Atlanta Braves : News : Atlanta Braves News
Andruw, Hudson,and Estrada helped feed the needy on Thanksgiving. Good for them. I noted this paragraph:
The Braves trio joined a distinguished group that included Georgia Secretary of State Cathy Cox, Labor Commissioner Michael L. Thurmond and members of the Atlanta Hawks in helping serve nearly 15,000 people a Thanksgiving meal.
Let’s face it, if you’re one of the Hawks you probably want to remain anonymous even when working for charity.
What the Hawks are awesome they have won two in a row, even though its the 1st time since April 2004. They are on a roll!!
Wasnt there some rumor earlier in the year that Hudson and Estrada didnt get along too well. I thought I heard something like that, but anyways maybe they settled their differences.
I think it was something about who looked cooler with lower lip fuzz. There was no winner.
Off topic: With Chipper’s reconstructed contract, is Mike Hampton officially now the highest paid Brave? I know he was second behind Chipper last year, but I don’t know if Andruw will pass him this year or not.
Mike Hampton will be paid $13.5 million next year, though through the insurance, about $7 million will be covered.
Andruw Jones will be the next highest paid Brave, with a salary of $13 million
this is according to http://www.mlb4u.com/atl.html
Mike Hampton is the highest-paid player on the team and he’s not even playing? That is terrifying.
Here’s a big story coming down the pike:
The Dawgs and the Tide skirted this one, but many of their rivals might be screwed…
Then again, Jenny, for two years before last year, Mike Hampton was the highest-paid player on the Florida Marlins and he was playing for their division rivals. At least Hampton’s not pitching against us every couple weeks.
in fact, had shef not cost the braves in 2003, hampton might have been the reason the marlins wouldnt win the world series.
Thanks for the link, sansho1. Great article.
It doesn’t look like the schools can get into trouble because the NCAA seems to have sanctioned the transcripts, but wow, talk about cynical – and the kicker was the kid who complained that:
He now says he lacks the educational skills for college. For a basic math class at Temple, Simpson said, he studied at least three hours every day, got help from tutors and met regularly with the professor. He still did not score higher than 53 out of 100 on any test
Ding! Ding! If you can’t pass basic math with all that, that’s why you weren’t supposed to get into college in the first place.
Congrats to all the Dawgs on the board. Alex R., wherever you are, congrats, and have a beer for me.
The above comment was posted by me.
I don’t really have much of a college football allegiance since I go to an academically-focused Division III school where the football players are the butt of most of the campus jokes (I had one as a partner for a group project and I can see why), but congrats to Dawg fans. I seem to have picked Notre Dame as my team of the moment, because of Charlie Weis’s Patriots affiliation and the simple, hard fact that Brady Quinn is, um…well, y’all know I’m a teenage girl and let’s leave it at that, shall we?
Word is the Cubs are about to acquire Pierre and are still hot after Furcal.
Yeah, the Cubs are hot about the idea of having Furcal and Pierre on the top of the lineup.
That’s actually a spectacular idea. Pierre’s just about the only guy in the league I’d actually WANT bunting in ordinary “bunt” situations, if only because he bunts for singles so often. Having him behind Furcal is like smallball fantasy league.
If they do this, I would put money on this sequence happening at least once during the season:
Furcal base hit.
Furcal steal second.
Pierre bunts Furcal over to third, Pierre safe at first.
Double steal, Pierre safe at second, Furcal scores.
Well, having Derick Lee at the plate with Furcal and Pierre on base is not a bad situation either…assuming Furcal is not serving time in jail…
But I would bet on this sequence happening more often:
Furcal pops up
Pierre bunts for/hits a single
Pierre caught stealing second
I agree that it’s a good idea, though, by and large.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/baseball/mlb/11/26/bc.cb.spt.bbl.reds.pena.ap/index.html
No one wants Wily Mo Pena? Heh. His SO totals and OBP scare me too. While he played hurt last season, would come relatively cheap, allows us to get rid of Reitsma and Estrada, and certainly wouldn’t be depended upon as an RBI guy in our lineup, whatever pop he gives us makes us even more of a wait-for-a-homer type of team.
