The Braves: Serious about saving $$$, less so about winning
Melky Cabrera: The latest in a series of cost-cutting imports. (AJC photo by Jason Getz)
The Braves just traded the man who might well have been their Opening Day starting pitcher for an outfielder who might not start on Opening Day. Think about that.
Think also about this: The Braves just traded a man who finished fourth in the National League Cy Young voting because he was making too much money. And here’s how much Javier Vazquez is scheduled to make in 2010 — $11.5 million. That’s not even half what CC Sabathia, his new Yankee teammate, will earn. And that tells us all we need know about the Braves.
They keep making noises about contending for division titles, but it’s just noise. They can’t afford to do real business any longer. From the day the 2009 season ended they were looking to dump a starting pitcher, ostensibly to add a power hitter, but Melky Cabrera isn’t a power hitter. He was the eighth-best position player on the Yankees. He might not beat out Nate McLouth in center field here. He might wind up in a platoon. And he’s what the Braves got for the man who was their best pitcher last season.
“A perfect fit,” Frank Wren called Cabrera, speaking on a teleconference Tuesday, but the only thing perfect about this trade was how completely it detonates the Braves’ claim to being serious players. You don’t trade an ace unless you get a big bopper in return. The Braves got a guy who hit 13 home runs with 68 RBIs last season.
Yes, there’s more to the trade than Cabrera. Mike Dunn should help in the bullpen and Arodys Vizcaino is a young power arm, but the cold truth is that the Braves just played what they deemed their trump card — a surplus of starting pitching — without improving their run production one whit. And don’t fool yourselves: That $11.5 million they saved on Vazquez won’t allow them to splurge on Jason Bay or Matt Holliday. Those guys are out of price range, out of sight.
“We’re very fortunate to be able to make a deal like this,” Wren said. Then this: “We’ve been focused on [finding a run producer] all offseason, and we were waiting on the right match. And we’re still waiting.”
But Vazquez is gone. Can’t trade him twice. And the Braves can’t trade Derek Lowe because they’re down to five starters. So the best that can be reasonably hoped is that they find a Marlon Byrd or a Xavier Nady or — knowing as we do that the Braves love recycling old favorites — a Mark DeRosa or a Jermaine Dye. Except none of those players will make them better in the way that losing Vazquez makes them worse.
Loading ...As someone who has defended Wren in the past, I have to say I’m stumped. Obviously the Braves’ salary constraints are worse than we’d been led to believe if they had to make this sort of deal so soon — Santa Claus hasn’t yet come and Javier Vazquez has left the building — but even more puzzling is Wren’s contention that this enabled him “to improve our club.” Maybe it improves it in 2012, when Vizcaino is ready to join Tommy Hanson and Jair Jurrjens. But the way the Braves operate those pitchers will have been sold off by then.
Nothing about this offseason suggests that the new Braves are any better than the ones who finished third in the NL East. Is Billy Wagner an upgrade over Rafael Soriano? No. (But he’s cheaper. And also older.) Is Takashi Saito better than Mike Gonzalez? No. (But he’s cheaper. And also older.) Is the new first baseman … oh, wait. They don’t yet have a new first baseman.
For all this motion — Wren is forever in a hurry — the Braves will enter January 2010 a lesser team than in September 2009. That’s not the way it’s supposed to work. But that is, sad to say, the way it works here, where $11.5 million for a big-time pitcher is considered too much, where the drive to win is trumped by the need to scrimp.
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748 comments Add your comment
It's Really Dumb
December 22nd, 2009
6:11 pm
JT Grace…you got to be kidding, right? Lowe is done. Javier would have been a potential 20 game winner for at least 3 to 4 more years. The kid the Yankees gave the Braves may never play in the majors. Cabrera will be gone soon. The Yankees don’t get rid of good players…they buy them from other teams. This is a big “lose” for the Braves and for major league baseball…which has become a JOKE for fans of every team other than maybe 3 or 4 who can afford the overpiced players who play the game only for money now. Professional sports is for morons. College sports is moving in that direction. At least there will always be beaches to enjoy…but all the multi-million dollar developers are trying to buy those up, too. Well, at least the common people still have mind-numbing video games.
ArkyTech
December 22nd, 2009
6:12 pm
Comparing Melky to Church……doesn’t even deserve a response.
John
December 22nd, 2009
6:12 pm
Because of Tom Glavine and his union buddies, the game has been destroyed beyond repair. Isn’t it fun helping to pay for $5 million dollar utility infielders?
