McCann’s on the DL. Do the Braves HAVE to land a big bat?
Rule of thumb: It's never good when your best player gets hurt. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
OK, so they probably shouldn’t run out and hire Johnny Bench. He retired in 1983. But the game that wouldn’t end — and by rights should have kept going — could well influence what the Braves do the rest of the week.
The trade deadline is Sunday. Brian McCann, the Braves’ MVP, will miss the next two or three weeks with a strained oblique. (By the way, there’s a move afoot to change the team nickname to the “Obliques.” Why is it no other club seems to have such trouble with that particular body part?) He’s the biggest bat on a team that has no other big bats.
It has been reported by ESPN’s Buster Olney that the Braves have said no to the Mets’ insistence that any trade for the two-month rental Carlos Beltran would have to include one of the organization’s four top pitching prospects — Julio Teheran, Arodys Vizcaino, Mike Minor, Randall Delgado. Does this injury change Frank Wren’s thinking?
On the plus side, the Braves still lead the wild-card chase by 3 1/2 games over Arizona. On the minus, they’re only 6-6 since the All-Star break and they’ve slipped six games behind the Phillies in the National League East. And they’re still not hitting much: They’ve scored five runs in 28 innings against the Pirates, and one of those came by way of umpire Jerry Meals’ sense of charity.
The Braves can get by for a bit with David Ross as the everyday catcher. He’s a good No. 2. But it’s becoming less clear if they can win a World Series with this batting order, and with the batting order having suffered another loss it’s no longer a given that this club will make it to October. I think it will. (The Braves can still pitch, even if the team ERA has taken a hit in recent days.) But current events do not fill me with the same sense of certainty I had two weeks ago.
By Mark Bradley
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558 comments Add your comment
reagan
July 27th, 2011
3:38 pm
“You can never have enough pitching”……AND…..”You never have as much good pitching as you THINK you have”………………..anyone see how Delgado did yesterday?
Jay K
July 27th, 2011
3:38 pm
Looks like Beltran head to SF. I don’t care for him but even he knows a loser team when he sees one! Rasmus is going to Toronto and now McCann’s hurt. This season is over, plain and simple! Another damn season lost!
motor
July 27th, 2011
3:38 pm
Thank God football is close at hand. It always takes the sting outta the Braves season ending escapades.
T.J.
July 27th, 2011
3:38 pm
Not getting Kemp. The dodgers will ask for Tehran, Delgado, Vizcaino, and maybe even Minor in return
Theo Williams
July 27th, 2011
3:38 pm
My thing is Ludwick solves nothing. He hits for a low average and strikes out a ton. You get an upgrade in power but sacrifice speed. Pretty much sounds like what we have right now… Mike Adams would be nice though.
Steve
July 27th, 2011
3:38 pm
Fumbling Frank will probably try to bring back Troy Glaus.
richie
July 27th, 2011
3:39 pm
braves have aquires wil nieves from the brewers for cash considerations per buster onley and brewer nation twitter page
Rumor Mill
July 27th, 2011
3:39 pm
BELTRAN WENT TO SF FOR ZACK WHEELER
Wren better do something….Plan B ???
Theo Williams
July 27th, 2011
3:39 pm
Amen, motor!
THE REAL DEAL
July 27th, 2011
3:39 pm
if we get pence,it wil also be a middle reliever as well,but as i said before a rh bat off the bench ,a middle reliever
Nerds! Nerds! Nerds!
July 27th, 2011
3:40 pm
I don’t know why we didn’t give up Minor. You can’t have a 7 man rotation. Chipper ain’t getting any younger. Braves are the South Carolina Gamechickens of the NL East. “Wait til next year.”
VinnyD
July 27th, 2011
3:40 pm
There is a direct corelation between McCann’s oblique and his hammy tweak a few innings before. The opposing obliques and hammys are connected fascially. We are rotational creatures, every time you walk, run, anything, rotation. Its basic bipedal locomotion. When he tweaked that hammy, it showed a tightness due to some sort of imbalance (we all have em). That hammy helped pull that oblique. If we take him out after that little tweak, we have McCann back in a day or so. Decelerational rotation training is hopefully a large part of his rehab.
Rumor Mill
July 27th, 2011
3:41 pm
Will Nieves fits right in in Atlanta…hes hitting .190
THE REAL DEAL
July 27th, 2011
3:41 pm
Giants Close To Acquiring Carlos Beltran
By Tim Dierkes [July 27 at 2:27pm CST]
2:27pm: The Mets will pay $4MM of the $6MM remaining on Beltran’s contract, an executive not directly involved with the trade tells
Lowcountry Bulldawg
July 27th, 2011
3:42 pm
The past month :
Ludwick
17/87 = .195 AVG. 2 HR 6 Doubles 15 RBI
Not really much of an addition. WOW!
reagan
July 27th, 2011
3:42 pm
“Lowcountry”…..I got a message saying I double posted but since I don’t see either one here, I will try again. I live in Hilton Head.