So maybe the Reds move him, or maybe they move Kearns or Dunn. Anyone want to speak for someone in that Reds outfield coming to the Braves? What do you mean, no?
What is up with this scary article speculating that Furcal may get a 6/100 contract from the Cubs? That’s over $16 million a year. Absolutely insane. And is anyone worried that the absurd 5/47 deal for BJ Ryan may send free agent prices across the board through the roof this offseason? If these two contracts are true, the market is going to be completely crazy. Those deals are indefensible.
Supply and demand, Jenny. There aren’t very many good players on the market, and most of the ones there are are pretty old. At the same time, there’s a lot of money coming available — I mean, the Royals say they have more than $20 million to spend. It’s not like teams are going to put their money in an index fund or something, they’re going to spend it, so they’re shelling out big bucks to players who aren’t worth it.
Pena’s not really a need player for the Braves. Actually, he’s pretty similar to Francoeur except that he’s older, more expensive, and has no defensive value. So not all that similar, really…
I think it’s safe to say that this offseason is utterly, completely insane. And if there’s one thing you can give Schuerholz credit for, it’s that he never, ever loses his head and gives a big bad contract to a guy who doesn’t deserve it.
In my opinion, if the Braves could just resign Farnsworth and bring in a couple cheap veteran relievers whose names aren’t Tom Martin to pave the way for those great young arms, our needs would be satisfied. I still like our chances.
The News is saying that JS is making his pitch to Wagner this week.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/story/369407p-314320c.html
I’m skeptical.
Holy cow – that is way overpaying for Furcal. Your last name/offensive stats better look like Rodriguez for that kind of dough.
Having said thatit’ll be interesting to see how much is “incentive money”, how attainable those are, and how much is guaranteed. Furcal will not win a batting title in his career – you heard it here first.
And just to reiterate, it would take 3/30 to sign Giles. A lineup of
Betemit
Giles
Jones
Giles
Jones
Francouer
Marte (at 1st or 3rd)
McCann
looks pretty good in the field or at the plate
A lineup of
Giles, M
Giles, B
Jones, C
Jones, A
Francoeur
Marte
McCann
Betemit
looks even better, and not just because of the high OBPs at the top 🙂
Forget about Brain Giles, he just rejected a 3yr-$30M deal from the Padres.
i hope the cubs do that. it’d basically ensure they don’t win a world series in the next five years. and for that guy to say that would make up the best infield ever is just retarded. soriano has to be the most over regarded player in the majors.
So while I am gone you guys let the Mets get Carlos the great? Oh well I am sure he will hit maybe .272 in that caynon of a ball park. And he will sit 55 games on the DL too. He is a Brave killer though, but I am not too worried, yet.
So Brian Giles isn’t taking a hometown discount. Interesting, I thought he would for sure. Maybe he just hates Petco Park, where left-handed hitters go to die. We should offer him 4/48!
I am going to go take something for my fever now…is there some unwritten rule that you don’t get sick at all at college and when you come home for break you automatically develop flu-like symptoms and a 101-degee fever?
And Michael Irvin is apparently still doing drugs.
Just saw this, maybe the Braves are entering in the Wagner hunt, though with Ryan’s insane contract, I don’t know how they’ll effectivly afford it.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/story/369407p-314320c.html
Oh well, if it can be done, JS’ll figure it out
I hear ya, Jenny. I’ve had good health all through my first semester in college, and Thanksgiving, in Florida no less, I’m coming down with something.
Jenny, Rob,
Go get a flu shot. THis happened my first year of school too.
Wow, that story (from sansho) will be big i think…i think people know its laugable whensomeone can play college football with a 720 SAT
Mondesi wants to play pro ball again. Think we should give him another chance? (sarcasm button on high)
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/baseball/mlb/11/27/bc.cb.spt.bbl.dominican.mondesi.ap/index.html
kc – I had read that the SD wouldn’t go 3/30, which is what he asked for.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/padres/20051124-9999-1s24padres.html
NYY has reportedly offered that, but Giles doesn’t want to play there. If he wants to play here, one would assume that is the asking price.