Extremus
December 22nd, 2009
6:14 pm
If you think things are bad for the Braves right now, just be thankful that at least they have Fox Sports still televising a lot of the games. Without that much exposure they would have dropped to the exposure of the Pittsburghs and the Kansas Citys of the baseball markets. Of course that means viewership rather than butts in seats for the most part, as the on-field product has, while getting over .500 last season, greatly diminished in quality. This move by Wren is the worst-case scenario I didn’t really think could happen: A) that we had to trade Vazquez rather than Lowe, and B) that we wouldn’t get something substantial in return. Surely he wouldn’t ace them both, I thought, but he did.
But as much blame as we may put on Frank Wren, one also has to look here at the folks signing HIS paycheck as well as that of the Braves team: Liberty Media. I don’t think there are any Braves fans I’ve heard from who feel that this team, this city, or its fans have been in the least bit well-represented since their purchase of the team. You know the big difference between the haves and have-nots right now? It isn’t just the bigger markets, people; it’s private, personally invested ownership, be it the Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, or whomever you find generally putting a decent product on the field these days. The Braves had that too…during the 1990s, when Ted Turner was calling the shots. He may have had his eccentricities, but he gave a care about his team and the fans here, something a nebulous Colorado-based entity has not nor will ever do.
Unfortunately, until Liberty no longer considers owning the Braves to be worth the tax write-off or whatever, we’re going to see this organization run in a way similar to a lot of retail or service industry chains nowadays. You know, the places where there are a dozen employees doing the work that fifty or more did three years ago, where you deal with a machine rather than a human being who greets you and thanks you for coming. Just as in retail, Major League Baseball is a business, and as long as the profits continue to flow in for the fat cats at the top, you can expect more and more cutbacks and more of an impersonal, distant atmosphere when it comes to dealing with it. Whether that means the national economy tanking or a professional baseball team sliding into mediocrity, it’s all about the money to the powers that be, folks. It’s all they care about or ever will.
Hopefully one day the ownership of the Braves will be passed to a better, human owner, perhaps Arthur Blank or at least someone with ties to Atlanta. Until then, get used to this kind of thinking when it comes to personnel moves.
Robert
December 22nd, 2009
6:15 pm
Frank Wren just LOOOVES a-ballers and mediocre platoon players. Give up your ace pitcher? Eh, as long as you include that A-baller who MIGHT pitch for the real team in FIVE years, give me your 12th best player and it’s a deal. Wren’s always on about his big guys in the minors. Last yr they said they have to save a spot for these guys for 2011. Heyward? Freddie Freeman? I’m skeptical they’ll even be called up at the end of 2010, when the Braves are wetting the bed again in September, sitting in 3rd place. This team still cannot hit, and instead of getting rid of Lowe, or literally dumping a crummy pitcher like Kawakami, they threw away possibly their best for almost nothing. I’m holding out hope they trade for Dan Uggla, and get Schaffer outta town. An infield of Uggla, Escobar and Prado would be great, of course…..
And, BTW, I’m sick of Chipper Jones. Why not get rid of him? Dump salary, dump a guy who’s injured all the damned time. Dump a singles hitter who’s over the hill and makes tons of errors.
Baba O'Riley
December 22nd, 2009
6:15 pm
Arky- Do some research.
Church last 4 years 416games/274BA/41HR/194RBI
melky last 4 years 563games/269BA/36HR/228RBI
I demand
December 22nd, 2009
6:15 pm
A book by Sonny Clusters. We would read every page.
LAKE OCONEE DAWG
December 22nd, 2009
6:15 pm
TERRIBLE TO LET THIS PITCHER GET AWAY…GOT TO AGREE WITH BARK ON THIS ONE…IF YOU SEE THIS HELPING THE BRAVES, SEND ME A SAMPLE OF THE KOOLAIDE YOU BEEN DRINKING…THIS IS ONE OF THE WORST MOVES I HAVE EVER SEEN…KNOW THAT THE YANKEES ARE LAUGHING LOUDLY, AND EVERYBODY ELSE AROUND THE BASEBALL WORLD….GOOD LUCK SELLING TICKETS THIS YEAR, WREN…THIS DEAL IS REAL CLOSE TO THE HEALTHCARE DEAL THAT OBAMA HAS BEEN WORKING ON FOR US THAT NOBODY WANTS, BUT WE GONNA GET IT ANYWAY…SURE WE WILL JUST LOVE OUR NEW HEALTHCARE BILL TOO, ESPECIALLY THE ELDERLY….THE ONLY REASON I WORK IS SO THAT I CAN FOOT THE BILL FOR THOSE WHO DON’T WANT TO WORK BUT STILL WANT HEALTHCARE…..
