Also, I’m glad the Braves didnt spend money in the off season on those left handed free agent hitters. The Braves need right handed power. It would have been preferrable if Franceour could have been a source of that. However he isnt. Last year, other than Manny Ramariz (which I advocated signing as a free agent), there werent any other viable right handed boppers on the market. Signing Ibanez and Dunn at the time did not seem like good moves. Ibanez is off to a great start, however I would like to see if he can maintain this pace for the whole year. At his age, he is susceptible to injury as well.

The Braves pitching will be fine. Right now there is added pressure on the pitching because of our inability to score runs right now. I’m ok with Wren being patient to make the right deal for a power right handed bat. With the way the economy is, teams are going to be more willing to dump payroll than in times past.

Again, if the Braves dont bring up Glaviine and decide dump Franceour soon, then that is $5.5 mil in potential savings that could go towards acquiring a right handed power bat. Give Medlen a chance to be that 5th starter. And in another month or so (when the season has passed the a point where this year will not count towards Tommy Hanson being eligible for arbitration), then I would be ok with bringing him up if Medlen isnt able to earn the 5th starter’s position.

This is an important time for the Braves to make smart decisions. I understand keeping the door open for Glavine because of the uncertainty of the starting rotation at the beginning of the season of being able to produce and stay healthy. We are passed that point now. Medlen made adjustments not only between the 1st and 2nd start, but also during his second start as well. After that rocky 2nd inning, he retired the last 12 batters he faced. That shows potential and ability there. Give the kid a chance to show what he can do over the next few starts. Tell Glavine that he needs a few more starts in Triple A to show that he can go more than 5 innings. That will give Medlen a few starts to convince some of you skeptics. If Medlen proves himself, then I would suggest either releasing Glavine, or trading him if he was willing to play for another team. If Medlen were to regress and falter, then perhaps give Glavine a chance. I still stand by my feeling that the way to go would be to give Hanson a chance if Medlen falters. However, I do understand why Wren would feel differently. Regardless, the move is to give Medlen a few more starts.

I feel that Wren went about the right course on rebuilding the pitching staff first. It is much easier to find a big bat than to find a stud pitcher. Let’s see how Wren handles fixing the power outage that is our offense. Getting that big right handed bat will have a domino effect.

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Mark, glad to hear you say Bobby is cognizant of what’s going on, but I still have a hard time believing it…..The cool thing about this years team despite the fact that the pitching has been decent, is that the Braves lack of power is more than compensated by their lack of speed, lack of a winning attitude & lack of coaching…Home game ticket sales should be brisk.

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Line up
Lofton
Kotchman
C Jones
McCann
Escobar
Infante
Schafer
Pitcher

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Mr. Bradley,

Wren made some good moves to solidify the starting rotation, but suspect moves with rest of the line up. Here are several points that I need your insight on:

With all the Front Office experience that the Braves have, how’s it possible that they should have left Spring Training with Schafer as the only option for the CF spot? He played in AA all of last season, of which, he missed 50 games. Even though he performed well in Spring Training, they had to know that the regular season is a completely different animal.

Can we get the names of those seven players on the Braves’ roster that can hit 20 homeruns? (Batting practice does not count). If they’re capable of hitting 20 this season, then they should have had at least 20 last season, regardless of where they played.

Besides Chipper and Mac, no such player exist on the Braves roster!

The Braves had a better record last season after 47 games, and look at how that ended. How is it that you expect better results this season? The starting pitching will only carry you so far, and then reality of a poorly conceived roster will set in.

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Sorry, meant to say “Mark”.

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The Braves are in too deep a predicament to solve this year. To land any of the players mentioned on the poll would require giving up too much talent at this point in the season. But if they wait until deeper into the season when other teams become more desperate, they’ll be too far out of the race for it to matter.

A lot of folks on this blog realized over the winter that this team – as currently built – isn’t likely to reach the postseason. What’s more, it will take a lot more than one fix to get this team to October. Trading 2-3 good minor league players for Matt Holiday who will walk at the end of the year will simply be the Texiera deal all over again.

If Wren really wants to make a move to spark the offense that would have a deep and lasting impact, the best thing he could do is NOT offer Cox a contract extension. This would be much more impactful than renting a player for 6 months. Once Cox is out, the days will be numbered for Pendleton and the rest of the coaches.

It is these guys who have really been hampering any progress the last few years. With maybe 3 exceptions, no one in this lineup seems able or willing to execute a bunt to move over a runner, put the ball in play to bring in a runner from 3rd, or be willing to swipe a base. As poorly as this team hits, its completly ridiculous to not play more small ball on those occasions runners DO get on base.

Bottom line: nothing changes with this team’s run of mediocrity until Cox is gone.

