Melky’s gone, which tells us much about the Braves and Wren
"As long as I'm managing, you're on this team, Melky." (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
Sooner or later we’ll start to ask ourselves, “How in the world did the 2010 Braves make the playoffs?” And I’m thinking that time is …
Right about now.
The Braves dumped Melky Cabrera and Takashi Saito on Tuesday, eight days after the former had made the 27th out of Game 4 of the Division Series. These were two of the bigger acquisitions Frank Wren made last winter — others were Billy Wagner, who has retired; Troy Glaus, who had nothing left after July, and Eric Hinske, who kept pinch-hitting home runs — and now they’ve been tossed aside.
The Saito move was expected. The Cabrera one was expected if you’d watched him play. And that’s kind of the point: The 2010 Braves had a lot of guys who didn’t do much — Cabrera, Nate McLouth, Yunel Escobar, Matt Diaz, Rick Ankiel, Glaus in April and August and September — and lots more who got hurt. And somehow they qualified for the postseason, same as the Phillies and the Yankees.
To say that every Wren move of the last offseason and this regular season panned out would be incorrect. Most of them didn’t. But the sum total of his tinkering was just enough to bleed out one more victory than San Diego, and that was enough. We can critique individual trades and signings, but we cannot carp about the overall effect. This team shouldn’t have been good enough, but it was, just.
Which is why the guy who traded Javier Vazquez for Melky Cabrera should be named executive of the year. Seriously.
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468 comments Add your comment
JMar
October 20th, 2010
3:02 pm
“And Colby Rasmus isnt enough….lets shoot for hunter pence.”
Colby Rasmus is better in all facets of the game than Hunter Pence, with higher upside to boot.
Ben Thenkin
October 20th, 2010
3:07 pm
Considering all the mistakes made by experts on this blog it’s hard for me to see how they can point fingers at Frank Wren as unqualified.
tdmorgan
October 20th, 2010
3:19 pm
BravesRule, You say that Hanson was not a big time pitcher because of his record…did you see the run support he got? Yeah it was nil. I guess you would say that Felix Hernandez from the Mariners is a horrible pitcher since he was only one game above 500, yet sported a 2.27 era. Hanson lowered his era from 4.50 at the end of June to 3.33 by the end of the season. Hanson pitched extremely well down the stretch but had 3 W and 6 L because of the Braves offense, that doesn’t even include the 9 ND that he had to take because the Braves could not score runs, or at least not until the end of the game. Also there are some extremely good young closers out there including Soria, Bailey, Feliz, just to name a few. So I have no problem handing over the closers role to a young player such as Kimbrell, who learned from one of the best in Wagner.
Mark Badley's Fan Club
October 20th, 2010
3:19 pm
Good moves by Wren:
1. Trading Vasquez and Boone Logan for Melky, Vizcaino, and Mike Dunn. Melky wasn’t very good, but that wasn’t really the point. Braves weren’t going to be able to afford Vasquez, and they got a fine young reliever and a guy who might be an ace starting pitcher that the Braves can control contractually for 5-6 years.
2. Signing Tim Hudson. Don’t need to say anything about this.
3. Trading Escobar for Gonzalez. Might seem like an even trade, but the fact is Escobar was McLouth-esque with the Braves this season. Gonzalez came through for the Braves now and again. I think if the lineup hadn’t gotten so worn out, he would have done better, also.
4. Signing Glaus. Yes, he faded, but he bumped the Braves into contention in May and June for very little $$$.
5. Acquiring Derek Lee at the end of the season. That was a pretty awesome move, too, guys. Glaus was spent, they didn’t want to put the rookie in (I kind of wanted them to, admittedly), and they go out and get Derek frickin’ Lee for nothing. And he was good for the Braves. Go back and look at the stats, people!
6. Getting Wagner and Saito. Those guys, particularly Wagner, were 2 of the best relievers in 2010. Wagner had a career year (in a 15 year mostly excellent career–pretty amazing).
Bad trades/moves:
1. Signing Kenshin Kawakami to a rich contract. He hasn’t paid off, but he hasn’t been absolutely awful. Okay, this year, he was pretty bad, but Cox also just kind of put him on ice. Last year he was okay but not worth the money spent.
Left off these lists:
1. Trading for Ankiel and Farnesworth. Ankiel was pretty awful, but he ended up hitting 50 or so points above McLouth (220, baby!). Farney was shaky but not awful. Can’t really say it was a bad or good trade.