Mel
December 22nd, 2009
6:16 pm
Ok, now moron is the next “go to” word. Hmmmm, moving right along both Bay and Holliday may actually hit more HRs than Cabrera, but Cabrera would appear to be a better fielder according to the NY papers (hint: dropping the winning fly ball didn’t bring love for Holliday). Do we really need a booper who has no clue in the outfield (Dye, etc.all), or can Melky save more than he gives at the plate. The thought of David Wright in CitiPark (hit only 5 hrs there) has been entering my mind and to Bay/Holliday it might be the same at Turner Field.
boog
December 22nd, 2009
6:16 pm
Baseball needs a salary cap. The entire league is nothing but a farm system for the Yankees, Red Sox and Mets. That being said, You are exactly right and it is sad. The days of Turner leading the way with Glavine, Smoltz, and Maddux are a distant memory.
tom
December 22nd, 2009
6:18 pm
They were losers when they could not win big and thought a Div Title was an accomplishment. Losers now and forever under current leadership. Spend your money somewhere else. Why does Chipper stay?
louisville slugger
December 22nd, 2009
6:18 pm
Mark, I give Wren an “incomplete” for now, but he’d better come through with another move with the money saved, ’cause Melky ain’t the answer in the OF, that’s for sure.
On a happier note, the Jackets are going to kick __ in the Orange Bowl, and life is good here in Kentucky!!
Voice of Reason
December 22nd, 2009
6:19 pm
Frank Wren is an idiot….I am boycotting the Braves this year. I refuse to give them any of my money for this subpar baseball team. The Braves need an individual owner and not some corporation that only looks at the bottom line.
Ralph
December 22nd, 2009
6:19 pm
This trade sucks!!
ArkyTech
December 22nd, 2009
6:19 pm
Baba, I did. Melky played 150 more games than Church in 4 years and is a far superior outfielder. And he bats right handed, unlike most of our team.
Lieutenant Dan
December 22nd, 2009
6:20 pm
Blame ownership all you want but Wren wrecked a very good Baltimore Orioles team. I moved to Atlanta thought I had seen the last of Frankie but nooooooo. Here he is. He will mark it down wreck this team as well. Great with the media horrible internally.
Chrono
December 22nd, 2009
6:21 pm
You’re stumped? It’s pretty obvious the Braves would have handed over any of their starting pitchers except Hanson and Jurrjens for a dependable power hitter, and that they really wanted to dump Lowe. It’s equally obvious that everyone wanted Vasquez, and nobody would give them what they want in return. So, they dumped 10 million, got a decent young outfielder and a great prospect. They might not get a dependable power hitter, but at least maybe now they can resign La Roche for a year or two. Either Wren is an idiot (I doubt) or he did the best he could when everyone knew he HAD to unload a starting pitcher. Give the man a little credit.
jerry
December 22nd, 2009
6:21 pm
One of the best pitchers in baseball for a damn nobody.
Baba O'Riley
December 22nd, 2009
6:21 pm
mel, Is that the reason the Cardinals are desperately trying to re-sign Holliday? because of a dropped ball? Man, they must be really pi$$ed at him to offer him so much money. Mel, we need BOPPERS. We NEED to score runs. Why is that so hard to understand? A marginal hitter with a nice glove is a 4th outfielder.
Reid in EAV
December 22nd, 2009
6:22 pm
Bradley, I’ve never been one calling you an idiot. In fact, you’re an exceedingly sharp observer. That’s why I’m amazed you seem to being so willfully obtuse on this one. (Though I’m sure the page views are fab.)
You seem to be myopically focused on further trades — my thinking is that the trade part is mostly done. And you do realize that there’s another way to add to the team, yes? So Wren has freed up the cash for a free-agent signing or three. Which, if you read between the lines of this move, is what is going to happen next.
If it doesn’t, then yes, you can call Wren an idiot and call for his head. But good grief, can we get to PItchers and Catchers until you cast judgment? Oh yeah, the page views. I forgot.
tmac
December 22nd, 2009
6:22 pm
The Braves have been concerned more about money than winning for about the last 10 years. Why is this such a “revelation” now?
Anyone who truely follows the Braves knows this.
