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.
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