Today is the biggest day for hits on Braves Journal ever, 7373. The “old” record was set yesterday with 7059. Red Sox Nation, of course.
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Today is the biggest day for hits on Braves Journal ever, 7373. The “old” record was set yesterday with 7059. Red Sox Nation, of course.
Use code “Journal” for a 5% discount.
Mac, I think I’m responsible for 3,000 of those myself, so don’t get too excited…
Jenny and I are in for about 3,000 more
Well, here’s a kick to jaw: now that we have Renteria, Tejada is doing everything he can to make himself available to a contender:
Still, you’d think some package would get it done…Renteria, Thomson, Salty, and some young arm maybe?
Somebody posted on the other thread that we inked Todd Pratt, is this true?
Kick to the jaw, of course.
And it looks like we have Todd Pratt now, so that’s some good news for today.
I would send Marte, oh wait
Too bad Tejada didn’t announce that yesterday or the day before. And the Orioles front office is so stupid we could easily have fleeced them. Rats.
I think we would need a three team deal to get him
Time for today’s made up trade!
My girlfriend just told me that her toaster told her that the Braves, Red Sox, DRays, and O’s are working on a deal:
ATL: gets Tejada form Bal.
BAL: gets Marte from Boston and Rentaria from ATL
TAMPA: Gets Chuck James and KJ from ATL
BOS: Gets Lugo and a prospect
You’re dating someone who talks to her toaster? You may want to rethink that one 😉
But she has a real hot stove!
It seriously is incredibly terrible that this announcement was not made this time last night. Wow. Wow.
Theory elsewhere is that Tejada is kidding around to light a fire under the ass of the Orioles FO and doesn’t actually want to be traded. I dunno, if I were on that team, I wouldn’t be kidding.
This is terrible timing, makes me think they did it on purpose!
Jenny this is a chance for Rentaria to play for all of your teams, make it so!
You know what’s really going to make me mad? Like, 2 years from now, when Bill Simmons is writing some article talking about how Marte is the greatest thing since sliced bread. He’ll probably find a way to blame the trade on Atlanta fans, too. I’m going to be sick. Again.
Well Billy Simmons hasn’t said anything about this as of yet. He must be out whoring his new book (which isn’t too bad, I read it.)
One thing we know is that the Orioles will want no part of HoRam, whom Leo loathes. Maybe Thomson? I’m desparate. Somebody make this happen.
Well with BB on here now one day we are going to be knocking on LaRoche and Adam is going to write something back to us.
Simmons is taking a break for a few weeks, though I am very curious what he has to say. Check his “More Cowbell” for reaction, if he has any yet. I too will be sick if I see him going off on how great Marte is in a few years – but I don’t think that will happen.
Anyway – Congrats on the big day, Mac! I just discovered your site in the last year and have stopped by daily since. Great stuff, sir!
i wish Tejada had been available yesterday
For the record, I would not have been upset about a Tejada for Marte trade. Not at all.
Bill Simmons jumped the shark long ago. Page two’s VORP went from 67.4 to -12.56 when HST offed himself.
Me either. That’s probably because Tejada is the best SS in the game, whereas Renteria is now the second-best on the Braves.
I called that one the other day, Kevin Kennedy said he thought he would be traded by the end of the week. Its not unthinkable we could flip him to Baltimore, after all, Renteria is a pretty good buy for someone now, with the salary reduction.
Any else on the O’s that we would want? Realistic names…..
Simmons’s appeal really took a hit when the Pats and Sox won. Before that we coudl all relate to him, now his teams are just like the ones he was against. I still read most of his stuff and some of it is funny, but his appeal is gone. Much like Rush Limbaugh’s was after the republicans and Newt took controll of the house (like in 96) After that everyone wasn’t so high on him anymore
Sorry about the political statment, but I don’t think it was offensive or a shot. At least not ment to be.
Smitty, I think that’s pretty insightful. It’s easy to take shots at the establishment as an outsider and seem like you have all the answers; when you become the establishment and are in the limelight, it’s a lot tougher.