THE REAL DEAL
July 27th, 2011
3:42 pm
1:30pm: If nothing happens in the next 24 hours to scuttle the deal, it’s just Wheeler for Beltran and cash, tweets Sherman. The Mets are sending a significant amount of money, tweets SI’s Jon Heyman
Lowcountry Bulldawg
July 27th, 2011
3:43 pm
Nice area. We didnt go to HH much as we would just visit Kiawah for villas and golf. Nice area though.
Nerds! Nerds! Nerds!
July 27th, 2011
3:45 pm
Makes me want to barf. Getting Beltran not only would have helped the Braves, but we wouldn’t have to face him in the playoffs on the Giants or Phillies. Anyone remember the last time we faced him? At least football season is close.
Theo Williams
July 27th, 2011
3:45 pm
That’s sad. I can’t believe we couldn’t make an offer as good or better than the Giants…
Theo Williams
July 27th, 2011
3:47 pm
If out new backup catcher is a sign of things to come then we can kiss an upgrade goodbye.
reagan
July 27th, 2011
3:48 pm
Kiawah…………………….a rich guy’s HH!
Lowcountry Bulldawg
July 27th, 2011
3:49 pm
I thankfully new a designer, not rich, lol!
Luv 2 Hate Me
July 27th, 2011
3:49 pm
Hey guys to check out all the rumors go to http://www.mlbtraderumors.com…..Braves are looking at Ludwick and Quentin.
Personally I’ll take Quentin over Pence and Ludwick. We need power and he’s been consistant for the past 3 years if your thinking in terms of the future.
Mike
July 27th, 2011
3:49 pm
Most people need to remember that this is Liberty Media work, not Frank Wren. He is trying but with the financial restrictions that this team have, it is going to be miracle if we can get an able body here.
For every Mr. Blank/TD, you got bozos like ASG and Liberty Media, when do college football start up again.
Gary
July 27th, 2011
3:50 pm
Anyone outside of Pence that is rumored to be available will not help this team. Braves already have enough .220 hitters who strike out a lot. What is even worse now is that the Giants are getting Beltran and will have to face his bat in a possible NLDS rematch even if the Braves win the WC. All so we could protect Mike Minor who isn’t even better than Brandon Beachy who was an undrafted pitcher. Wren seems to think that you have to protect all prospects, but in reality not all of them are going to help you. The goal is to win the World Series and right now it doesn’t seem the front office can see that.
richie
July 27th, 2011
3:50 pm
i like reed johnson for bench rh bat alot! hes hitting 356 off lefties and 302 off rightys
kc
July 27th, 2011
3:50 pm
No more renting players for 2 mos and giving up prospects. The formula has never worked for the Braves!! Every time i see think of the Mark Texiera trade it makes me nauseous.
JCH
July 27th, 2011
3:52 pm
Needs:
Team MVP type bat
Full time 3B (if not Prado)
Full time LF (if not Prado)
Full time CF
Reliable mid-relief for our Starters
“Reliable” bats start being reliable (Heyward, Uggla – coming around)
I can’t see fixing all this by Saturday and/or without giving up our coveted pitching prospects.
At this point I’d say we stand pat unless it’s a move to build for the next couple of years. We’re still in it this year but giving up anything of value, which would be mandatory, for a short-term, “win-it-all” type player no longer makes sense.
motor
July 27th, 2011
3:52 pm
Good luck Bravo fans. Its a awful mess to have been in since 1998. We good,but never good enough. It just chaps my azz. Guess we get a WS every 50yrs or so. Thats our avg. I think. Theres almost a whole generation that doesn’t even know what it was like for the ATL to win or b in WS. Isn’t that funny?
Can we get Mark Cuban to buy Braves? We need money. How bout the Chinese? Got any rich dudes that like baseball ova there? Buy the Braves and we’ll throw in Stone MTN. and the GM plant.and Strokers too.
Ralph
July 27th, 2011
3:53 pm
richie – I like Reed Johnson for RF
Gary
July 27th, 2011
3:54 pm
Luv 2 Hate….the only thing Quentin has been consistent at is getting hurt and the Braves don’t need that. Plus he plays in a very hitter friendly park and those numbers are a little inflated. And we already have about 5 Ludwick’s on this team and frankly don’t need another one. And to those who say Reed Johnson or Marlon Byrd…..those are basically Rick Ankiel type moves and where exactly did that get the Braves last year?
