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“Hey, it’s John Schuerholz.”
“Hi, John, how’s it going?”
“Pretty well. So, I see you’ve got a couple of relievers up for arbitration next year.”
“Yeah, I’ve been expecting your call. You want to make an offer?”
“Well, first off, you need middle infield help. Now, I’ve got this Betemit kid, and I think he’s a keeper. So, would you be interested in Rafael Furcal?”
*Click*
“Uh, you still there?”
*Dial tone*
patently ridiculous in light of how Bobby Cox views Raffy and the defense he’s displayed this year. There are plenty of teams who would jump at him if they were guaranteed that he’s sign a multi year contract.
Bull. Defense won’t make up for a guy hitting .226 with a .281 OBP. The Braves are shopping Furcal and everyone knows it.
I think people are being way too harsh on Furcal. his OPS, with his terrible year thus far, is .628. Everybody’s new SS hero, Cesar Izturis, is at .677. Raffie will catch him in 10 days, as he moves toward his career OPS, in the low .700s. if we move him, it had better be for someone good, or we are making a mistake.
While I do agree that he’ll end up with a much better OPS, I still say trade him when Chipper is ready to go, even if it’s not the best deal. He’ll be gone after this year either way, and there’s no point in keeping Betemit from playing.
Well, if they love Izturis then they’ll want Furcal to drive their daughters home from parties. And I say bring ’em on.
you shouldn’t start something by dismissing what someone else said as “bull.” I agree that we will look to deal him but that’s just because we have other and hopefully better options. I think he’s in a major slump but before the seson began he was about the 5th to 7th best SS around the game. I think Braves fans fell for all the hype about him being the next Rickey Henderson. If we tone down our expectations somewhat then we won’t be as disappointed as well.
Don’t you lecture me.
Furcal has always been overrated because of his stolen bases, and hence overpaid relative to his real production. And a “slump” is not something that lasts for half a season. He’s hurting, he isn’t hitting the ball with any authority (except sometimes early in the game). The Braves would have dealt him in the offseason if they’d had any confidence in Betemit’s ability to play shortstop.
Remember when SS that could field but couldn’t hit were in style? Ozzie Smith comes to mind. Career .665 OPS. Best Year, 1987 .775. He only scored over 100 runs once in his career. Frucal’s done that twice already and bear Ozzie’s career best OPS 3 times. Ozzie was 2nd in the NL MVP that year, and those number pale in comparison to Furcal’s best year.
Not to stick up for Furcal, but this is his first really bad year offensively and he’ll probably set career highs in stolen bases and fielding %. Not a terrible trade-off if you ask me. btw, Ozzie was probably the highest paid shortstop with those stats. My how the game has changed.
We can get some serious takers for him. After all, we got Tim Hudson for Charles Thomas, didn’t we?
I refuse to lower my expectations for a major league performance by the team’s shortstop. Mac will always speak the plain truth, commenting only when the facts clearly overshadow sentiment.
Michael, your comments will always be welcome here because you show smarts and passion.
But don’t defend poor performance out of loyalty!
Furcal is playing hurt and I hope he soon sees that he’s not helping anybody by doing it.
Sentimentality is important for a fan. I named my cat after Otis Nixon… even have a picture of him right next to me on the wall. But I don’t want him back. He was one of my favorite Braves, but I know he wasn’t actually good.
Well, come to think of it, I’d take his ’91 offense over Furcal’s ’05.
I’m not lecturing Mac or defending poor performance out of loyalty. But like others have pointed out this is Raffy’s first truly crappy year. So:
#1 Let’s give him a chance to strut his stuff in the 2nd half
#2 Let’s keep in mind that he’s compeensating for his poor offense as best as he can through sttealing bases and fabulous defense, best he’s ever played before.
All that said and I still believe he will be dealt because of the logjam we have on the left side of the infield. However, let’s not just give him away. After all, he’s meant a lot to this club and his name ain’t Kolb.
I say let’s give Furcal until the end of July when Chipper comes back to start hitting. He has hit well the last few games and I hope he continues. He still provides a lot of help to our team because he is a much improved base stealer and provides amazing range along with his cannon on defense. If Furcal is still struggling when Chipper comes back and Betemit is still hitting then we should think about a change.