LAKE OCONEE DAWG
December 22nd, 2009
6:22 pm
ARTHUR BLANK PLEASE BUY THE BRAVES AND SAVE US…LIKE THE WAY THE FALCONS ARE COMING ALONG…IF ONLY YOU COULD OWN THE BRAVES AND MAKE SOME GOOD DEALS FOR THEM….LETTING YOUR ACE PITCHER GET AWAY FOR A BUNCH OF UNKNOWNS IS REALLY AMAZING…MAYBE THE LEAGUE WILL SEE HOW BAD THIS IS AND WILL NOT ALLOW THE TRADE TO GO THROUGH….I THINK THAT MLB CAN BLOCK A TRADE IF THEY FEEL IT IS TOO ONESIDED…SURELY THEY ARE LAUGHING AT HOW ONE SIDED THIS ONE IS….
dawg 4 u
December 22nd, 2009
6:22 pm
Let’s see we want to show everybody that we are really serious about contending for the NL East title next year. Hey why don’t we trade our best starting pitcher from last year for a left fielder who MIGHT be a starter next season. The only edge in any category we would have had going into this season was starting pitching and now we have thrown that right out the window with this absolutely awful trade. Mark you are right we care more about saving $$$ than winning! Third or fourth place anyone??
Baba O'Riley
December 22nd, 2009
6:23 pm
Arky- So if Church had played in the same number of games as Melky, his numbers would’ve been even more superior. Melky is NOT a far superior outfielder than Church. It’s not like Church is a butcher with the glove. He is a very good defensive player.
DirtyDawg
December 22nd, 2009
6:23 pm
How much longer does Liberty Media have to ‘hold onto’ the Braves before they can cash in on the tax benefits they got in the ‘purchase’ of all that ’stuff’ for their Time/Warner stock? Seems to me I recall it was to be four or five years – that being the case we’ve got a couple of more with this kind of crap going on. On the other hand, is anybody in the Braves front office capable of making the case, or even bothers to attempt to make the case, to Liberty that continued ‘investment’ – maybe even above what has been budgeted – would mean a more valuable asset when the time comes to dump ‘em. I mean John Malone could give a crap less for baseball or Atlanta…all he understands is money and it would appear that neither Terry whatshisface nor John Sher-somethingorother and certainly not The Wrenner are willing or able to commit to Malone. My bet is that he’d make ‘em play – ‘You Bet Your Job’ – as the condition of giving ‘em more money…and they ain’t about to do that when they can cruise along in second division and, at least, come close to breaking even.
jerry
December 22nd, 2009
6:24 pm
This is why baseball sucks without a salary cap. There is only one real team and they just got Vasquez for a damn nobody.
IndyBrave
December 22nd, 2009
6:24 pm
As a Brave Fan that has moved to the Midwest I am furious with the ownership and the front office. I travel to see the Braves in Cincy, St. Louis, and Chicago and for the first time since I moved here 3 years ago I am not excited to make those trips. The ownership has let us the fan down. If the goal is to be third best that is not good enough. I defend the Braves all the time on this one my eyes have opened up. No more playoffs and no chance of a title. Welcome to the 80’s
Ricky
December 22nd, 2009
6:28 pm
275th………………????
I miss the good ol’ Braves days!!
ArkyTech
December 22nd, 2009
6:29 pm
Point is, Melky is durable while Church was always hurt. A player can’t help you if he can’t play.
jerry
December 22nd, 2009
6:29 pm
It is impossible to compete with someone that has 10 times your resources without a salary cap. If the Braves get an individual owner, he better be Bill Gates or Warren Buffet.
Navigator
December 22nd, 2009
6:29 pm
Mark Bradley: We do agree on this one, as whatever chance the Braves had competing on strong pitching is gone, or maybe they won’t to extend Chipper’s contract another $30M. They aren’t able to rebuild as we move back to the 1970’s to be a low rung team unable to crawl out of the hole created when you don’t spend money to enrich the value of a franchise. It’s over, and in my life time the Braves will probably never rise to the heights of the 1990’s again.
Jackets2009
December 22nd, 2009
6:29 pm
If the Yankees wanted to sign a free agent starting pitcher with Vazquez’s stats, what would it cost them?
This works so great for the Yankees because it is only a one year risk and unlike the Braves, they have the money to resign him should they want to.
chipdip
December 22nd, 2009
6:30 pm
frank wren is a f–king idiot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111
thunderbull56
December 22nd, 2009
6:32 pm
Wren’s been in panic mode.He has the patience of a meth head.Right on for once MB.God forbid we eat money on Lowe’s ridiculous contract.Can’t see where bullpen,outfield,or starting pitching has been upgraded,Bobby’s swan song season, maybe 70-92.
