Baseball America – Top 10 Prospects: Atlanta Braves
1. Andy Marte, 3b
2. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, c
3. Elvis Andrus, ss
4. Yunel Escobar, ss
5. Anthony Lerew, rhp
6. Joey Devine, rhp
7. Chuck James, lhp
8. Brandon Jones, of
9. Eric Campbell, 3b
10. Beau Jones, lhp
I’ve been critical of BA in the past for overprojecting players, particularly A-ball pitchers. Not so much this year. I mean, some of these guys are a ways away but they’re still guys you have to take seriously.
If anyone has a BA account, I think short excerpts and paraphrases would be okay. Don’t copy the whole thing.
Looks good but I think I’d place Chuck James higher. I also think Elvis is a great SS prospect but feel he’s ranked too high because he’s just 17 years old (I think).
I think there are still some smaller examples of over-emphasis on tools here. It seems pretty hard to justify Anthony Lerew being ranked ahead of Chuck James. James has a career 2.04 ERA in the minors, and Lerew is a year removed from allowing more hits than innings pitched in single A. I understand he’s a year younger than James and he’s bigger (6’3 as opposed to under 6′), but that to me doesn’t justify him being ranked ahead of James.
I think BA does the “age for level” credit a bit too heavily, but Andrus has the goods according to all who watch closely, so who am I to disagree.
The thing I find oddly amusing is that during the past decade, most of our top ten prospect have been hurler-heavy. This one is 6/4 in favor of the hitters. Nice to see some balance.
I’m pretty damn surprised to see Escobar THAT high. Also i thought Burrus would be on there, BA (and their sources-Braves and other teams scouts and front office folk) have always loved him and he is muey toolsy
What are the ETAs on some of these guys? It looks like we have an embarrassment of riches on the left side of the infield and catching.
Thoughts or details on some of these guys would be appreciated.
If nothing else, we must have the best names in baseball. An Elvis-Yunel DP combo would be sweet.
What about Martin Prado, isn’t he supposed to be one of our top prospects?
Prado has “utility infielder” written all over him as far as I’m concerned. I’ve seen him touted in some quarters as a potential replacement for Giles, but I just don’t see it.
Can’t you see Elvis hitting a home run for the Braves.
“Fly ball left field, this one’s got a chance! Everyone, Elvis has left the building!!!”
Dont know if anyone posted this yet:
Rookie of the Year
NL- Ryan Howard
AL- Huston Street
Howard-Taveras-Francouer. Can’t complain, that’s about right.
Taveras in 2nd is a victory for counting stats. A .666 OPS and a 25/103 BB/K is not exactly the stuff of legends. I’d have ranked Francoeur and Zach Duke in front of Taveras.
Not sure that was clear — by counting stats, I mean at bats, runs, hits, etc. as opposed to the rate stats.
Best Hitter for Average – Jarrod Saltalamacchia
Best Power Hitter – Andy Marte
Best Strike-Zone Discipline – Wes Timmons
Fastest Baserunner – Ovandy Suero
Best Athlete – Brandon Jones
Best Fastball – Anthony Lerew
Best Curveball – Beau Jones
Best Slider – Joey Devine
Best Changeup – Chuck James
Best Control – Matt Harrison
Best Defensive Catcher – Clint Sammons
Best Defensive Infielder – Luis Hernandez
Best Infield Arm – Luis Hernandez
Best Defensive Outfielder – Gregor Blanco
Best Outfield Arm – Jon Mark Owings
I’m a little surprised Duke didn’t crack the top 3, but it’s a quibble. He certainly deserved to finish ahead of Garrett Atkins, though. Atkins had a 649 road OPS.
from Baseball America:
While all the comings and goings forced the Braves to make more than 100 roster moves at Triple-A Richmond alone, additional talent continued to enter the system. The Braves had yet another promising draft under the guidance of scouting director Roy Clark despite signing only two players taken after the 13th round. First-round righthander Joey Devine reached the major leagues in a hurry and second-round shortstop Yunel Escobar attracted raves for his bat and glove. Lefty Beau Jones (supplemental first round), righty Jeff Lyman (second) and outfielder Jordan Schafer (third) all ranked among the top 20 prospects in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League.