For all four years of school at Penn, I’d come home to South Florida for winter break and promptly get sick. (Incidentally, my South Florida high school, St. Thomas Aquinas, produced Michael Irvin.) So you’ve got a lot to look forward to, Jenny.
As unlikely as acquiring Brian Giles is, I think the possibility of seeing Marte starting for the Braves at 1B or 3B in ’06 lies in the same realm of unlikelihood.
Smitty, not to belabor the point, but Delgado spent just one 15 day stint on the DL last year, and has played in 138 games or more 9 of the last 10 seasons. FLA played as a much tougher (PF 94) park than Shea (PF 99) last year.
3/30 isn’t ridiculous for Giles, but does anyone really think he’ll end up costing that? BJ Ryan is going to be paid over nine a year to pitch like 50 innings! Giles will make much more than 3/30. Think 3/36 at least.
Kyle –
Betemit had a better OBP than everyone on that list but M and B Giles and C Jones.
Joey –
That presumes there are clubs willing to offer that. He’s the premier hitter on the FA market and a plus defender – I would have thought if someone wanted him that much, there’d have been some offers in that range already. I am not sure that because player X goes for Y, then it follows that all FA’s will be treated accordingly. It does seems like potential closers and starting pitching is at a premium this offseason. So far, no one has made a big position plaer splash like that. Of course, getting B Giles and starting Betemit is far more creative than I can see Atlanta being, so it’s probably a moot point.
You’re right. I guess when I see a deal like the Ryan deal, I am reminded of what little grasp I have of the economics of baseball, so I just add like 20% on what I think someone will be paid.
Can someone recommend a good book deconstructing player markets in sports without salary caps (like MLB and international soccer)? I honestly can’t imagine Giles being “worth” more than eight or nine million a year to any club. I mean, how much revenue do San Diego and New York think he’ll generate?
I find it absolutely amazing that Bobby Howry has the highest FA deal and it’s the end of November.
JoeyT, if you check Amazon and search Books for “baseball economics” you come up with some stuff. The top hit, which was Andrew Zimbalist’s May the Best Team Win looked pretty good. I haven’t read it, but the guy is supposedly very respected in sports economics and I’ve heard of him, so maybe you should try that.
Motrin is the best fever-reducer on the market. My temperature dropped 3 degrees in an hour.
Just saw this, maybe the Braves are entering in the Wagner hunt, though with Ryan’s insane contract, I don’t know how they’ll effectivly afford it.
But we’re paying Langerhans peanuts!
(And yes, I’m being sarcastic too.)
JoeyT,
Check out The Book on the Book by Bill Felber. In it, he develops a system for valuing every player based on linear weights, and he actually lists player dollar values. I haven’t read it thoroughly yet, but I’ve liked it so far. I am not very fond of Zimbalist’s latest. Also, his method for estimating the dollar value of players that he developed in his first book is wrong (in my opinion).
Sounds hott. I’ll check it out.
The B.J. Ryan deal is crazy. Your taking a chance on a guy that has 46 career saves, no post-season experience and giving him more money than any closer in baseball.
But then again it is the Blue Jays, when do they ever land a sought after free agent.
I don’t think the lack of post season experience matters much if you never make the post season.
Hardball Times has an article about the Ryan deal, concluding that it’s just about right in terms of what he’ll be worth. The author makes some kind of sketchy assumptions, but it’s worth noting when a reasonable person can take any set of reasonable assumptions and arrive at the Ryan contract.
I still can’t believe the Thome deal. Now that is nucking futz.
I don’t think the Ryan deal is that bad. If you’re going to pay a lot for a closer, you might as well get a guy who strikes out a sh**load of batters (12.5k/9). Of course, if any of yall read BTF, you’ll have seen me haranguing people over there.
Funny that DSG wrote that HBT article… his first post on the original Ryan thread was “wow, what a bad deal” or something like that.
I didn’t hear many Braves fans complaining when Smoltz got a similar deal when he was older and with a significant injury history. Would people have complained if Wagner got this deal? I think Ryan is probably the better option, given his age. This is not a bad deal on its face. I see it more of a sign that we’re going to see some big salaries this off-season.
