But, i'm not currently ready to announce the Braves as playoff contenders just yet. While they have taken care of their number one need this offseason by signing Derek Lowe and Kenshin Kawakami to major league contracts and trading for Javier Vazquez there are a number of lingering needs and upgrades necessary to make this big league ballclub a very competitive team in '09; Namely, a big bat to put in the middle of the lineup between Chipper and Mac, preferably a RH hitting left fielder. While baseball pundits will tell this ball club to look at an Adam Dunn or a Bobby Abreu (both costing the club 2 drafts picks because they are both type A free agents), I see a few problems with that logic. Number one being that they are both left handed hitters. While Abreu swings for a better average and is a superior defender over Dunn, both are in the downturn of their careers. Ever since jinxing himself by winning the '03 homerun derby Abreu has never been able to replicate the same power swing that made him a mainstay and perennial All-Star in Philadelphia. Dunn is a power hitting behemoth whom strikes out a ton. Didn't Atlanta just get rid of a guy like that? We don't need another Andruw Jones. Speaking of Jones, as much of a fan favorite as Jones was, its hard for me to consider giving him anything above a minor league deal at this point...or, at the most, a major league contract paying the minimum. The 2nd problem being that both will command a considerable amount and a number of years that the Braves aren't willing to fork over at this point. They are simply looking for a stop gap to the next batch of hungry minor league players. There are a number of superior alternatives to Abreu and Dunn on other clubs...
1) Nick Swisher/Xavier Nady - pick your poison. Many will tell you that Nady is the superior offensive and defensive player...and they would be right in that assumption. However, Swisher is signed through '11. My guess is that the Braves will make a push for Swisher...assuming that they can dump his back-loaded salary once they deem new fan favorite Jason Heyward ready to make the jump to the majors in the 2nd half of the '10 season. I just HOPE and pray to the almighty one that they don't trade away more good prospects for immediate payoff this season.
2) Jeremy Hermida/Ryan Ludwick/Corey Hart/Rick Ankiel/Magglio Ordonez/Jermaine Dye/Nate McClouth - any one of these guys would be a huge upgrade over the possible current platoon of Matt Diaz and Brandon Jones. The preferred favorites to come to Atlanta would be Ludwick, Ordonez, or Dye. The sentimental pick would be Dye because he began his career in Atlanta and was later traded for someone...now whom could that player be?? Ozzie Guillen?? no, but that would've certainly been ironic. I see Atlanta making a push for big name soon but, it may not be any of these guys which makes me kind of sad to see Atlanta going into season without a big name to put in the middle of their order.
3) Manny Ramirez - now, I know there is no way in hell he will end up a Brave but I say 'why not?' He is a Right-Handed power hitting run producer almost any team would salivate over to have in the middle of their lineup. He puts up a great average, huge OPS, RBI's, Runs scored and homeruns. He's hard to strike out and a fun guy to boot. Forget his antics off the field and his off color comments and look at the statistics. This guy could reinvigorate Turner Field and Braves fans. After a dismal offseason marred by the general manager and the Braves ball club being spurned by a number of high profile free agents isn't Manny the type of run producer and stopgap the Braves desperately need. The Phillies and Mets won't back down any time soon. Why not show the eastern division that the Braves aren't simply ready to lay down and die. Bring in Manny. Let Manny be Manny and let him bring the Braves back to the playoffs. Chipper Jones can no longer put the Braves on his back.
A few other needs the Braves currently need are a established Left Handed reliever and they can fulfill this easily if Will Ohman re-signs with them. They may eventually have his services back in Atlanta because the free agent market has all but frozen prices for top name free agents. The Braves can't go into the season with a left handed duet of Boone Logan and Eric O'Flaherty.
Re-signing Tom Glavine needs to remain a priority for this club. I know that the Braves have a plethora of prospects waiting in the wings to make the jump and build upon last years statistics. As evidenced by last season, however, you can never have TOO much pitching on your major league ballclub. Even if Glavine proves worthless down the homestretch, they have Tommy Hanson, James Parr, Jo-Jo Reyes, Charlie Morton and Jorge Campillo all ready to fill the large shoes of Tommy Glavine. The fans will not be so forgiving if we lose another fixture in the Braves clubhouse this offseason.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Never count the Braves in...
Doyle Alexander is turning over in his grave (metaphorically speaking) because the same thing that happened in 1987 when the Detroit Tigers traded a green-behind-the-ears John Smoltz to the Atlanta Braves for a proven starter, Doyle Alexander is somehow happening again...albeit at the expense of the Alexander's former employer. When told that John Smoltz had signed a one-year deal with the BoSox, Frank Wren, General Manager of the Atlanta Braves, added this latest departure (and lack of a star signing) to a growing list of missing star power. While Tyler Flowers may never become the ChiSox version of future HOF John Smoltz, there is reason to wonder what has been going through the brains of the Braves front office this offseason.
1. The Jake Peavy sweepstakes - while Jake Peavy is still a Padre (as of 1/12/09) the Braves lost out on a proven ace and someday HOF in his own right. The package that the Braves were offering in the beginning of November was a pretty good package of proven major league talent that GM Kevin Towers turned down because he wanted 'substanstial' returns for his only All-Star player (bon voyage Trevor Hoffman)! This missed opportunity only began the Braves frustrations in the offseason.