2. Trading for Nate McLouth. Yes, he’s been terrible, but at the time, you can’t say that was a dumb move on Wren’s part. He traded a bunch of nobodies for someone who seemed to be a rising All-Star. Who knows, maybe McLouth will have a breakout season next year? (God, let’s hope so). I just can’t in good conscience criticize Wren for this one.
3. Signing Derek Lowe to a big-time contract. That’s not looking all that shabby now, is it? Hmm? Okay, he was wobbly last season and 2/3 of this season, and he’s overpaid, but if you think about the context in which Wren was operating–desperate for good veteran pitching but unable to compete with the Sox or Yankees–he had to pull the trigger. Can’t put it in the bad category, but can’t go in the good category, either, given Lowe’s ups and downs.
Note: Those are all pretty major trades. Most GMs don’t do much, but Wren will act when there’s a problem. THAT is why he should be GM of the year.
Basaltguy
October 20th, 2010
3:21 pm
I think you are wrong on Wren. Look we did not have a lefty starter until September- and that by default. We need to mix it up. Lowe and Huddy pitch alike and so do JJ and TH.
Fourbee
October 20th, 2010
3:33 pm
Enter your comments here
rangerfanTX
October 20th, 2010
3:37 pm
If this Mark Bradley is Atlantans’ #1 sports news source, it’s no wonder Atlanta has no real sports fans. By the way, thanks for all the “scraps” you sent us.
Suckers.
Mitchell
October 20th, 2010
3:39 pm
dean
October 20th, 2010
9:15 am
If not for some steel gloves in the NLDS, the Braves are playing the Phillies right now.
And Bobby Cox, let’s not forget.
And by the way, who’s responsible for those steel gloves? I’m not saying it’s Bobby necessarily but my God, this team has consistently made costly errors in the playoffs for years now.
I mean, Brooks Conrad is one thing but Alex Gonzalez is a professional. We didn’t get him to make thirteen errors a week and two in the final game of the post-season.
In spite of scrubs like Melky, McLouth and Glaus and others, I completely resent the insinuations that this team had no right to be in the playoffs.
I’m sorry but, Brian McCann… All Star
Tim Hudson… Ace
Jurrjens… Ace pitcher
Billy Wagner… borderline Hall of Fame closer
Jason Heyward… Rookie of the Year
Martin Prado… All Star
Omar Infante… All Star
Those guys rose to the occasion all year and put it on the line for Bobby to try and win in his final season but they were undone by his repeated blunders and the overall lack of fundamentals and sloppiness.
I get called a hater but somebody has to have some expectations for this team. Everybody else seems to think these guys were a bunch of scrubs.
I mean, who’s the real hater?
They were good enough to win the division. They were good enough to beat the Giants.
They did neither.
Wren is doing his best with what he’s got. I think we all deserved better than the Wild Card and another first round exit.
You know, the Rangers who won only 90 games this year now have as many wins in a single post-season as the Braves have had since the Clinton administration.
I wonder if they’ll put that on Bobby’s plaque in Cooperstown.
Nick P.
October 20th, 2010
3:39 pm
i used to say that Braves are and Rangers are at opposite extremes, all one does (Rangers) they keep getting bats with no regard for pitchers and pitching, and the Braves keep getting pitchers with no regard for hitters and everyday field players, just think how awesome it would be if we could have merged these two teams together, but now, even the Rangers have finally understood that with out the other the one side of the game can only take you so far, yes it was amazing the Braves made the playoffs, but we in Atlanta are used to making it then getting kicked out, I hope we finally like the Rangers bring a bit of balance to our organization as well.
mr baseball
October 20th, 2010
3:40 pm
BravesRule:
Thank you for confirming my earlier offering that you are an idiot. You completely affirmed that with your reply.
If you think Hanson’s win-loss record determines his worth as a pitcher, you clearly are clueless about baseball. He easily could have won 20 games with better run support, but that would have required that you actually pay attention to what happens during games and not just spout meaningless statistics.
Jurrjens was outstanding his first 2 seasons here. He was hurt most of the past season. I guess you’re one of those people who think the worth of a player is solely determined by what they did the past season.
I think somebody else has already pointed out the blatant ignorance of your opinion about closers. How old is the Texas closer? Ever heard of the Royals’ Soria, arguably the best closer in baseball. There are plenty of other examples.
How old was the Braves’ closer on the ‘95 World Series championship team? Don’t think he was in his late 30s.