Mondesi, making a return?
http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/story/5117498
Hopefully JS learned his lesson last year!
http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/5115926
sorry about that here is the correct link
Just read the Hardball Times article.
It’s impressive that anyone can even attempt to rationally justify the Ryan contract. But I find it hard to believe that anyone else was offering Ryan that much money or that many years. Who could Ricciardi possibly have been bidding against?
According to Ken Rosenthal (yeah, yeah): The A’s are close to signing Esteban Loaiza at 3/21. That would almost certainly put Zito on the block–or more prominently on the block.
Could he be had for, say:
Thomson (cheap experienced starter)
Johnson (potential future OBP machine)
Lerew (cheap live arm)
or would it take Marcus?
Now Rosenthal is saying that Wagner is a Met: 4/40, plus team option for a 5th year at $10m, with $3m buyout.
Given Ryan’s contract as a market-setter, that deal looks less silly now.
Also the Mets just got Tike Redman for cash, which is absurd unless they’re flipping Nady to someone else.
Mets land Wagner: 4/43
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5117698
the spending spree continues, should we begin to worry now. At least they shouldnt have enough money for Furcal and Manny Ramirez now!
Yay. I’m glad we didn’t guarantee Billy Wagner $43 million. That idea just scares me.
I’m not worried. Wagner has been hurt on and off over the last few years. We will see what happens after Wagner blows a save in New York. Plus they still need two starters and who is going to set up in front of Wagner? They don’t have any set up men (Looper?) Don’t panic just yet. Their lead off man/ Short stop sucks. NO second baseman. NO left fielder, and over rated center fielder, no right fielder, no catcher. They have Wright, DelOldman, and Pedro. Plus Willie Randolph is not that good. WE are going to get Hoffman, Fucal, and then a bull pen. Let just wait.
Don’t count those Mets out just yet: Minaya’s still on the move.
They just picked up Tike Redman, who was recently released by the Pittsburgh Pirates. I’m sure that Tike will be a great sixth outfielder for them, sort of like Jesse Garcia crossed with Mike Kelly.
Be afraid, guys. Be very afraid.
I didn’t hear many Braves fans complaining when Smoltz got a similar deal when he was older and with a significant injury history
Smoltz’s deal was terrible when he was a closer, but it’s fine now that he’s a starter. Paying $10 million for 75 innings of work is just nuts.
Yay. I’m glad we didn’t guarantee Billy Wagner $43 million. That idea just scares me.
Second that, thank you Omar. I can’t believe that teams are paying this kind of money for players that 90% of the time enter the game when the game is already 95% won. But I guess everyone has money to burn this offseason. Loaiza just picked up $20 million guaranteed from Oakland. Just silly. He stunk when he wasn’t pitching in that pitcher’s haven in Washington.
What bothers me more than anything about the Wagner/Ryan deals is what it will do to lower level free agents. What do you think Farnsworth will get now? I’m glad we didnt sign either, not that I wouldnt want either guy closing games for me, just not at that price.
Any thoughts on what we do for a closer now?
Loaiza is a stat-guy dreamboat, but I think someone has brainwashed Beane and Riccardi. When did “moneyball” become “megalottobucksball?”
I agree that the last of the big 3 will be peddling out of Oaktown. Who gets him?
Philly folk seem to be looking at Tom Gordon as their closer–which is fine by Yankees fans, since they can now offer him arbitration and get the Phillies’ first-round pick.
Farnsworth supposedly has a 3/15 offer to go back to the Tigers, and the Yankees may try to steal in and nab him too (though I doubt he’d do well in pinstripes). Hoffman is still around, and his price might actually drop once other vacancies start filling. Once he accepts that no one is going to give him 2/20, he might come down to 2/15 plus a small bonus and some incentives.
I could deal with Hoffman as our closer, I didnt pay too close attention to him last year, how was he? I would be ok with a short-term commitment. Are there any closers available trade-wise?