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We could make a big-time deal, but even getting a sneak good player like Seth Smith (who is rotting on the bench in Colorado), would be a great and inexpensive improvement.

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I wonder if Oddibe McDowell is available

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It’s a guy you’ve probably never heard of, and I really hadn’t before this season, but he’s putting on one heck of a show over in KC. His name is Alberto Callaspo. His minor league line of .317/.369/.436 isn’t too impressive, and his major league line of .283/.338/.374 is even more unimpressive. He does play decent enough defense and can play 2nd, 3rd, SS, LF, or RF, and he does walk more than he strikes out. What I do know is that he’ll be a consistent MLB producer because of his contact rate. He puts the ball in play 84% of the time compared to the MLB average of 69%. When you’re putting the ball in play that much, you’re going to get hits. You don’t have to get lucky. Sending Francoeur, someone that the Royals (against all reason) value, along with another minor league infield prospect, like a Diory Hernandez, J.C. Holt, or Van Pope, and a relief pitcher like a Luis Valdez or Mariano Gomez would probably net the Braves Alberto Callaspo.

So far, I really haven’t fixed anything. I’ve slightly upgraded the 2B position but our outfield is still crap. We’ve got a vacancy in RF, which Diaz and Kelly Johnson could most undoubtedly fill more adequately than Francoeur, but we’ve still got a long way to go and Garret Anderson is STILL our every-day left fielder. Here comes the big part. And I mean big. Blockbuster, we’re talking here. And I’ll tell you what it is.

Carlos Quentin. There, I said it. Yes, I’m crazy. I just suggested we try to pry a guy who in 130 games last year hit .288/.394/.571 with 36 HR, 26 2B, posted an OPS+ of 148, scored 96 runs, drove in 100 runs, and received 41% of the voting share for AL MVP even though he was out for the last month of the season. Oh yeah, he’s also only 26 years old and isn’t yet arbitration eligible, so he makes the league minimum. Can you think of a more difficult player to acquire in a trade?

Quentin in Atlanta? Ain’t the craziest idea I’ve ever had.

Well, probably, but there aren’t many. The good news is this is his last pre-arbitration year. He’ll get more pricey each year from 2010 to 2012 when he’s eligible to become a free agent. He’s not represented by Scott Boras, though, so signing him to an extension that locks him up long-term and/or controls the cost of his arbitration years isn’t out of the equation (which makes the proposition of moving him less desirable for the White Sox). With the back-story complete, I’ll attempt to answer the question, “What’ll it COST, Man?”.

The answer: a lot. As always, it starts with a pitcher. In this case, seeing as they’re trying to win right now, it’d have to be a MLB ready pitcher. And I don’t see him being moved without Tommy Hanson or Jair Jurrjens involved. Maybe you use Kris Medlen or Charlie Morton to start the package, but without Hanson or Jurrjens, I think [White Sox GM] Kenny Williams probably hangs up the phone. And the White Sox don’t even listen unless they’re improving their team right now, so the fun doesn’t stop with one of our two best young pitchers. Next, you give them something to replace the pop they’re missing with Quentin. Barbaro Canizares was born the be a DH, and he could probably even handle left at US Cellular Field. He’s probably the next piece of the deal, since the Braves have no use for a DH. We’re still not there, though. Helping the White Sox offensive issues is the next step, and they’re having problems producing at 2B and 3B. Alexei Ramirez can play 3B, SS, or 2B, but Kelly Johnson could plug one of the 2B or SS holes, and he’s still a valuable offensive player who is sought after by many clubs. The acquisition of Callaspo along with the reality of Omar Infante returning in a matter of months and Martin Prado as a serviceable utility infielder makes Kelly Johnson expendable from the Braves organization’s standpoint. So, we’re at Kelly Johnson, Barbaro Canizares, and one of Jurrjens and Hanson for Quentin. In order to make this deal work, the White Sox are going to need more to help them win now. A reliever, perhaps. The two I mentioned for the Callaspo trade, Valdez or Gomez, would be good candidates. Send the one you didn’t send to Kansas City to Chicago for Quentin.

Finally, in order to sort out some organizational depth and blockage problems while sweetening the deal for both sides, send Gorkys Hernandez, our 3rd best position player prospect who plays a blocked position (by Jordan Schafer) to Chicago and Chicago sends Dayan Viciedo, a young (19 years old), Cuban 3B prospect who plays a position that will eventually be blocked by a combination of Alexei Ramirez, Chris Getz, Kelly Johnson, and their top prospect, Gordan Beckham.

So, the Braves net Dayan Viciedo and Carlos Quentin while the White Sox net one of Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson, Barbaro Canizares, Kelly Johnson, one of Luis Valdez and Mariano Gomez, and Gorkys Hernandez.