If I may draw another parallel, this is somewhat like what happened when Beane and his disciples became GMs. At first, it was heaven for statheads, but then people started leaving the flock or getting fired (JP, DePo), and even more recently it has become the norm to hire someone who understands stats stuff (Jon Daniels, the kid in Tampa, etc).
And check this out:
“A source close to Tejada, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Tejada would like to be traded to a team on the East Coast, and specifically mentioned the Boston Red Sox as his choice destination.”
They said they wouldn’t trade Marte, but they have too many guys at 3B just like we do and if Tejada wants to go there…dammit.
Of course, trading within the division is dumb, isn’t it? Which is I guess why the O’s were trying to trade with Toronto…
Right Kyle and Bean will have a few years in Oakland where his Moeny Ball players don’t pan out and then we will have another idea come to the front burner.
But right now in baseball most of the teams are starting to come towards the pack. The Yankess have talked about getting younger and cutting pay. The Jay and Pirates are spending a little money and getting better. I think we are going to start seeing parity in baseball over the next five years where a team like the Jays, Bucs, Brewers, Reds, Royals will make a run in a division where the big dog on the block is having a down year. Look for the Brewers to be this team. Young raw talent with a great manager in a division that has a team (St.Louis) that is getting older and the Cubs could loose a few starter to injury tha Astros are getting old. I say the Brewers win the NL Central or at lest finish a close second sometime in the next 3 years.
I think Simmons is still funny.
Today wasn’t that great of a day if your last name is Marte. The White Sox traded their Marte, too. Is it an epidemic?
I traded my Marte to my roomate for a Coke, two green folders, and a burnt CD of “The Rentaria’s”
Interesting comments from Tom Verducci of SI:
“Free agent pitcher Kevin Millwood doesn’t appear to be a good fit for the Orioles. Atlanta sources say Millwood clashed with former Braves pitching coach Leo Mazzone, now with Baltimore.”
First, I think its funny how well this plays into the Red Sox hands. They trade their starting SS, and shazam, what do you know, the best SS in the game suddenly comes available with the Sox as his first choice. Curse my arse.
Second, Bill Simmons is wildly entertaining and lights years better than the rest of the dreck on Page 2. I think the writing of course, is much better on CNNSI.com on the whole, but Simmons can’t be beat for sports and pop culture, certainly not by anyone on those two major sports sites.
Simmons is hilarious and a great read if you’re not looking for actual decent sports analysis.
FWIW, I don’t think the Orioles will trade Tejada. They don’t have to, so why would they?
And that Verducci blurb, if true, might also explain a bit of the Millwood/Estrada trade that seemed so strange at the time.
Since it’s 10pm and I’m still at work, I think I might break into song….
I don’t like Ed Renteria
I ain’t got no crystal ball
Well if I had several million dollars
I’d, I’d spend it all
If I could find a closer
the strike zone he could pound
I’d keep Andy Marte
And smack ole Eddie dooooown
What I really wanna know
What I really wanna say, why Marte why!
It’s him that I neeeeeed!
My soul will have to wait…
Kyle, great song, your brain is still working very well at this time!
Red Sox fans think their FO is engaging in a fire sale. Idiots.
Ok, I’ll take Schilling, Ortiz, Folke, and Trot for Chuck James and Salty
Hey, Smitty, let’s not get carried away! How about Schilling, Ortiz, Foulke, and Trot for Chuck James and KJ, Langerhans, and HoRam?
We can’t trade Saltalamacchia now!
I think LaRoche is enough to get Ortiz and Schilling. I heard that Adam kid is one awesome player.
Guys and girl (I think we only have one girl here right?), below please see the link going to a transcript of a Bobby Cox interview.
I love the fact that he is very positive about Betemit, and he is very looking forward to have Reitsma and Franco back.
So, my conclusion is…don’t trust anything that Bobby says!
http://www.talkingchop.com/story/2005/12/8/21504/9531#readmore
cant we just call “do overs” and try to get tejada.