What’s more, Atlanta signed six draft-and-follow selections from 2004. The team also came to terms with a couple of significant foreign standouts, Venezuelan shortstop Elvis Andrus and Australian lefthander Steve Kent. Kent paid his own way to Atlanta to try out before signing for $280,000.
Even with all the big league promotions, the Braves maintain depth at several positions. They’re loaded at catcher, shortstop and third base after they deemed all three spots major weaknesses earlier in the decade. While positions players stand out the most in the system, Atlanta also has quality pitching, its calling card for years.
From BA
Q: Tony Farlow from Asheville, NC asks:
Chuck James really dominated over the last couple of years at every level he’s played, what at age 24 does he have to do to stick in Atlanta?
A: Bill Ballew: Chuck established himself as a prospect over the past two years and has the ability to be a solid member of the rotation, probably as a No. 4 or 5 starter. He needs an opportunity. His competitiveness and changeup are off the charts, but his size is not projectable. Still, all he’s done is win, so his chance is coming.
Apparently, many have questioned James’ ability to keep the ball in the park at the major league level. He had the lowest groundball/flyball ratio in the entire minor leagues last year, and only throws around 90 mph, so some scouts believe that some of those flyball outs in the minors will become homers in the majors. He allowed 9 homers in over 160 innings this year, a rate he almost certainly cannot sustain in the majors with a 0.3 GB/FB ratio. I still stubbornly think they’re wrong about him though — he’s just been too dominant at each level.
LARGEST BONUSES IN CLUB HISTORY
Jeff Francoeur, 2002 $2,200,000
Matt Belisle, 1998 $1,750,000
Jung Bong, 1997 $1,700,000
Macay McBride, 2001 $1,340,000
Joey Devine, 2005 $1,300,000
So if your keeping track, those 17 innings we got from Mercker in ’03 cost $1.75 million. And signing up for the Chris Reitsma horror show cost $1.7 million.
The good thing James has going for him, even being an extreme flyball pitcher, is all those Ks. If he can keep up anything close to that sick strikeout rate in the majors, a few homers won’t matter too much 🙂
Nyb, that’s still more than they got for Glenn Williams.
Q: Tom T from Houston asks:
How does Chuck James fall to #7 when he completely dominated AA and did almost as well in 6 AAA starts and a very limited stint in the majors? I know that the rap on him has been that his stuff is allegedly not overpowering, but at some point doesn’t his incredible performance in the high minors have to carry more weight? I don’t understand how he could be a worse prospect than Devine and Lerew, not to mention 2 shortstops in Rookie ball and Low-A.
A: Bill Ballew: Tom T., we at Baseball America love to project players in addition to little baby ducks and pickup trucks. You’re right in that James had a great season, but his frame and overall stuff is just not as projectable as Lerew, who has all the makings of a No. 1 or 2 starter, or Devine, a premier closing prospect. Andrus and Escobar are two of the top shortstop prospects in all the minors, with Andrus having success at only 17. James is 24, and while he has a good-looking future, others simply seem to have even brighter ones at this point, which is a great situation for the Braves to have.
AJC talking about things that could go down this week for the Braves.
talking about this article. In the past I have always fretted that the Braves didn’t get anything for Maddux or Glavine, for example. But I see that as JS has said (before) the team has “a plan”. I take that to mean the plan doesn’t mean being held hostage by a player taking his own sweet time to decide which bank to gather funds from.
Off-topic: The Fire Joe Morgan blog is one of the best websites I have yet encountered (besides this one, of course ;-). Somehow, I’ve been missing all these patently retarded sports columnists. Well, no more.