On the other front, the Kansas City front, that is, the Braves give up Jeff Francoeur, one of Luis Valdez and Mariano Gomez (so they’ll both ultimately be gone), and one of Diory Hernandez, J.C. Holt, and Van Pope and net Alberto Callaspo.

Overall, the Braves team looks like this:
LF – Quentin
CF – Schafer
RF – Diaz /B. Jones or G. Anderson
1B – Kotchman
2B – Callaspo
3B – Chipper
SS – Escobar
C – McCann

From: http://capitolavenueclub.com/?p=236

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Terrence Who????? And I think this is May, not July. I agree with MB, and Wren, as a couch potato coach, gotta fix pitchin first. Y’all didn’t really think this would all get done in one year, did you??

GO BRAVES!!!

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Good post as always, Mark, but I disagree with you on one thing.

You say “At the risk of sounding like Frank Wren’s defense attorney, there’s only so much that a GM can fix in one offseason”.

That isnt exactly true. While this isnt the economics of 1990 anymore, John S made this team from a 97 loss laughingstock, to a World Series particpant in one year. Frank has made some good moves, (Javy V, Lowe), and some that havent worked out. (Anderson, and KK). I definitely think we need to get another bat, if we are going to be the wild card team that every sportswriter on your staff, and every fan of the Atlanta Braves, thinks we can and should be.

Of the names you have listed in your choices, I’d love to see Adam Dunn. Yes, he strikes out a ton, but he is the prototypical cleanup, 30-40 homer, 90-100 RBI guy, that can really protect Chipper in the lineup. Dunn can also serve as the dangerous hitter, on the days Chipper cant go, or Mccann has to rest.

Except for KK, the Braves have pitched very well so far this year. If Tom Glavine comes back, and is the Tom Glavine we all know he can be, even at age 43, this team has enough pitching to snare the wild card, at least. It doesnt matter how much pitching we have, if we cant score enough runs to win.

Frank needs to do something, and fast. While the west coast is always tough, we have played the bottom feeders of their division this week, and look how it worked out. Four setbacks in a row so far. To think of us playing the “Big Boys” in June and July. (Yankees, Mets, Phils, Red Sox, et al), with this offense is downright scary. We arent going to hold all those lineups down offensively every night, so we need to score more runs. I hope to see something done in the next couple of weeks, and that Frank wont wait until July 31, by which time it may be too late, and the playoff spot position will have eluded us.

Mitch

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Why wait FW find someone and pull the tigger. The longer you wait the less time that impact player as to make an impact. Figure out who you want and get it done. I have been an braves fan since the early 80’s. I love to watch braves baseball but this lack of production has got to change and change now. Get a deal done FW or I know that I will be just one of the many calling for your head.

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Mark, one point I didnt see you address in your post. What, if anything would you do with Jeff F? Would you just keep him for this year, get another bat, and let him go at the end of the season, or would you trade him now in a package for whatever we can get for him. Clearly, this team has a major offensive hole in right field, with how Jeff’s numbers are right now.

I will be very interested to see your thoughts on this.

Mitch

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I think the braves will be fine in the future. A year or two from now, the lineup could look like this> LF Jordan Schaefer, CF Gorkys Hernandez (watch out for hernandez, he’s going to be a special player) RF sorry Jeff Francouer but I don’t care what nobody says you have to put Jason Heyward there, we’re talking about a future hall of fame type player & that’s all I got to say about that. If the braves get rid of Hernandez and Heyward they will seriously regret it. 3B Chipper Jones until the future comes along (he can play as long as he want to there, he’s earn that. SS Yunel Escobar is going to be an allstar one day , wait and see. 2B Martin Prado needs a shot at this position, he would be great. 1B Freddie Freeman or Cody Johnson man these guys have power. C Brian McCann a future hall of famer. Build a pitching staff around Hanson & Jurrjens & man you got a nice future. I love you Bobby Cox for what you have done over the years for the braves but I feel it’s time for you to move on & give Terry P a chance to manage this team, I think he would do fine since no one wants him as the hitting coach anymore. The only problem I have with this team is there is too many left handed hitters in this lineup, so i feel you may have to trade 1 or 2 of the left handed hitters for equal talent (do not trade heyward, or mccann), for right handed hitters or switch hitters.Do not trade Escobar, McCann, Heyward or Hernandez> these are your keepers for sure. If the Braves do this in this manner, I promise, know I gauranteed that the Braves will be back on the map real soon!!!!!!!

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The last part should read (no matter how good even a juiced Bonds was at his best he could NOT get them to the playoffs).

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maybe it might be too much pressure for frenchy in atlanta so i say trade frenchy now, he needs to get out of his hometown & start fresh elsewhere, sorry frenchy.

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