Does anyone have any idea how much Todd Pratt is being signed for? I have no way to judge this deal until I see a number. This signing could range from very good to very bad. Please, let me know if you see it.
NY Daily News reporting that we’re the favorites to sign Rudy Seanez. We certainly don’t lack RHP in our bullpen….
smitty, i think sublime might get a little angry if you went public with that song.
jc, sources close to pratt said the deal was for 1 year, 12 billion dollars. very bad decision for js. i think there had to be a cheaper option somewhere.
mac,can we do a very long-term prediction? when will the first billion dollar contract be signed? my guess would be ken griffey viii in 2166.
Gotta love Rudy. In the 17 seasons since he first reached the majors, he’s averaged 23 1/3 IP per season. That’s gotta be some kind of record.
Interesting little report on Farnsworth…
http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/teams/report/ATL
You mean our old friend Rudy “I can’t keep myself healthy for the entire season” Seanez?
He pitched a career high 60 innings last season, there is no way he will stay healthy for the entire season next year!
What are your predictions for right handed first base backup?
How about James Jurries? Here is his 05′ Richmond stat line:
AB’s 363 HR’s 21 RBI’s 72 BB 41 k’s 107 OBP.357 SLG.537 AVG.284
I can’t get over the Red Sox first parting with their top ss prospect and then trading their allstar shortstop plus adding 11 million dollars for Marte. It seems this is more about getting rid of Rentaria then acquiring Marte. Without a replacement they must have been desparate to get rid of him. Braves must think they can salvage him based on other years. Hmmmm, any similarity to the deal for the closer from Milwaukee last year?
On a different note, Wilkerson is now available for a starting pitcher, and probably a minor leaguer. I would like to see him in LF.
fjensen, we cant in any way possible compare Dan Kolb to Edgar Renteria, its not possible.
Justin, I would like to see Wilkerson come play left. I dont know how much better he would be than Langerhans though
Wilkerson’s a nice player, but he’s not that much better than what we’ve got. Although I’m sure he’ll be so grateful not to be in RFK that he’ll put up a career year.
“we cant in any way possible compare Dan Kolb to Edgar Renteria, its not possible.”
Yeah, Sorry to bring his name into this discussion. BTW, is it possible JS is feeling like he isn’t worried if he doesn’t get a closer immediately because he has Devine?
Just testing my new nickname. Clever, ain’t I.
Honestly it sucks.
I think Wilkerson would be an upgrade over KJ and Langerhans.
By the way Tejada is not necessarily available, and just because he says he wants to be traded doesn’t mean it will happen. He is under contract, and therefore he can be told what he can and can’t do.
While Devine has the stuff to be great – I just hope he didnt destroy himself mentally last year
Justin, it depends who we are talking about. ARod got his wish, and Manny is still waiting. For the case of Tejada, I don’t see the benefit for the O’s to trade him away though.
Ouch justin. Your criticism cuts me to the core.
I don’t think being under contract means you “can be told what [you] can and can’t do.” Some players under contract (Javy Vazquez) can and do demand to be traded. I don’t think Tejada has the right to make such a demand, but he can certainly complain to the newspapers about playing in Baltimore and hope for the best if he wants.
I think Devine will be fine, but he needs some more development time before he’ll be ready. His slider wasn’t very good the few times I saw him pitch.
Kyle S, do you think he was having trouble w/ his pitches do to injury or he just couldn’t locate them very well. I dont know that much about the kid, but he didnt look like he was having trouble w/ velocity. That also makes me think his injury couldn’t have been that serious.
Kyle, at least Devine has a slider, which is far better than Dan Kolb who should have a decent one but never threw one last year.
Having said that, I also believe the Braves will keep him at Richmond for at least half of next season, just to get him away from the attention. I think Devine will eventually be very good.
Buster Olney on the Renteria trade:
“Big Picture: Boston’s signing of Renteria to a four-year, $40 million deal might be one of the best things that ever happened to the Braves.”
some players can demand a trade because they were already traded in the middle of a long term contract. When that happens, the player can demand a trade after a year or so, i think.
