2009 Atlanta Braves Thread

[Olympic Fan]

Don't think the lure of the playoffs had anything to do with it -- Smoltz is a guy who has pitched in postseason a million times.

I was watching the Hot Stove show on the MLB Network and they were interviewing the Braves' GM -- he said the Smoltz thing was a result of the Braves priority to straighten out its starting rotation to avoid a collapse like last year. Said that both Smoltz and Glavine were told that the Braves would be interesting in talking to them about a return, but only AFTER the rest of the staff was solidified.

He said that when Smoltz got the offer from the Red Sox, he came to the Braves and was told that they were not ready to negotiate with him ... so he took the only offer on the table.

BTW: He was asked about the rumors of Andruw Jones returning, but deflected the question by noting that Jones is -- as of this moment -- still property of the Dodgers and that any comment at all would be construed as tampering.

[YmoBeThere]

1) Perhaps I should add that Boston has proven they can actually do something in the playoffs over their recent history. While he has pitched in the postseason many times, the opportunity isn't likely coming with the Braves this year.

2) One could argue that he doesn't need to pitch at all...other than for competitive zeal. So why the need to take whatever offer was on the table? Still lots of time left to negotitate.

3) Even before "solidifying" the rotation, they couldn't match the Red Sox offer? I don't have access to their books, but I would hazard that they could have gotten it done.

Keep in mind that the Braves' GM is trying to save face given the public outcry over the situation.

Finally, Jones was released by the Dodgers late Thursday night...

[Lavabe]

Looks like Junior (not Earnhardt) may become a Brave:
http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sp...ge_tab_newstab

And guess what ...

Mike Hampton (now of the Astros) had a heartbeat issue... for a day:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...T71_AD96DFLH80

Paging devildeac!! What will be the next Mike Hampton injury?

[DevilAlumna]

You guys also got Griffey - a shame, he would have been a revered player here.

http://www.ajc.com/services/content/...s_griffey.html

[devildeac]

Looks like Junior (not Earnhardt) may become a Brave:
http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sp...ge_tab_newstab

And guess what ...

Mike Hampton (now of the Astros) had a heartbeat issue... for a day:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...T71_AD96DFLH80

Paging devildeac!! What will be the next Mike Hampton injury?

If he has to take Coumadin, a blood thinner, for any period of time, I'd expect him to bump his elbow/knee/fill in body part here and end up with a huge bruise which would land him on the DL for an "extended" period of time.

[Lavabe]

You guys also got Griffey - a shame, he would have been a revered player here.

http://www.ajc.com/services/content/...s_griffey.html

And it looks like the winner is...
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...ap/index.html

Good for the M's! Bad for the Braves!

[devildeac]

And it looks like the winner is...
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...ap/index.html

Good for the M's! Bad for the Braves!

Perhaps not. I can remember a 2 piece article from when we lived in Augusta for 5 years (1981-1986) that selected the all-time worst Braves players by position and it was quite a gallery of rogues, including such players as Bruce "Eggs" Benedict (he wasn't much of a men's college BB ref either), Pascual "I-285" Perez, Claudell "Cocaine" Washington and Bruce Sutter and "Gasoline" Gene Garber. For the life of me, I can't locate that article now but one of the main points was how management seemed to have the unique talent (cough) of picking up players that were several years beyond their prime for rather large salaries. I read that several times over the years and always had quite a chuckle over it. Let's hope some of their AA/AAA talent develops enough to be in MLB real soon.

[YmoBeThere]

Griffey never should have left Seattle...

[Matches]

That whoosh you hear is the AJC's remaining credibility flying out the window...

[DevilAlumna]

Griffey never should have left Seattle...

He's beloved out here. I heard on the news tonight that the M's already have his jerseys for sale... for $232!?!?

[YmoBeThere]

I saw he and A Roid when they were both in Seattle, it was A Roid's rookie season. Tiles fell off the Kingdome roof a day or two after we were there.

[JasonEvans]

Guess who is coming back? Tom Glavine.

1 year deal for a million bucks. He gets another million the moment they place him on the active roster and $1.25 million for being on the roster for 30 days and 60 days. So, assuming he is even moderately effective, he will earn about $4 million dollars. I guess that is ok.

They figure he will be the 5th starter. Cool. I am just glad they are not going to be counting on him for too much. That 43-year-old surgically repaired arm ain't what it used to be

-Jason "bummed that they missed on Griff, but I don't think it is that big a deal" Evans

[Olympic Fan]

Guess who is coming back? Tom Glavine.

1 year deal for a million bucks. He gets another million the moment they place him on the active roster and $1.25 million for being on the roster for 30 days and 60 days. So, assuming he is even moderately effective, he will earn about $4 million dollars. I guess that is ok.