Apparently, many have questioned James’ ability to keep the ball in the park at the major league level. He had the lowest groundball/flyball ratio in the entire minor leagues last year, and only throws around 90 mph, so some scouts believe that some of those flyball outs in the minors will become homers in the majors. He allowed 9 homers in over 160 innings this year, a rate he almost certainly cannot sustain in the majors with a 0.3 GB/FB ratio.
Hmm… a left-hander without a dominating fastball and a propensity to give up long flies… I can certainly understand why the Braves wouldn’t want to let Chuck James pitch. They’ve certainly never put any faith in left-handers who give up a lot of home runs, have no fastball, and leave the ball over the heart of the plate.
At least Chuck James has a track record of success! Why the hell have the Braves kept pitching Damian Moss–I mean Horacio–and letting James rot on the bench? Did he start wearing Keith Lockhart’s cologne?
Horacio grabbed a job when there was a job open. James had to actually take away Horacio’s job, a much tougher task, especially during a season.
And especially when the team is winning. There is a tendency for successful teams to stand pat. “Horacio isn’t pitching that badly, we’re in first place, and he’s just the fifth starter now. Let it lie, we’ll be okay.”
The above is stolen from Bill James; the names have been changed to persecute the guilty.
Jenny, I really wanted to to Road From Bristol III: The Columnists. But there wasn’t a lot of support for the idea, and Alex didn’t want to help, and I’m in a bit of a time crunch and couldn’t do it solo.
AAR, I am hoping there will be some action over the winter by the Braves to improve the quality of the starting rotation. Hopefully, we will see a better number three starter than Thomson and James will be slided into the fifth spot in the rotation.
I understand everything BA and other people have said regarding James not being overpowering, but the guy has proven to be dominating in the A and AA level. Worst case for Chuck is that he will spend half more season at Richmond and I don’t see why he can’t be at least in the Braves bullpen.
By the way, when I read Bill Ballew describing James that “his competitiveness and changeup are off the charts”, it reminds me exactly the same thing the Braves praised about Davies a year ago.
Well, nyb, it’s hard to make an accurate long-term projection on a young talent at the time the bonus was handed out to prospect. I am sure all teams in baseball have wasted tons of monies on talent that didn’t plan out. Boy, being a lefty does make a lot of money in baseball!!!
Actually, kc, I got the impression nyb was saying the bonus money was well spent. I mean, all of those players made the majors, and all but Bong were playing last year.
Haha, JoeyT, I am not confused by what nyb has written now!
In all of our talk today on James, it really makes me wonder what was Glavine’s prospect status back when he was at the same stage as James. I know Glavine came straight out of high school and was younger when Glavine reached the major league. However, I bet Glavine would also be described as extremely competitive, off-the-chart changeup, but not overpowering stuff when he was still at the prospect stage.
Oh, I meant “I am confused”…sorry guys…
Glavine also had a reputation for being an outstanding athlete, like anyone drafted for more than one sport. And he never had any off-field problems, though James is (as far as I’ve read) well past the hell-raising stage of his career.
Glavine was probably a B prospect for most of his minor league career, a B+ at times. But few pitchers are really A prospects.
Also, to paraphrase John Sickels, Glavine and Maddux aren’t really guys you can compare to other people. No amount of minor league analysis can predict with any degree of accuracy a future 250-300 game winner and Hall of Famer, especially from a finesse pitcher.
Marcus Giles put up great numbers offensively in the minors but because of his size was rated a lower prospect
I am interested in Brandon Jones. He moved up to Myrtle Beach at the end of the year and did very well but didn’t play the last week or so. Anybody know anything about this kid?
Glavine always scored well in the BA rankings for the Braves back when he was coming through the system. He always got high marks for his control and his professionalism.
The funny thing looking back is that he was often in the same league as David West (then a Met farmhand). BA usually gave the nod to West as the better prospect.