To re-state in MIB blog language: Your And Idiot.
gt
October 20th, 2010
3:47 pm
Wonder how Wren does without Bobby. Seems like Cox’s M.O. was to make lemonaide from less than lemons.
BravesRule
October 20th, 2010
3:48 pm
I love when people say a young player learned from one of the best by watching them….really I watch them on T.V does that mean I can close 50 games? When you break it down and come back from fantasy island it means nothing…the kid has to go out there and do it himself. The fact that he watched wagner close games while sitting in the bullpen eating seeds mean poop. Did watching wagner improve his athletic ability? No or practice would be all the Braves in the clubby watching the braves last world series season on a fat big flat screen.
Fourbee
October 20th, 2010
3:53 pm
Let’s put all this trade talk into perspective, shall we?
The Braves have a limited budget, so this is what I expect Wren to do:
Pitchers
Lowe
Hanson
JJ
Hudson
Minor
Beachy
Either Minor or Beachy will be traded prior to spring training for a good, but not awesome, outfielder that is cost controlled (either a friendly contract or someone nearing arbitration). In July, nearing the trade deadline when Medlin is near returning, either JJ or Lowe will be traded for another outfielder, after McLouth sucks it up another 3 months, and Martinez or a Gwinette arm fills in. McLouth will be released or demoted to AAA.
Outfield
McLouth
Heyward
Diaz
Hinske
Outfielder to be acquired
Diaz and Hinske will be retained for their 4th oufielder status (one leftie one rightie) requiring one full time LF or CF
Infield
Freeman
Prado
Gonzales
C Jones
No changes
Bench
Diaz
Hinske (infield and oufield replacement and PH)
Infante (same as Hinske)
Conrad (PH and replacement infield
Ross (catcher)
Bullpen
Dunn
Venters
Moylan
Martinez (spot starter)
Kimbrel
O’Flaherty
Marek
Vet added for experience
The Braves add one OF and one RP before Spring Training and another OF during July and maintain a relatively cheap team. This makes sense, but I doubt many will believe that this is all that Wren will do. I suppose the idea of this blog is to posit wild ideas and insane ramblings to bolster one’s self worth. If that is, indeed, the purpose, please forgive my logic and sensibilities.
steve whitmire
October 20th, 2010
3:53 pm
trade Jurgens for a big bat, it will be painful trying to fill in for him with rookie starters but we can’t keep going with this punch and judy lineup forever. We really need to keep Hinske and Diaz, keep McLouth, not that he’s good but we’re stuck with him and his contract, with one big bat we should be OK next year with Freddie at first, Prado and Chipper coming back and all those young fireballers in the bullpen
tlj
October 20th, 2010
3:56 pm
The trade was not about Vasquez for Melky, it was about removing salary from the books. They were hoping to trade Lowe and keep Vasquez but were unabe to find a taker for Lowe. That meant Vasquez had to go. Wren made the best trade he could with everyone knowing he had to trade Vasquez.
Turns out it wasn’t so bad, if the Braves kept Vasquez it would have only have been for one year. Turns out while Melky was horrible, Vasquez was worst. They cancel each other out. Boone Logan was traded with Vasquez and we received Dunn, they also cancel each other out. Last and most important we also received the Yankees # one minor league pitcher (Viscano – not sure about spelling) and he was matching Tehran performance until injuring his shoulder. He is suppose to be ready for next season.
This was a good trade for the Braves, we received what appears to be a very good pitching prospect and should be able to help the organization in the future. We also have Dunn to add to the bull pen next year. The Yankees only have Logan.
I guess Wrenn might be GM of the year after all. He was able to get something for nothing, isn’t that what he is suppose to do?
BravesRule
October 20th, 2010
4:01 pm
LOL YOU JUST SAID “Jurrjens was outstanding his first 2 seasons here. He was hurt most of the past season. I guess you’re one of those people who think the worth of a player is solely determined by what they did the past season”.
Ahhhh you just said how great Jurrjens was in the past 2 years and then one sentence later tried to rip on me saying “I guess you’re one of those people who think the worth of a player is solely determined by what they did the past season”. WTF are you talking about. Look bottom line is chubs go grab a gravy and bacon sandwich and take up your normal position on the couch. I don’t need you huffing and wheezing and have a heart attack while getting up from the couch to go to the computer to see what I said about you.
Again I use stats as my argument and you use words like “could have one”. My bad for using what really happened as a basis for my discussion and not should a would a could a numbers.