2. A.J. Burnett, a great #2 starter - except for the 29 other major league ball clubs who lost out on his services this offseason. While Burnett would've been a legitimate number one starter on the Braves roster, he preferred to join the Yankees and their powerhouse ball club of who's who. Factoring into his decision were Burnett's wife whom doesn't like to be on planes (that's interesting that he choose to previously play for Toronto, eh?) and that Burnett has always been in a rotation with a legitimate number one starter ahead of him in the rotation. Too bad the Braves lost out on the Peavy sweepstakes because we could be calling Burnett a Brave.
3. Rafy's bag of magic tricks - don't believe what you see in front of your eyes. You might be mistaken. For all of...12 hours Rafael Furcal was once again an Atlanta Brave...or not. While technically never signed by the Braves, he seemingly made it never possible to rejoin his beloved ball club and perenial father/clubhouse fixture Bobby Cox. While Furcal denies reports that he never told his agent to have the Braves fax over an offer sheet, the Braves, in their infinite boyish enthusiasm believed that they had a binding contract with Furcal and his agent when GM Frank Wren was made to believe that by asking for the Braves to send over an offer sheet, former Braves SS, Rafael Furcal, actually wanted to play for them again. Boy, how dumb can you be to fall for that old standby?
4. 41 years young and still competitive - John Smoltz is a shoe-in for first time HOF election. Yet, despite his competitive juices and devotion to Bobby Cox and his beloved Braves, he couldn't see it in his heart to give them one more year of his professional sports life...that, and the BoSox are as likely to be in the postseason as the Cubs are likely to not to win a World Championship (no offense Milton Bradley)! While Smoltz claims that the money he will earn this season outweighs the offers he received from the Braves, many wonder if he was truly driven by a desire to win another championship...and find out how hard American League hitters will hit him.
5. (Yet to be determined) -- while the offseason draws to a close, lest we forget that this team is not your prototypical Bobby Cox/John Schuerholz masterpiece. Schuerholz has taken a backseat for the past 2 years and let soon-to-be unemployed Frank Wren take the helm and Leo Mazzone's locker smells more like a dead man's coffin than that 30 year-old jockstrap he still wears. This isn't the Braves ball club of old and once Tom Glavine and Chipper Jones move on as well, this team will be reminiscent of the Kansas City Royals---a breadth of talent but no real leadership and heart.
1. The Jake Peavy sweepstakes - while Jake Peavy is still a Padre (as of 1/12/09) the Braves lost out on a proven ace and someday HOF in his own right. The package that the Braves were offering in the beginning of November was a pretty good package of proven major league talent that GM Kevin Towers turned down because he wanted 'substanstial' returns for his only All-Star player (bon voyage Trevor Hoffman)! This missed opportunity only began the Braves frustrations in the offseason.
2. A.J. Burnett, a great #2 starter - except for the 29 other major league ball clubs who lost out on his services this offseason. While Burnett would've been a legitimate number one starter on the Braves roster, he preferred to join the Yankees and their powerhouse ball club of who's who. Factoring into his decision were Burnett's wife whom doesn't like to be on planes (that's interesting that he choose to previously play for Toronto, eh?) and that Burnett has always been in a rotation with a legitimate number one starter ahead of him in the rotation. Too bad the Braves lost out on the Peavy sweepstakes because we could be calling Burnett a Brave.
3. Rafy's bag of magic tricks - don't believe what you see in front of your eyes. You might be mistaken. For all of...12 hours Rafael Furcal was once again an Atlanta Brave...or not. While technically never signed by the Braves, he seemingly made it never possible to rejoin his beloved ball club and perenial father/clubhouse fixture Bobby Cox. While Furcal denies reports that he never told his agent to have the Braves fax over an offer sheet, the Braves, in their infinite boyish enthusiasm believed that they had a binding contract with Furcal and his agent when GM Frank Wren was made to believe that by asking for the Braves to send over an offer sheet, former Braves SS, Rafael Furcal, actually wanted to play for them again. Boy, how dumb can you be to fall for that old standby?
4. 41 years young and still competitive - John Smoltz is a shoe-in for first time HOF election. Yet, despite his competitive juices and devotion to Bobby Cox and his beloved Braves, he couldn't see it in his heart to give them one more year of his professional sports life...that, and the BoSox are as likely to be in the postseason as the Cubs are likely to not to win a World Championship (no offense Milton Bradley)! While Smoltz claims that the money he will earn this season outweighs the offers he received from the Braves, many wonder if he was truly driven by a desire to win another championship...and find out how hard American League hitters will hit him.
5. (Yet to be determined) -- while the offseason draws to a close, lest we forget that this team is not your prototypical Bobby Cox/John Schuerholz masterpiece. Schuerholz has taken a backseat for the past 2 years and let soon-to-be unemployed Frank Wren take the helm and Leo Mazzone's locker smells more like a dead man's coffin than that 30 year-old jockstrap he still wears. This isn't the Braves ball club of old and once Tom Glavine and Chipper Jones move on as well, this team will be reminiscent of the Kansas City Royals---a breadth of talent but no real leadership and heart.
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