They figure he will be the 5th starter. Cool. I am just glad they are not going to be counting on him for too much. That 43-year-old surgically repaired arm ain't what it used to be

-Jason "bummed that they missed on Griff, but I don't think it is that big a deal" Evans

I have no problem with the Glavine deal. A one-year commitment at such a small amount won't block any other moves, if he's a bust, and if he's even moderately effective, you've got a great deal.

As for Griffey, it would have been a nice pickup, but it's sure not a big blow (he's no longer a great or even an above-average player). I think it's neat that he ended up in Seattle, where he once WAS a great player.

It just makes me madder that Smoltz couldn't end his career where he belongs -- in Atlanta. Especially since he signed with the Red Sox for only slightly more (one year, $5 million with incentives) that Glavine got.

[devildeac]

Braves signed Francoeur to a 1 year deal worth 3.375 million last week and avoided arbitration. He wanted 3.95 million and they offered 2.8 million. His salary last year was 460,000. He hit .239 with 11 HR and 71 RBI's. and spent part of the season in the minors trying to work out some of his hitting problems. They missed on Griffey and Smoltz and they give Francoeur almost a 3 million raise. What am I missing here? Does he think he works for BoA/Merrill Lynch or Bear Stearns? Why am I not terribly excited about this? Are many Braves fans? Paging Olympic Fan or Jason Evans to help me understand. Or any one to help me understand.

[Lavabe]

ESPN is reporting that the Braves have come to terms with Garret Anderson.

Curious move for the Braves.

[Lavabe]

I didn't feel comfortable posting this in the 2008 A.B. thread. It's a new season, and 2008 was awful. It's time to start anew.

As it turns out, Atlanta may have issues already. The latest with the injury bug is ... Chipper:
http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sp...raves_wbc.html

Ugh...

On the bright side, the Braves no longer have Mike Hampton.

Cheers,
Lavabe

ETA: Please bump this to the thread that devildeac found. I Swear I didn't find it in my SEARCH of "Braves."

[devildeac]

I didn't feel comfortable posting this in the 2008 A.B. thread. It's a new season, and 2008 was awful. It's time to start anew.

As it turns out, Atlanta may have issues already. The latest with the injury bug is ... Chipper:
http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sp...raves_wbc.html

Ugh...

On the bright side, the Braves no longer have Mike Hampton.

Cheers,
Lavabe

I thought we had one of these already.

[kmspeaks]

Just bumping this back up to the front page now that the season is officially underway. Good win last night although the bullpen made me a little nervous. I can't wait for school to be over so I can get back inside the Braves TV coverage area and not have to pray for an ESPN broadcast to get to watch. Why can't they still be on TBS?

[Olympic Fan]

It's hard to imagine how opening night could have been much better for the Braves ...

The team's big offseason investment (Lowe) gives you 8 scoreless innings for the win. The young OF you're counting on to bounce back from a horrible season (Francour) homers in his first AB. Your very young future star that some critics think you rushed too fast (Schaeffer) homers in his first ML at-bat, then singles in his second. Your stud catcher (McCann) homers and your aging veteran (Chipper) has a single and a double.

I guess to be perfect, Gonzales would have gone 1-2-3 in the ninth ... he didn't, giving up a walk and two hits sandwiched around one out. But with a run in and the tying run at the plate, he strikes out Ryan Howard and then strikes out the next guy. To me, pitching his first real game in almost a year, Gonzales showed the live arm that was always his greatest asset.

Can't beat a 4-1 victory over the defending World Series champs in their ballpark.

PS Did anybody else think it strange that they never showed a replay of Escobar's blast in the third? Even the guy in the Phillies shirt where it was hit was signalling that it was a home run. I'm not saying it was -- I couldn't tell in realtime if it bounced off the wall or out of the fans' hands, but ESPN never showed a replay.

[devildeac]

It's hard to imagine how opening night could have been much better for the Braves ...

The team's big offseason investment (Lowe) gives you 8 scoreless innings for the win. The young OF you're counting on to bounce back from a horrible season (Francour) homers in his first AB. Your very young future star that some critics think you rushed too fast (Schaeffer) homers in his first ML at-bat, then singles in his second. Your stud catcher (McCann) homers and your aging veteran (Chipper) has a single and a double.

I guess to be perfect, Gonzales would have gone 1-2-3 in the ninth ... he didn't, giving up a walk and two hits sandwiched around one out. But with a run in and the tying run at the plate, he strikes out Ryan Howard and then strikes out the next guy. To me, pitching his first real game in almost a year, Gonzales showed the live arm that was always his greatest asset.

Can't beat a 4-1 victory over the defending World Series champs in their ballpark.

PS Did anybody else think it strange that they never showed a replay of Escobar's blast in the third? Even the guy in the Phillies shirt where it was hit was signalling that it was a home run. I'm not saying it was -- I couldn't tell in realtime if it bounced off the wall or out of the fans' hands, but ESPN never showed a replay.

Didn't see the game or replays. What was the on-field ruling?