Ted Turner's mustache
October 20th, 2010
4:01 pm
Regarding the whole Melky for Vasquez trade…forget about Dunn and Vizcaino, that’s just icing on the cake.
It wasn’t even really a trade. It was a decision. Do you want VASQUEZ or do you want TIM HUDSON. Wren didn’t have the payroll to keep both guys. That’s why he made the trade. GMs were hesitant to offer up major talent for a guy like Vasquez, who had a great 2009, but is an enigmatic, unpredictable sort. And guess what? He has a pretty lousy year for the Spankees. Wren did the best he could under the circumstances, but the key was, he made the right call on whether he should keep Hudson or Javy.
So to sum up, we got two great young arms (Dunn and Vizcaino), an ahem…serviceable outfielder in Melky, and we got to keep Hudson, who is only our freakin’ Ace.
All in all, it was a great decision by Wren to move Javy so that he had the money to sign Hudson to a three-year deal.
Marc Schneider
October 20th, 2010
4:02 pm
This has got to be the most bizaare story every written. Bradley notes that the team had several players who did nothing–players that were acquired by Wren. The team was able to sneak into the playoffs despite these players and, therefore Wren should be executive of the year. That’s some logic.
THANKS Mcguirk/Liberty Media
October 20th, 2010
4:06 pm
$80 million 2011…guaranteed. And IF McGuirk wanted to go to 120 million apparently he “just has to ask…” McGuirk gets a bonus when tieing the ratio of revenues to contracts and cost cutting….
AJC QUOTE:
This quote below says it all….
“McGuirk has said that the team’s payroll limits are “not set by Liberty” but by him in “consultation with other team officials.” Meanwhile, McGuirk reiterated that Liberty officials “have not indicated any plans to sell the team once they’re permitted to do so next year.” As part of Liberty’s purchase of the team from Time Warner in ‘07, the company “agreed to retain ownership of the Braves at least through baseball’s current collective bargaining agreement, which runs through the 2011 season” (AJC.com, 4/18).
You cannot compete when you’re looking at reacquiring DALE MURPHY AND BIFF POCOROBA by releasing Melky… AND Melky’s release MADE HEADLINES!! lol….
bruce mac
October 20th, 2010
4:06 pm
Never ever ever trade a quality starting pitcher for a bat. The Braves have the money to pay for one big right handed bat in the middle of this lineup. That hitter must play left or center. Discussion over. If Braves do this and nothing else, they win 95 games. See you in October suckas.
Mike Hampton
October 20th, 2010
4:10 pm
I’m still willing to pitch if the Braves want to trade one of their young pitchers for a big bat. My arm is well rested and ready to go. I mean the only thing I have used my arm for the last 10 years or so has been counting all my money or scratching my a$$ and I did not hurt it doing that. My a$$ is a little sore from sitting on it for the last 10 years in the dugout but other than that I’m ready to be a starter next year for a few million. Just make sure your insurance coverage is up to date just in case, you know injuries can happen at any time.
faux positive
October 20th, 2010
4:12 pm
Why are some folks thinking[?] Milton Bradley, he travels with his own anger mgmt counselor. Wake and realize it, as long as liberty owns the Braves, they ain’t gonna spend notin’ more than they have to spend. Hinski should return next year, glad milky is gone, wish mclout, glaus KK were gone too. Yhe team made it by the seat of their pants into the playoffs and didn’t deserve it. BC is gone and hopefully so will bobbys boys. He had a good run with smoke and mirrors though it was only 1 world series win, the rest really on’t count. He didn’t catch the brass ring on the merry go round.
BravesRule
October 20th, 2010
4:22 pm
Mike (The Thief) Hamptom–Thanks for nothing clown shoe!!!
Ted Turner's mustache
October 20th, 2010
4:22 pm
AJC site just ate my lengthy comment so I’ll just agree with tlj. The Vazquez-Melky deal was really about a tough decision Wren had to make. To re-sign Hudson, he had to move salary, and Vasquez ended up being the only guy we could move. Anybody who thinks we should have gotten a king’s ransom for Vasquez doesn’t realize how much of an enigma he is considered by many baseball insiders. I live in NY now, and let me tell you, I don’t know one Yankee fan who didn’t think that Vasquez would be a disaster in NY, based on his ‘04 season. And guess what, he was.
So we got to KEEP HUDSON, got an…ahem…serviceable fourth outfielder and two young arms with HUGE upside in Vizacaino and Dunn. I’d say that’s great work by Wren.