I’m watching Brandon Jones closely as well. He was the Royals’ 6th round pick out of HS, but then went to Tallahassee JC instead. The Braves drafted him after his freshman year and he had an absolutely monster sophomore season. Tallahassee JC had a great team in 2004. Jones hit close to .450 and had a ton of extra-base hits.
I think that we should make sure that Chipper and Andruw are still around when Beau and Brandon are ready.
“Anybody know anything about this kid?”
Draft and follow from 03. Went to a Fla JC. Supposed to be a real nice athelete in addtion to being a good hitter
Uh-oh. Mac’s one step away for calling for the signing of Todd and Jacque to multi-year deals.
This may be a stupid question, but how does a team determine its payroll. I know the fund for the huge screen in centerfield was not part of the payroll, but what keeps those funds from being able to be used as payroll for players?
Basically, toml826, the executives will set a target of the bottom line for each year, which the Braves claim they are hoping to achieve breakeven after years of big loss in the early 2000s. Then, assumptions need to be made on attendance, sales of Braves products, etc. as well as other all other costs including payroll. Payroll is simply part of the big annual budget prepared by the Braves. It should not be much deviated from how other companies around the world prepared their budget.
In respect of the huge screen at the centerfield, it will be treated as fixed assets and depreciated on the income statement over its useful life, and the depreciation is a seperate item on the income statement. Essentially, this is another piece of fixed assets invested by the Braves in hoping to generate more income and hoping more fans will visit the park more often with a better experience at the ballpark.
Schaef thank you for the postings. I had not realized that Steven Kent had come to Atlanta before signing a bonus. On the absurd side of things, it gives the Braves organization their second player with that name.
More important, between Kent and Timms (not to mention GSL prospects) the Braves already have the makings of a nice GCL rotation.
Finally, while one can always argue about lists (my gut tells me that James Parr is a name that belongs)it is nice to see that the Braves added 4 of these names to the organization in 2005.
I like that list, actually. Beau Jones is probably too high and we won’t know how good Andrus is for a while, but I don’t think it’s too early to get excited about him.
I think Brandon Jones will be one to watch next year. He very quietly had a very nice season this year, especially given his reported tools.
So where do you all see Josh Burrus’ future? I always thought the future outfield would be A. Jones, Francoeur, and Burrus. What do you think?
Burrus is a tools guy who finally looked a little like a baseball player during the season. But he wasn’t one of the Braves’ 20 best prospects before the season (Brad had him 38th) and I don’t know if he’d be one now. BA had him the 20th best prospect in the Carolina League.
The Braves seem to like Burrus better than BA. A mid-season promotion to Mississippi suggests that he has a good future. It is true that he struggled at AA, but that is not uncommon.
I think that the impressive thing about Burrus is that he has improved at every level. I do not know that he as Brandon Jones’ ceiling, but I could imagine a .280-20 HR 80 RBI 20-30 steals to go with a good glove. If that is the case, then the Braves are doing quite well if he is not a top 20 prospect.
Look at it this way… Burrus is probably about as good of a prospect as George Lombard was before his big year at AA. And Lombard never made it.
I think Burrus still has a shot at being a decent player. He’s been around forever but just turned 22 this year; his numbers at the Beach were pretty good for someone in their age 21 season. I certainly don’t think he’ll ever be a star, but he could be a 4th outfielder for several years, which is pretty high praise for a guy who’s probably 15-20th at best in the system now.
hahahahahah
CARACAS, Venezuela – Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Ugueth Urbina was arrested on a charge of attempted murder after he and a group of men allegedly attacked several employees at his family home using machetes and trying to set them on fire, police said Tuesday.
I just read that Colorado has intrest in Estrada. I bet woudl could get a young guy or tow out of them, hell maybe we could send Marte, davies, LaRoche and get Helton
Smitty, that would be an awful trade. Helton’s not worth his contract; sending two elite prospects for him would be obscene.
Estrada for Fuentes?
