Comments for Atlanta Braves

Comment on Atlanta’s Overlooked Key Players for 2010: Martin Prado by john

john — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 18:04:24 +0000

Good luck with the move if I don’t talk to you before then.

Comment on Does Jair Jurrjens Have Something Wrong with His Shoulder? by john

john — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 22:02:03 +0000

This would be a big blow, but I’m hoping any concerns about his shoulder are being overstated because guys like O’Brien and Rob Neyer have nothing else to write about right now until spring training gets underway.

If Jurrjens was to miss the very beginning of the year I’m not sure it’s a huge loss since the odds are he’d be fully ready when he came back and it would keep a few innings off his shoulder.

Hopefully the news isn’t that bad and we don’t jump out and get some pitcher we won’t need by the end of April. Ugh, that means you John Smoltz I like ya but signing you as a starter has PR disaster written all over it.

Kris Medlen would be probably the safer choice if Jurrjens wasn’t ready to start the year. Plus we get to see if he could maybe crack it as a starter, we know he’s a pretty good bet going forward as a reliever so ya those are my opinions

Comment on A plea to Wren: Don’t be tricked by Boras and Damon by CarlS

CarlS — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 02:41:55 +0000

Johnny Damon would help this team a lot. He plays hard and brings to the team some things they need: leadoff, agressive on the bases, some pop, etc. They could use a little of his swagger.

What the Braves and Johnny don’t need is a two year contract. If he played here and had a good year, which I think he would, then he could go out and get his bigger contract next year. The Braves have too many outfielders in the system and they need to give them the opportunity to play in 2011 or even 2010 if someone gets hurt. With a two yar cotract on Damon, they’ll spend all of next season trying to figure out who to trade and who to keep and wondering if the guys down on the farm can do the job.

I’d rather not have him than give him a two year deal although since the Braves don’t give no trade contracts, he’d be easy to trade at something like $5 million.

Comment on Counterpoint: The Braves and Johnny Damon Both Need Each Other by Jim Cheney

Jim Cheney — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 23:23:12 +0000

Boras is good, that’s for sure.

I would be okay with the Braves going up to 2-years, $14-15 million if the money is there.
I doubt it is though. Looks like Damon might have been priced out of our range.

Comment on Counterpoint: The Braves and Johnny Damon Both Need Each Other by john

john — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 23:03:29 +0000

the site died on me. have to comment again.
Jim, those numbers are from a few days ago I guess. Now Boras has a 2 year offer of $14 million from the Tigers and it’s being said that the White Sox are now in on the deal as well.

Sounds like Boras has done a great job of getting all of the second tier spending teams interested in his client.

I would have been fine with Damon at 5 mil, maybe even two years… maybe but not at those demands. wow. this money has escalated quickly, Boras has done his job excellently.

Comment on A plea to Wren: Don’t be tricked by Boras and Damon by john

john — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 14:20:50 +0000

sounds good.
you do realize that the counterpoint would pretty much read
“give into damon, give him whatever he wants. give him the giant peach, coca-cola park and the college football hall of fame. I don’t care if it hasn’t moved from South Bend yet!” )

Comment on A plea to Wren: Don’t be tricked by Boras and Damon by Jim Cheney

Jim Cheney — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 05:13:25 +0000

Nice article John. I’ll give it a little front page love tomorrow.

Also, look for a counterpoint article sometime soon.

Comment on Did the Braves Take a Major Risk in Signing Tim Hudson? Why Sky Andrecheck is Dead Wrong. by john

john — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:02:28 +0000

I thought it was a good deal but now im starting to question it based mainly on how the rest of the market and the winter has played out.

There is no way Hudson would have gotten 12 million on the open market, and considering that Rich Harden who actually made starts last year had to settle for 7 i doubt he would have topped that by much but that’s in hindsight.

I think another misstep was signing Wagner and Saito so quickly. For one it caused a minor fuss when Soriano accepted arbitration. For my money I probably would have rather paid Soriano over Wagner or Saito but we could all debate that and the truth is they are all about the same when you factor in success and injuries. Who knows how low their contracts could and would have dropped if we had of waited a few weeks.

when it comes down to it id rather have Hudson over Vazquez in 2010 but thats me. I guess i can’t complain about that but my worry or complaint would be the amount of money we forked over for Hudson and the two relievers when it’s starting to look like we may have done better had we waited.

who knows had we waited, signed Hudson for 8, spent 8 million on wagner and saito instead of 10 then maybe we could have signed Johnny Damon who would have been a far bigger upgrade to the roster then any of those players.

but again this is all in hindsight and I don’t think anyone can argue that the team is vastly improved over last years team. on paper atleast.

Comment on Recapping Atlanta’s Winter League Successes and One Failure by Carlos Torrealba

Carlos Torrealba — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:22:37 +0000

Jim,

No problem. If you want to get info from Venezuela winter league drop me a line.

Regards,

Comment on Recapping Atlanta’s Winter League Successes and One Failure by Jim Cheney

Jim Cheney — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 03:12:03 +0000

Carlos,
Thanks for the comment and the corrections. It is really hard to find out information on Winter League baseball in South America. The MLB.com site I was looking at only listed his stats for his second team.

Congrats to Blanco for the MVP award.

Comment on Recapping Atlanta’s Winter League Successes and One Failure by Carlos Torrealba

Carlos Torrealba — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:03:18 +0000

Jim,

You are mistaken about Gregor Blanco’s team. He played regular season and playoffs with Tiburones de La Guaira, his original team in Venezuela. When Tiburones was eliminated, he was picked up by Leones del Caracas as a reinforcement for the finals, where he won the Series MVP.

Comment on Remembering Skip Caray by Nick Poust

Nick Poust — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 06:45:52 +0000

I was a big Braves fan as a kid; my grandmother was infatuated with Bobby Cox and my favorite player was Chipper Jones. I watched nearly all of the games, and thoroughly enjoyed Caray’s commentating along with Joe Simpson. They were a great tandem to listen to.

Those were great calls by Caray. Good choices!

Comment on Despite Rumors, Johnny Damon Signing is Unlikely by CarlS

CarlS — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 02:20:40 +0000

I’d like to see him in a Braves uniform but not at the loss of McLouth or Diaz. He’s a one year rental looking to prove he’s worthy of a big contract. I’d be fine with trading Cabrerra and Schafer for some pitching or someone that would help this year. Besides his weak arm, I like Damon. He’s a winner. His offense is very good even possibly unappreciated. He plays hard, plays smart and seems to be a positive influence in the club house. But Diaz and McLouth are good long term players for the Braves and we’d just be looking for someone next year if one of them left. I’m not convinced Shafer is the answer.

Comment on Arodys Vizcaino: The Real Star of the Javier Vazquez Trade by Jim Cheney

Jim Cheney — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 23:43:49 +0000

If they all actually continue to be big prospects, I would guess that between Vizcaino, Tehren, and Minor that at least one of them will be traded at some point.

I can’t say that I would blame the Braves’ front office though. All five of them might end up being overkill. If we can get a good player in return and fill in the fifth spot with a veteran that can mentor them, it might be the way to go.

Comment on Jason Heyward Named Baseball’s Top Prospect By MLB.com by Jim Cheney

Jim Cheney — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 22:24:26 +0000

Sorry for misunderstanding your question.

I’ve got to think that unless Heyward is struggling in AAA that they will find a way to bring him up mid-season.

It is highly likely that the Braves’ would have a need somewhere else on their roster at some point in the season and would try and trade an outfielder to fill their need, thus freeing up a spot for Heyward.