Mike Hampton
October 20th, 2010
4:24 pm
faux positive = local idiot.
Mike Hampton
October 20th, 2010
4:29 pm
BravesRule + faux positive = retarded inbred kids.
droopydawg
October 20th, 2010
4:30 pm
I would love to see what wren could do with a 9-figure payroll. The franchise would be as good as the Phillies.
DHD
October 20th, 2010
4:30 pm
“Why is Everybody wonting to put a infielder in to the Outfield? Does not make sense!”
What REALLY makes no sense is to move your catcher to center field but Dale Murphy didn’t turn out too bad. I say sign Uggla and see if he or Prado can play left. Not a bad alternative for some power.
Baseball Time
October 20th, 2010
4:36 pm
I think BravesRule is funny unlike all the serious talking people here. Lighten up laugh a little.
NEW CARS
October 20th, 2010
4:47 pm
You have a good memory. I remember we won the World Series that year. Thanks for posting.
Doug Markham
October 20th, 2010
4:48 pm
Sorry, New Cars, mean to post under my name. Didn’t mean to put your name in the wrong box. Posting too quick. And, I was speaking of 1995 World Series.
ward
October 20th, 2010
5:02 pm
wren should not be executive of the year.what did milky do not much, diaz not much , but batted 0.97 in playoffs. troy glause struggled through the whole . steriods caught up with him. akiel was the only brigth spot besides hienski. worst general manager of the year.jeff francuor is in the playoffs with rangers,and ryan church is with pittsburge,and still crappy, and mark texeria is with the yankees, and kotchman is with another team, and still crappy. worst gm of the year would fit wren greatly. Go!!! Braves!!!!
jason
October 20th, 2010
5:05 pm
we let go erick ohh man he could have replaced melky
ward
October 20th, 2010
5:06 pm
plus wren is afraid to take risk with the payrole. were the yankees afraid to make moves with there payrole. or the phillies. wren is a terrible gm,bobby got the Braves to the playoffs not wren. bad gm just plain bad wren is terrible……. Go!!!! Braves!!!!! he lack making tough decisions!!!!!
ward
October 20th, 2010
5:08 pm
until wren does somehting bold he;s not going to get my support! Go!!! Braves!!!!
bvillebaron
October 20th, 2010
5:14 pm
Not all of Wren’s trades were winners, but your comments are off base. Glaus carried this team in the early part of the year; Wagner was superb; Cabrera didn’t do much, but Dunn pitched well, Vizcaino is a premium prospect and Javier Vazquez was terrible; I didn’t personally agree with the Gonzalez trade, but he had some big hits; Derek Lee was universally looked upon as a key acquisiton, etc.
I have said this before and many disagree, but Wren did a good job this year of acquiring a number of players which gave the team a chance to make the playoffs this year (mission accomplished) without mortgaging the future given (1) his limited budget and (2) the fact that this is a still rebuilding team with many good prospects and the time to add the “key expensive” piece will be next year or possibly the next when that young talent is all in place and ready to move to the next level.
count_schemula
October 20th, 2010
5:14 pm
We only need one move, a quality, young outfielder. We have the pitching, and if we don’t get that one hitter, we will waste it. Chipper is old, but he’s far from an automatic out. Prado and Infante can work the stick. McCann and Heyward will be ok. Freeman is iffy, but if Hinske can cover 1b, 3b, and LF, he’s a good signing. A Gon is cheap, if nothing else. We have enough junk to cover the remaining OF spot. If we trade JJ for a bat, that’s a fail in my book. This is a situation were we spend money on an OF, and winning will pay for it. Plus, KK and McLouth come off the books, and Chipper should be talked into retiring and deferring salary over time in 2012. He needs to come back to hit his milestones and go out on a good note. We owe him the opportunity in 2011. He owes us coming off the books in 2012.
UnretireBobbyCox
October 20th, 2010
5:16 pm
DON – you sound like a broken record. Same craq as last night. Braves’ pitching will be fine. You just assume the worst all the time. Jurrjens and Lowe might just be fine. Lowe would’ve had a few more wins if he’d gotten some run support. YOU don’t know how badly Jurrjens is hurt; he probably will be fine, too, come Spring Training.
ward
October 20th, 2010
5:19 pm
if diaz is back it will be a long year,and get ride of mcClouth. all he does is ground into double plays!!! it;s nice to know.that everyboyd still in love with diaz, and mcClouth. another brilient move by wren!!!!