Baba O'Riley
December 22nd, 2009
6:32 pm
Again Arky- Do your research. church, according to Bill James is a better defensive player than Melky.
Pete and Repeat
December 22nd, 2009
6:33 pm
Mark Bradley!!!!
This is probably the best I’ve ever read from your pen/keyboard.
Who in their right mind, that isn’t a psycho/kool-aid drinking Braves fan (one who will buy the Braves management spin) can say that the Braves aren’t sending the EXACT message Bradley says they are!
Kudos Mark! You called a spade a spade!
2010Braves
December 22nd, 2009
6:34 pm
Wow, you guys are so negative and down.
Baba O'Riley
December 22nd, 2009
6:35 pm
Arky- First you say it’s absurd to compare church to Melky. Then I give you offensive numbers that say Church is slightly better. Then you say Melky is a much better defender than Church. Bill James rankings actually have Church as a better defender. Finally, you say Church is hurt too often…We’re atlking FOURTH outfielders here. Church is AT LEAST as good as Melky.
ArkyTech
December 22nd, 2009
6:35 pm
You can have Church. I’ll keep Melky.
freshd
December 22nd, 2009
6:36 pm
Juan Rivera and his 25 hrs sure looks better than Melky C. All the pitching in the world is not gonna chase down the phillies with Roy Halliday. The braves are playing for second and a wildcard spot. And dont forget that Chipper is only good for 120 games at best.
jerry
December 22nd, 2009
6:37 pm
For every cap or shirt the Braves sell, the Yankees sell 10000.
Mike D-O-double G
December 22nd, 2009
6:38 pm
[STANDING OVATION] NAIL ON THE HEAD BRADLEY!!!!! Fing Stankees win it all again. Wucking Funderful! I will not pay money for Brave games or gear this year, and to he** with MLB Extra Innings. This team will do like the Rock say, ABSOLUTELY SUC*!!!!!!!
BrianCashman
December 22nd, 2009
6:40 pm
Actually this was a great trade for the Braves, believe me! Melky is a superstar in the making! Javier is only OK. In fact we’ll take Hanson, Jurjens and Heyward off your hands for you if you’d like. We Yankees are fair to everybody. With Love always, Brian
AUG24
December 22nd, 2009
6:40 pm
Mark Bradley slow down! This move was made to dump salary. No doubt. They are freeing money up to trade for Adrian Gonzalez. If they don’t get him, then this was a bad deal. I know on the surface it looks terrible, but we know they aren’t done dealing. You may be backing off these statements two months from now. Not because of Cabrera, but for the power hitter we pick up.
Jackets2009
December 22nd, 2009
6:40 pm
Braves2010 what would Vazquez cost a year if he was a free agent? 15 or 20 mil/yr? But he will cost them only 9 mil and they are not stuck with a long term contract if this was his career year.
jerry
December 22nd, 2009
6:41 pm
MLB should not be supported as long as there is no salary cap. Sh-t like this is what you get. The Yankees get one of your best for a f–king nobody.
mr baseball
December 22nd, 2009
6:41 pm
On its face, this is not a very promising trade for the Braves. But if the money saved by trading Vazquez is used to sign LaRoche or Delgado (if healthy), would that be considered a reasonable swap?
If both Vazquez and Lowe pitch in 2010 more than like their career standards than they did last season, there are going to be a whole lot of people who are going to have to swallow their discougaging words.
Don’t be so hard on Bradley, folks. Remember, this is baseball, a sport he has never displayed much of a feel for in contrast to his usually
keen grasp of basketball and football. (’Dog & Jacket fanatics may disagree with the latter)
AUG24
December 22nd, 2009
6:41 pm
Also, Vasquez will be a free agent after next year. You know we weren’t going to pay the money, he would have gotten on the open market.
Ron Roberts is an IDIOT!
December 22nd, 2009
6:43 pm
Hey Ron, its people like you that this country is better off without. Please move to Europe or Canada with the rest of your fruity marxist friends. If your uneducated political views were not enough to tell us how ignorant you are then your positive spin on this trade speaks volumes. You don’t know jack**** about baseball. You are nothing but a looter. Pick up a history book. It will do you some good.
Baba O'Riley
December 22nd, 2009
6:45 pm
Easy on Ron Roberts. He is the guy a couple of years ago that said he coaches T-Ball and makes his 5 year olds intentionally ground out to the right side to advance runners. I’m not kidding. He said that.