Hoffman would be quite nice at closer. He was his good old self last year (although he’s lost velocity, he was never a “power” guy, anyways, so hopefully it will continue to have little effect on his performance), and he’s got a better career save% than Marniano Rivera, so there’s that. As long as we don’t give him more than two years or more than $7M per, Hoffman could be a great signing.
This is off topic, but with the hall of fame elections coming up, I was wondering why the all time saves leader Lee Smith hasnt made it in yet.
The thing with Hoffman is that you never put him into anything other than a save situation, unless he hasn’t pitched in a week and there’s mop-up work to be had.
When he enters a tie game, he often leaves as the loser. When he enters a game with his team down by one, they’re usually down by 4 or 5 when he gets yanked.
Save situations, though, he’s still one of the very best.
Also, way off topic, but Im writing a research paper that has to be a song analysis. I need a good, meaningful song that I can write a paper about. Any suggestions?
Same old Mets, different day. I hope they do get Manny Ramirez. I’ll enjoy it even more next year when the Braves continue their annual stomping of the little Muts.
Looks like the mets are still trying for Ramirez, for mostly minor leaguers, which would give them
Reyes
Matsui
Ramirez
Delgado
Beltran
Wright
Floyd
catcher
Looks better than 2002 when they overpaid for Mo Vaughn, Jeremy Bernitz, and Roberto Alomar
Probably more like
Reyes
Wright
Ramirez
Delgado
Floyd
Beltran
Matsui
Moina (assumption) or Castro
Shea will hurt Manny’s numbers, and and anything not hit to Beltran will be an adventure, but they will score some runs. Assuming they have to give Milledge in any deal, it puts them in solid “win now” mode.
I smell a lot of hubris around here.
It’s gotten to the point where the Mets are going to be very, very good next year. Kris Benson will only lose them one out of five games. They get one more bat, probably at second, and they will be pretty intimidating.
Here’s a good song for a song analysis, at least if you go to a progressive school: “Venus in Furs” by the Velvet Underground, based on the book “Venus in Furs” by the father of masochism, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch.
You can find lyrics here.
It’s a good rock song, with some of the best electric distorted viola you’ll ever hear, and totally, utterly twisted.
Otherwise, you could always go for “Eleanor Rigby.”
Mike
the song California Stars, written by Woody Guthrie and song by the band Wilco, would be a great song to write on. It’s about Guthrie’s problems with Huntington’s Chorea, and basically how he wish he could be in California but was stuck in a bed in the Northeast.
Mike,
You could go with “Hurt” originally performed by Nine Inch Nails, and covered by Johnny Cash in a rather haunting way…
Mike;
Let the Hoosier put in a vote for “Rain on the Scarecrow” by John Mellencamp.
It’s good account how a govenment policy put about half a state into bankruptcy. A real good criticism of following the conventional wisdom.
Of course, it rocks!
JC, I don’t have any problem with the Wagner deal. If Scott Eyre gets $5M, then Wagner deserves at least twice of that. In my opinion, Ryan’s contract should be somewhere between Eyre’s and Wagner’s. Ryan’s contract is solely based on his performance last season, and the guy has no prior history as a closer prior to last season. Putting Ryan at the same level as Wagner is not really a good idea. On the other hand, I guess the extra money is for asking Ryan to play for the Blue Jays, which have a much tougher chance to make the playoff with the Yankees and the Red Sox in the same division. I guess the blame should go back to the Cubs for giving $5M per year contracts to the likes of Dempster, Eyre, and Howry. I was complaining already when the Cubs gave that contract to Dempster at the end of last season.
Smoltz’s contract, if I remember right, was for three years instead if four and five years that Wagner and Ryan are getting. At that time, the Braves had a $90-$100 million payroll, and Smoltz’s contract wasn’t too bad as the Braves can still afford to have Maddux and Glavine to head the rotation. Once the payroll was down to $80m, it was obvious that the Braves can not afford such an expensive closer because the rotation got too thin. So, Smoltz’s contract was right in the middle of the transition period of the Braves. The management eventually corrected this problem by switching Smoltz back to the rotation.