UnretireBobbyCox
October 20th, 2010
5:24 pm
Robert found his next victim: Braves Management… I wonder if he’ll call all of them donkeys, too, or if that name was reserved for the Hall of Fame manager.
ward
October 20th, 2010
5:24 pm
we could;ve went farther if wren would;ve made some better moves. if the yankees did that, would they be in the playoffs? the answeis no. you can;t let golden oppertunities.slip away like that every time you come close, so my commets or not off base!!!!!
count_schemula
October 20th, 2010
5:29 pm
Things we can’t do: “get rid of McClouth and KK.” Their contracts are prohibitive at ~$6.5m each. We could eat most (all?) of the salary, but then we still have to fill the roster spots. They may try to get creative with KK, and see if he would go back to Japan, but we are stuck with McLouth next year.
ward
October 20th, 2010
5:32 pm
I love the Braves like everybody else, but to stand up for bad gm;s, and bad deals, and some one who is afraid to spend money. well i can;t do that! Go!!! Braves!!!
ward
October 20th, 2010
5:34 pm
why keep a hitter that can;t hit or pitcher that is over rated? Just an my opinion, and i think a good one .
DawgDad
October 20th, 2010
5:37 pm
People who say the Vazquez trade was not Vazquez for Melky are a bit off-focus. Yes, the Braves got Vizcaino and Dunn, which may somewhere over the third or fourth rainbow yield some smidgeon of positive benefit. But the key to evaluating Wren’s performance is this: The Braves had an extra quality starting pitcher to trade and desperately needed a quality starting outfielder in return. They got arguably the worst-performing “regular” outfielder in all of MLB. Wren can’t be Exec of the Year when his most important move over the winter was a flop. Exec of the Year brings in a Holliday.
Again, I applaud Wren for his ability to boldly adjust on the fly during the season and for building a nice bench and bullpen, but the outfield was an embarrassment.
Mr. Rosterbaitor
October 20th, 2010
5:40 pm
Here’s what I hope/think the Braves should do:
1. It’s a long shot, but have Kawakami announce that he’ll go back to Japan and would forfeit his contract with the Braves. As I said, a long shot, but he might like the idea since he actually gets to pitch, since he definitely won’t if he stays here (at least he better not).
2. Trade OF Nate McLouth for any kind of salary relief.
This guy completely sucks and shouldn’t be anywhere close to the field.
3. Sign Jayson Werth to a 5yr80M contract (to play LF).
Plays good OF defense and is a right randed bat with 30+ HRs. I see a perfect match!!
4. Trade SP Kris Medlen, SP Arodys Vizcaino, and SS Myke Jones for CF Colby Rasmus.
It’s a steep price, but it’ll be worth it for Rasmus, who is team-controllable for the next 4 years at a cheap price.
5. Resign Eric Hinske.
6. If enough money, sign RP Jon Rauch to be setup man or closer. Need a good right handed veteren reliever, and he fits those characterstics.
If we do these 6 things, which should make our payroll end up around 85M, then I think we’d look like a deep playoff threatening team.
Our Line-up would look like this:
1. 2B Prado
2. RF Heyward
3. 3B Jones
4. LF Werth
5. C McCann
6. CF Rasmus
7. SS Gonzalez
8. 1B Freeman
We would have the same rotation and bench that we have now, and the bullpen w/ Rauch.
DawgDad
October 20th, 2010
5:40 pm
“We only need one move, a quality, young outfielder.” Cut this out and paste it in again next year.
ward
October 20th, 2010
5:41 pm
amen dawgdad… amen….
George
October 20th, 2010
5:46 pm
Hey Mark, I dont think trading Vazquez for Melky was mainly to get Vazquez. We got Mike Dunn and Vizcaino in the trade.The Vizcaino kid shows alot of promise and I think he could be a front line starter in the near future. Mike Dunn did a fine job in the pen this year for the Braves. Of Course both Melky and Vazquez didnt work out, but I think in the long run, we got the best of that trade. Don’t get me wrong, im not defending Wren, I just dont think the Melky-Vazquez trade was bad.
DawgDad
October 20th, 2010
5:46 pm
Roster: I don’t think St. Louis would dump Rasmus for twice or three times what you’re offering. They might take Heyward.
Werth for 5 years at $80 million? Two or three other big-market teams might match or beat that. I would prefer not tying up that much dough in one player; a few years out that could force us to make some uncomfortable moves with players like Heyward, Prado, Hanson, McCann, etc.