MOre from BA on some of the name mentioned above:
Bill Ballew: Elvis ranks as highly as anyone I have followed in 20 years of doing this, especially for a 17-year-old. His instincts cannot be taught, and his power is budding even though he is far from full maturity. He has an even keel and absolutely loves the game. In a few years, Braves fans may ask, “Rafael who?”
Bill Ballew: Lerew and Davies are very similar. I see Davies as a No. 2 starter, Lerew as a No. 3 and James as a No. 4. Lerew could be a No. 1 or 2 if he makes the same kind of progress in 2006 that he did in 2005.
Escobar is five years older, so it’s a little early to make solid comparisons. Andrus is more fluid in the field, but Escobar makes every play. Escobar has a little stronger arm and is able to drive the ball better, but Andrus could end up possessing more power. Andrus has a slightly higher ceiling, only because of his comparable youth.
Burrus made great strides the past two years. Unfortunately, he underwent shoulder surgery recently after playing in the Arizona Fall League and will be out of action until July. Still, with his combination of speed and power, he remains a solid prospect in the organization. Josh is around 20, especially after his recent shoulder surgery.
Brandon Jones has the potential to be much more than a fourth outfielder. You can’t teach his raw skills. He’s made tremendous progress in a short period of time and could emerge as a five-tool player in the very near future.
Parr received strong consideration as a Top 10 guy and is definitely in the second 10. Some members of the Atlanta organization believe he will emerge as the top pitching prospect in the farm system in 2006.
Cubs resigned Neifi to a 2yr deal, I also read that the Mets have ruled out the possibility of Furcal moving to 2nd
I saw the thing on Urbina as well and thought it was a joke until I found it in about 8 different places. Pouring gasoline on people and attacking them with a machete? I think there are problems worse than TO or John Rocker…
You didn’t know there were problems worse than TO or John Rocker before this?
we need bats, but not at helton’s price. if we had that kind of money we could keep Estrada. Fuentes would be a nice addition.
I would guess that roids help minor leaguers more, given the quality of pitching. Anyone know of top power prospects busted for roids and the results on their numbers. We can name it the Sama Sosa Award or the Who Wants to Be a Giles Brother Contest.
Well, James Jurries was busted early this past season. His slugging percentage went up fifty points from 2004, his isolated power up 33.
If the Cubs re-signed Neifi Perez, that must mean they do not want Furcal, right? Wouldn’t that be nice if it were true. At least it means we won’t end up with ol’ Neifi.
If Ugi goes to jail and Wagner goes else where, the Phillies will have to make a move for a guy like Looper or Graves. It is like having the Mets times 2 in the division!
If Ugi goes to jail and Wagner goes else where,
UUU will be fine. I’m pretty sure that in Venezuela pouring gasoline on people and then attacking them with a machete is a misdemeanor. Just boys being boys.
This quote is pretty good though:
“Everything will be cleared up soon and people will know the truth,” Urbina told reporters Tuesday in brief remarks from his cell at a police station. “Right now we aren’t going to do anything to deny things that aren’t true.”
Ok, so the stuff that’s not true, we aren’t going to waste our denials on that. We are going to wait to deny the true stuff.
Urbina is way too rich to go to jail in venezuala.
I say we send Eddie Perez down there with a bag full of doubloons to rescue Ugi and countless 8th innings for braves starters next year.
Colon was AL Cy Young Winner
To quote something I read on Primer, “Figures Urbina couldn’t finish the job. If that were Mariano Rivera, those guys would be dead.”
any comments on Matt Harrison in the chat? I must say I thought for sure he’d sneak into the very end of the top 10 over Beau Jones
SPike, that was freaking hilarious!!!!!!!!!
My first thought is that the UUU thing is just the latest extortion scheme that’s been dreamt up by some lowlifes down there. Man, what an f’ed up place. To paraphrase Robert Towne, “Forget it, Uggy. It’s Venezuela.”