I think the Mets did a smart thing by signing Wagner. Not to mention that they have a large payroll and can afford an expensive closer, this deal significantly weaken the Phillies’ bullpen. If we look at the Phillies, they simply replaced Thome with Howard and Lofton/Michaels with Rowand. Offensively, they are no getting any better as the platoon of Lofton/Michaels actually did a very good job for the Phillies last season, and no one can assure if Howard can continue to improve (he strikes out more often than Francoeur). They are not saving any money in the Thome trade because Rowand is getting expensive as well and they are paying half of Thome?s contract. Pitching wise, they just lost Wagner, and their bullpen was already in chaos even before Wagner left. So, the Phillies are not going to be better than last season.
For some reason, I am just not concerned about the Mets. I am not impressed with their rotation like JoeyT is. Of course, I can be wrong, but they are just a team full of old and/or over-paid players and a team which is built for marketing purposes in my own humble eyes. The Braves have not even started their own action yet, and I am already very confident that next year?s team will be better than the last simply because…WE NO LONGER HAVE TO DEAL WITH KOLBB!!!
If the Braves had a proper closer like Farnsworth at the very beginning of the season, or even if Reitsma was the closer back in April and May, I think the Braves would have won at least four to five games more than they had…boy, that was the frustrating time…
Mike:
Another Alex R has prompted me to post. I was going to opt for the Velvets “Pale Blue Eyes”, and then decided not to post … but posting of “Venus in Furs” (a very good choice, btw), has brought me out of lurking. The reason I would opt for “Pale Blue Eyes” is that not only is it interesting to “study”, but it has been covered by so many different people … from Patti Smith (great live version from Sweden if you can find it) to Courtney Love (really great job). You get the best of all worlds here – great song to analyze, and covered by all kinds of styles.
Thanks everyone for the song ideas. I needed five and and now i have them.
Guthrie – good choice. Mellencamp definitely is a follower of his. I’d offer Deportee as well from Woody. Of course, depending on how long the paper is, “Great Balls Of Fire” as a ballad of sexual repression is always good. Perhaps Alison, by Elvis Costello, or (What Did I Do) to Be So Black And Blue by Louis Armstrong.
If it’s not too late, “Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner” by Warren Zevon would be a good candidate. There’s a treasure trove of political tie-ins in the lyrics.
And just in case you haven’t gotten tired of the Bill Shanks v. Michael Lewis debate…
http://athletics.scout.com/2/471869.html
Not bad, although my view is a bit colored by his position. And it’s funny.
sansho that is a good one.
“Revolution” by the Beatles is another good one.
“With or without you” by the Beatles
Thanks for the site spike. It is very funny!!!
There are rumors that the Phillies are interested in trading Abreu away. Seems like Gillik is working on getting rid the long term contracts which are draging the organization. There are rumors that the Phillies are interested in trading Abreu away. Seems like Gillik is working on getting rid of the long term contracts which are dragging the organization, and this is even more obvious when he refuses to give Wagner that fourth year to the contract. That?s pretty much the same story with what happened to Glavine and the Braves. The Mets, on the other hand, are using the same trick again.
Anyone think we should see if the Phillies would trade us Abreu packaged with cash, like they did with Thome?
He’s one of the streakiest hitters in the league, which is absolutely unbearable if you have to root for him, but he’s absurdly talented, and (ahem) the Phillies need a third baseman, which is exactly what we have.
I know that trading Marte for Abreu is a terrible idea from a money point of view. But Abreu is an impact bat, which is something we need to make up for the loss of Furcal. Just think of it… we could have Marcus, Abreu, Chipper, and Andruw as our 2-5 hitters. He also has a great arm and plays good defense. And he’s still only 31. Francouer needs another year in Triple-A anyway.
What do you think? Should we go after him?
AAR, the following are the details of Abreu’s contract:
“2003-8.5M plus 3M signing Bonus, in 2004-10M, in 2005-12.5 and in 2006-13M, in 2007-15M, and in 2008- Team Option worth 16M ;or 2M Buyout.”