Spud Webb
July 27th, 2011
3:54 pm
mark, they HAVE to make a move…slipping now and need a boost. Big Mac on the DL…Chipper being Chipper, it simply has to happen. Minor would be the one I’d ship.
Just Checking
July 27th, 2011
3:55 pm
Braves are acquiring CF Adam Jones for Mike Minor from the O’s.
Spud Webb
July 27th, 2011
3:55 pm
motor, line of the day “Buy the Braves and we’ll throw in Stone MTN. and the GM plant.and Strokers too.” CLASSIC
JurassicPark
July 27th, 2011
3:55 pm
The Braves should go out quickly and sign Carlos Beltran. The Braves can forget about any post-season chances at all if they fail to bring in Beltran. With McCann gone for the season, the hopes of winning a world series is quickly going down the drain. Carlos should be signed today and the Braves can enhance their chances of winning another world championship. If the Braves sign Beltran, the Braves immediately become the favorites to win the whole enchalada.
JCH
July 27th, 2011
3:56 pm
Spud, making a big splash for this year’s post-season run no longer makes sense – see my post at 3:52 for my thoughts
motor
July 27th, 2011
3:56 pm
thx bro. peace out.
Reality Check
July 27th, 2011
3:58 pm
JurassicPark – For one Beltran is gone, get a clue. For two, McCann is not out for the season. Get a grip dude.
HAL
July 27th, 2011
3:58 pm
i love how everyone forgets when talking about wren that it was js who caused all this with one of if not the worst trade in history i think andrus leading off playing short might cover a lot of our nned but i rember this same blog at the time of the ill fated tex trade our resident umm’expertchiding me with elvis andrus was never going too by pass escobar as a starting short stop you can bank that well im sure seeing his comments his bank account could use some help if i was wren id still look at mike cuddyer or josh willingham to replace haystack the real cause of men left on base problem that is the ones he dosent erase with his weak ground into double play grounders
brandon
July 27th, 2011
3:59 pm
Do a deal soon! We’ve got what, 4 top pitching prospects, but what if one or none pan out a year or 2 from now??? We definitely could use a veteran like Pence. Remember a top prospect for the Braves about 7-8 years ago…I think his name was Jose Capellan…how’d he pan out? Anyway, we traded him for Dan freakin’ Kolb! Why not give up one of the top prospects for Pence??? There’s always a chance that who you give up may not be an impact in the future + you have to like the track record on Pence…
Larry
July 27th, 2011
4:01 pm
braves have just traded for hunter pence
Mike
July 27th, 2011
4:04 pm
Link or it never happen.
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater
July 27th, 2011
4:05 pm
you can cross off colby rasmus (OF)- just traded to toronto
Korg
July 27th, 2011
4:05 pm
Minor should not be brought up bring up the fireballer we are so screwed
fordcobra
July 27th, 2011
4:05 pm
I know it’s been said several times before, but please read more than the last post before posting BELTRAN has been TRADED.
Nate Mclouth
July 27th, 2011
4:06 pm
What are yall saying im the leader here with and awesome bat!!!
Patrick Romano WAR DAMN EAGLE
July 27th, 2011
4:06 pm
Hey Roll Tide, First (Moron mentality) last I checked Gene Chizick & Auburn University were the National Champs, Stae OF Alabama Champs & FIRST period, weren’t you there day after Thanksgiving???I sure was..WAR DAMN EAGLE.
Only a IQ’ed challenged Bammer Fan would bust in on a baseball blog, what a loser, you and Harvey Updyled need to get a life-sentence that is!!!
What a loser…
Braves will be Alright, they could use another decent batter and Prado to wake up along with Jey Hey and Gonzalez. Love the hang in there effort though until 1:50 AM
Go Braves, we are still talking about the braves and not college football, bammer loser let us enjoy 60 more days of NC…
Gary
July 27th, 2011
4:07 pm
Remember another top prospect we gave up to acquire a hitter brandon? Odalis Perez for Gary Sheffield and that turned out good. I don’t know why people are content in keeping Mike freaking Minor. The Braves have three, possibly four, pitching prospects ahead of him right now and they just drafted a LHP who will likely be better than Minor.
Another GM
July 27th, 2011
4:07 pm
Gary – I agree 100%. Minor is not gonna help us in any pennant run. The Yankees have used a great minor leagues farm team for trading for pieces at the deadline to win a world series. I would have traded Minor or Beltran in a heartbeat.