I was also wondering where Matt Harrison was in the top 10 list (we’ll find out when the Prospect Handbook comes out, I guess). Second, anybody know when the Baseball America issue with the Braves top 10 will come out?
The Cy Young award still bugs me. Santana was far and away the best pitcher in the AL this year, arguably the best in the majors, and he only gets three first-place votes because his offense can’t score enough runs?
Baseball awards are crazy.
JoeyT, that’s why nobody can rule out Andruw’s chance on MVP, but we all know the best player should be Pujols if not Lee. I think the fact that Colon is playing at LA also helps him in getting support from the media. Anyway, this kind of voting is not exact science as we all know. Otherwise, MLB should just derive a math formula to determine the best hitter and pitcher of each league.
Also it gets boring just giving the award to the same guy every year. Mays probably should have won between six and ten MVPs, but what’s the point of giving him the award every year? So they only gave him two. (Actually, you can argue, all due respect to Hank Aaron, I love Hank, but Willie was probably the best player in the NL or close to it every year from ’54 to ’65.) Mantle probably should have won at least six MVPs but actually won three, not because the writers hated the Mick but just because who wants to keep giving him the award? You can say that about a lot of guys, really.
Then what happened with Barry Bonds and the NL MVP?
Bonds actually got screwed out of a couple MVPs, 1991 and 2000. But hey, I didn’t mind Terry Pendleton winning the award then, and I don’t mind if Andruw wins it this year.
Somehow, Bonds has been so much better than the rest of the league that they couldn’t figure out a way not to give him the hardware.
Sorry, Jenny!
Mac, Willie may have been the best player in the league from ’54 to ’65, but Hank definitely would have won the Hank Aaron award most of those years.
I don’t know about that. Thing is, Willie actually led the league in runs created six times in those twelve years — he was actually the best hitter in the league, too, at least by that stat. Hank was probably in a tougher park.
Personally, I think that the greatest symbol of the incompetence of the government of the city of Birmingham and county of Jefferson is that there’s practically no recognition of Mays there. Zip. Hank got the ballpark and the loop road in Mobile. I don’t think Willie even has a street.
That’s horrible. Heck, even Brantley AL has a sign proclaiming it to be the home of Chuck Person “The Rifleman”.
You mean Chuck Conners?
Didn’t realize that “The Rifleman” played for the Dodgers, the Cubs, and center for the Celtics.
And he was in the movie “Old Yeller” too!
That “Rifleman” hailed from Brooklyn, but I’m sure they would have had a sign for him had the town not already been known as “The Home of Mr. Kotter”.
According to Chuck Connors’ IMDB profile:
Very likely the only guest commentator on Monday Night Baseball to use the F-word.
He was the first NBA player to shatter a backboard, he did it while playing for the Boston Celtics in 1946.
and finally…
Chuck Person, an NBA Player, is named after him.
How about that!
The Urbina thing just begs the question: WHY, if you’re that rich, would you continue to live in Venezuela? Wasn’t his mother kidnapped last year? I know “there’s no place like home” but if home is like that, I would consider moving my home elsewhere.
Jenny, home is home. There is no replacement to it. The longer you are away from home, you more you will realize that this is a fact.
The fact that the Urbinas are still living in Venezuela means Venezuela is the place which they are most comfortable with, even with the threat of being kidnapped. Besides, what make you think the US is a safer place to live in?
Don’t worry Mac, I am not going to go on and on about countries issue. I am stopping right here.
In a thread with both the Mick and home town snubbings mentioned, I have to interject. Mantle’s home town finally put up a sign recognizing him about ten years ago. It reads “Home of Mickey Mantel.”
So which is worse, being snubbed or having your name spelled incorrectly by a bunch of hillbillies?
Speaking of signage, when you cross into Georgia from South Carolina on I-85, there is a sign that says “Welcome to Georgia, Home of the 1995 World Series Champions” (or something close to that). No mention of the city or team name, which I always thought was a bit strange.