Its not that the player can demand it, so much as the teams are more willing to accomodate that request.
Buster Olney should tone down his enthusiam. One of the best things ever? There are a lot of best things that happened to the Braves. I would say Rentaria has a chance of being a positive force, but unless he is a world series hero I wouldn’t put him in the same class as Maddux, Smoltz, Chipper,Glavine,Cox, JS, or Anduw.
justin, if you are the boss, would you want an unhappy staff working for you? From management perspective, you can’t treat employees like robots.
I wouldn’t sign them to a huge contract to be the teams franchise player and then let them back me into a corner. If you can’t be happy making 12 million per year, then you have bigger problems than the front office.
The Orioles just signed Ramon Hernandez, and apparently Tejada hates him. I couldn’t find any confirmation of this, but it came from a guy who reported Mazzilli’s firing 4 hours before the media knew, so until he says something false, I’ll believe it. I can’t think of any reason a player would suddenly demand a trade because of this. Did Hernandez sleep with his wife?
I would LOVE to land Tejada here but aside from the whole intra-division thing, a Tejada-Manny swap just looks too perfect.
Except for that extra 8 million that the O’s have to take on.
Well, I don’t think anyone would have thought Tejada will make such complain through the media.
Marte injury risk:
The potential (though it’s no certainty) of losing a year tilts the trade a bit more towards the Braves, though I’d still rather Marte had been used to get a bigger bat at first or in left. A bit weird that Boston is taking on Beckett and now Marte after other teams backed off.
And the team taking themselves out of the running wasn’t Tampa–they’re saying now that if the offer had ever been Marte for Lugo straight-up, they would’ve gone for it. Rotoworld: “The truth or damage control? Probably the former.”
If the Sox are really to put up $11M for Renteria, I am sure the O’s and the Sox can work out the differences.
Sounds like the agents are setting up the trades for the front office of both teams.
The Transactions Primer says, “[A] player with five years of service time who is traded in the middle of a multi-year contract may demand another trade prior to the start of the season following the one in which he was traded.”
I’d like to pick up Rudy, but we still need a closer. Right now we all know that Rietsma will start off as the closer and get bombed in the spring. Boyer will dominated spring and be luck to make the club. After about June first when Chris has 11 saves and 8 losses with an ERA of 4.50, then Boyer may get a shot. Bobby should have learned last season to trust the kids more.
Smitty, Rudy will be on the DL by the all star break.
Kc, more than likely.
I hear Willy Taveras could be had for a young pitcher. Willy would be nice to have in left and could lead off. I know we are happy with Giles, but this would be a good order:
Taveras
Giles/Edgar
Chpper
Andruw
Francoeur
Giles/Edgar
LaRoche
McCann
I would be happy if we aquired Taveras and Lidge. Even if we had to part with our best minors.
Taveras 2005 PrOPS:
.246/.284/.316/.600
Taveras 10 assists
5 for 14 against Braves in postseason
5 for 14 against Cards in Post season
5 for 15 against Sox in WS
Taveras sucks. He’s marginally valuable as a centerfielder. In an outfield corner he would kill you.
I thought Hernandez was godfather to Tejada’s kid.
Here’s the Simmons reaction everyone was waiting for:
Taveras sucks. He’s marginally valuable as a centerfielder. In an outfield corner he would kill you.
Yeah, and we have Andruw Jones in CF. No thanks on Taveras. Lidge I would take, and Qualls I would take.
Is anyone else extremely happy that Todd Jones and Bob Wickman aren’t available? Now we just have to worry about Braden Looper.
By the way, is it a bad sign when it’s mid-December and your team doesn’t have a GM or a shortstop?
Problem number 1 solved, Bill, with a Jed Hoyer/Ben Cherington team. Now you can start thinking up how many ways you can work “The Young and the Restless” into your next column.
The Red Sox front office is like a circus. Plus I just puked my lunch, after reading yet another post about the Red Sox. But hey on the brightside, at least we aren’t the ones who don’t have a shortstop.