Unless the Phillies pay the Braves $5M per season (which I don’t see that happening as Abreu is completely healthy), I don’t see how Abreu’s contract can fit into the payroll. Besides, I don’t think the Braves believe in the idea that Francoeur needs another season at Richmond, even though this is the common wisdom on this site.
mike – holland, 1945 by neutral milk hotel would be the first song i’d pick in your situation. it’s about anne frank and the holocaust, so there’s plenty of material for a paper of any length.
Kind of late but “If I had a Rocket Launcher” by Bruce Cockburn is perfect. Good luck.
Mike, “the living bubba” by DBT…actually about anything by DBT
Neil Young is a good sourc for these kinda things too
also The Replacements “bastards of young” “the ledge” “here comes a regular”
orrrr, these would be interesting to do a paper on:
Ying Yang Twins “live again” or “ghetto classics”
david banner “missisppi”
What about “Red Necks” by Randy Newman?
lots of indie rock. good stuff. how ’bout some love for the arcade fire or the decemberists?
ryan only has one year as a closer, but the year before that he was absolutely lights out as a setup guy. he has filthy stuff, he’s a lot younger than wagner, and he doesn’t have much mileage on his arm. my projections picked him to be a great closer and he held up admirably in that roll last year. sadly, octavio dotel could not say the same…
the ‘jays have offered brian giles 5 years, $55 million. lots of money to an old guy, to be sure, but he can hit. unless EVERY contract deserves the reaction of “wow, they overpaid!”, it behooves everyone to revise their expectations of what players will sign for.
furcal is gonna get PAID, by the way. hopefully not by us.
I don’t mind Furcal getting overpaid, but if the Jays story is true, I’ll have to concede that it’s an up market for FA’s the home team should probably best stay out of. The fact remains though, they will need to bump the offense to stay competetive should Furcal go. If signing Giles is an impossibility, then one will have to trade for affordable hitting. The most undervalued guy right now is Milton Bradley, esp with the change in management at LA. If he is to be non-tendered, surely some B prospect will do the trick, as LA will get nothing if they wait. Cox can handle his personality. he’s cheap, and if left alone he will hit.
Spike- Bradley seems a little too volatile for such a young clubhouse. I realize that the Jones’ boys and Smoltz run the show, but I worry that Bradley’s behavior could rub off on some of the youngin’s.
“how ’bout some love for the arcade fire or the decemberists?”
eh as far as meaningful lyrics go the ‘brists would be too weird lyricall to write a paper on easliy…oh Springsteen would be a treasre trove for your paper mike
I worry that Bradley’s behavior could rub off on some of the youngin’s.
I worry more that an offense that was just okay last year will suffer from Andruw coming back to earth a bit, Francouer coming back to earth a lot, and LaRoche never leaving the ground. Langerhans and Johnson can be expected to improve, but neither will post big numbers anytime soon, going from their track records. Assuming Betemit becomes the starter, he should reproduce most (if not more) of what Furcal will take with him. Still, this team needs another quality hitter at 1B or in the OF (preferably both) to step up the OF. There doesn’t appear to be a fit on the FA market. Whom else could we acquire that is affordable, good and available?
I dunno, spike. Milton Bradley and Francoeur will spend a lot of time hanging out together due to their amazingly similar backgrounds and personalities. Milton’s bad seed will transfer to Jeff, and thence to Brian. All hope will be lost.
Heh. Just kidding. I think getting Bradley is a great idea. The Cox clubhouse is as good a fit as any for him. Bradley strikes me as a guy kind of like Sheffield, except much more intelligent: he wants to be respected. He’s a bright guy with one hell of a temper. And he can hit.
Milton Bradley keeps promising to reform, and keeps on blowing up. He’s not as bad as Ron Artest, but I think he might be worse than Gary Sheffield, as far as personality goes. Plus, he’s extremely injury-prone. His offense is undervalued for a reason.
Don’t forget that we’ll have McCann for an entire season, and he’s a much better hitter than LaRoche. Just having LaRoche lower in the order and McCann higher is already an improvement. And every at-bat last year that went to Brian Jordan and Raul Mondesi will now go to KJ, Frenchy and Ryno.
NMS, decent point about the decemberists, but he could write a freaking book on the tain, if he was so inclined.