Could be because “Atlanta” is a swear word outside the metro area. I encountered two men from Cordele at a Biloxi blackjack table last year, and they asked where I was from. When I said Atlanta, they smirked and asked if that was in Georgia. Shortly afterward their wives walked up and told them it was time to go.
To someone from atlanta, south of the airport is just wasted space that makes it take longer to drive to florida.
South georgia natives consider anything above macon to be Atlanta.
i predict a civil war soon enough, which would hopefully lead to a peace treaty, wherein yankee imigration quotas will be implemented and all AL East sports memorabilla will be declared contraband.
New York Daily News: “The Daily News has learned that Mets general manager Omar Minaya is laying the foundation for a potential trade with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for closer Danys Baez and first baseman Aubrey Huff… The Red Sox need relief pitching and a first baseman, and Baez or Huff could be used as part of a package in a trade for Ramirez.”
Seems like we could offer a better package of prospects, which is what the D-Rays would want, I would assume
what do have to offer besides prospects?
To someone from atlanta, south of the airport is just wasted space that makes it take longer to drive to florida.
Truer words never spoken. I mean, have you BEEN on I-16? I suppose I shouldn’t complain, as it actually shortens the trip to the Florida Atlantic coast. In fact, I was told recently that I-16 was essentially a pork project pushed through by a legislator from Macon who wanted quicker access to his Savannah weekend retreat. I have no idea whether this is true, but I find it quite easy to believe.
If the Mets want to pull a Manhattan Indians trade and give up their future for some shiny beads (Huff and Baez), I for one am happy to sit and watch. Neither of those guys are very good and I would stay away from both of them given the D-Rays reported asking price (Heilman + Seo + Yusemeiro Petit).
We took I-16 last year during the Hurricanes here in Florida to see family in Atlanta…made the trip much better. I liked it alot.
I wasnt trying to advocate a trade with either team, BUT, it would help close some holes we have. Huff COULD play first base, and Baez could close. I would give up Davies and Laroche or Langerhans for the pair.
Chipper could play first base better than Huff leaving Marte to play third. Huff may be better than Marte now, but he won’t be in a year or two. Plus, Marte makes the league minimum and has no acquisition costs.
Here’s my question: we have a ton of good young pitchers and pitching prospects, like Kyle Davies and Chuck James and Macay McBride and Blaine Boyer and Anthony Lerew. They all made it up to the bigs last year, at least to ride the pine.
Coincidentally, our biggest hole is our bullpen. Seemingly, we could plug the holes from our own organization. But are the kids just not ready? Should we send them back to AAA for another year? Or should we give them the job, and if we do that, what should we put our free-agent focus on?
Proposed Steriod ban – half season for first offense
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5067894
sorry here is the link
Chipper is not going to move to first – if Marte is going to play this year he’ll have to beat out LaRoche for the position. With that in mind he definitely hasnt earned the position yet…
I also personally do not believe that Chipper will be moving to 1st, at least not in favor of Marte in 2006. If Andy had made a signficant contribution when Chipper was injured, you could maybe visualize it. But since Marte struggled at the plate is his brief oppotunity, I don’t think Chipper is going anywhere.Marte is going to have to move at least temporarily to get playing time, with either 1st or LF being most likely destinations (unless he gets traded).
If we don’t sign Furcal, won’t we have some money to spend?
South georgia natives consider anything above macon to be Atlanta.
Heck, growing up down there we considered I-16 to be the Mason-Dixon line.
Bobby won MOY again.
Good he should have (every year for the last 14 years)
Marte should definitely play Left, i mean langerhans is not a starting calibre outfielder (at least power wise) and Marte could play the outfield like cabrera until chipper retires. Laroche still has a far higher ceiling than langerhans.
2005 National League voting results ?
Manager, Total Points
Bobby Cox 152
Tony La Russa 52
Phil Garne 38
Frank Robinson 29
Ned Yost 7
Charlie Manuel 5
Bruce Bochy 4
Willie Randolph 1