Ortiz confident in new rotation
I’m not, Russ. Also: Byrd is expected (not by me, though) to pitch in May or June, Smoltz isn’t hurt yet, and neither is JD Drew, whose little brother is supposed to pitch late in the exhibition against UGA. I’ll give this to Tim Drew: he’s a more credible candidate for the majors than Mike Glavine.
Their other brother, Stephen, is an outfielder at Florida State, and a damn good one from what I understand.
Evidently he’s being tabbed as a fairly high draft selection this June.
All the folks in Hahira say he’s the best Drew of the bunch.
Our rotation has plenty of potential. There is lots to be optimistic about.
Our rotation has plenty of potential.
Yeah, but so did Brien Taylor, Todd Van Poppel and Kiki Jones …
The simple fact that Shane Reynolds will not start every fifth game means that the rotation has a good chance to be better than last year (4.16 ERA–seventh in NL).
Hey Mac- what is your take on the article on ESPN.com saying the Braves should trade for Junior Griffey? I think he got the idea from an article by Terrence Moore, but it seems like a nifty idea. He also talks about moving Chipper back to third, which I thought was a valid point. It seems like the Reds would have to pick up a ton of salary for Griffey to make it happen.
I went to Reynolds game log to see how the team did with Reynolds. Despite his 11-9 record, the team went 12-18 in his starts. ugh.
Griffey makes a lot of money, money I don’t see the Braves taking on. It’s an insider article and I let my subscription to that lapse long ago, but unless they explain how the Braves could make that move without unloading Chipper or Andruw, further comment isn’t really needed.
I was going to comment on Moore but I’ve decided to impose a Terrence-free zone. I can’t take it anymore. Anybody who thinks that Andruw should move from center to make room for the increasingly decrepit Griffey is nuts. With Moore, that just goes with the territory.
If you want more discussion of the Griffey-to-Atlanta article in the AJC, there is an entry for it at Baseball Primer.
Junior? As good as he has been, never pay anyone for what he has done, but for what he will do. Right now, he ist just a declining, injury-bugged outfielder.
BTW, who needs another outfielder anyway? We’re gonna be just fine with DeRo at third, no need to move Chipper. Being a regular will do its magic on DeRo just like it has done on Giles. What we do need – IMHO – is a first baseman.
Sorry Mac, I will also treat this as “Terrence Moore Free” zone. At least the ESPN guy said to leave Andruw in center, so he has more credibility than Moore.
Frank, being a regular isn’t “magic.” If a player is good, they’ll hit; if they aren’t, they won’t. Giles had amazing minor league stats which indicated that he’d be a good player. DeRosa doesn’t and is at an age at which its unlikely that there will be a dramatic increase in ability. Scrappy, yes. With the ability to play SS, 3B and fill in elsewhere, he’s a good role player. Perhaps even a decent batting average. But no walks + no steals + no power = no starter for a competitive team. In 275 MLB games, he has a .330 OBA and .395 SLG. Even with some increase due to starting daily (something I don’t concede) he would be far, far, far away from even the level of an injured Griffey and below any reasonable mid to long term expectations for LaRoche.