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Chipper to the DL, also this tidbit: “When Friday night’s deal was announced, it looked like Baez was the centerpiece of the deal. But it’s become apparent that the Braves really wanted Aybar and were just happy to have the veteran right-handed reliever included in the deal.”
Anyway, the big news is just one line: “To make room for Aybar and Baez on the roster, the Braves announced Saturday that they will designate reliever Jorge Sosa for assignment.”
What this means is that Sosa will be off the 40-man roster, one way or another. WikiPedia Article. I won’t speculate on what will happen, if he will be waived, released, or traded. As desperate as people are for pitching, someone might give up a miscellaneous arm for him and hope that they can “fix” him. It’s inexplicable that he’s pitched so poorly, unless he’s hurt. He probably is.
Best thing to do is to trade him, obviously. Because of the high demand for any kind of pitching, I bet someone would take him.
Pretty happy that Bobby finally did it. Hitting and giving up home runs only isn’t a good thing.
Yeah, i think bobby was upset more with his attitude than he was with his pitching (although that was attrocious also). Ever since that meeting on the mound it seemed bobby was miffed with him. Good for bobby and co.
The Braves have taken in players right after or in the midst of a bad season for years. Bobby or Leo would work with them and they would shine for us. When crotchety old John Burkett came to the Braves in 2000, he won 10+ games for the first time since 1995. In 2001, he one 12 games with a 3.04 ERA (like an older “good HoRam”). That said, is there anyone up for the challenge of Sosa or Hudson? Is there a manager and pitching coach duo confident and talented enough to do it?
And enough with the Smoltz trade speculation! He’s very cheap next year ($8 mil) and he’s the cornerstone of the team. I’m going to cry like a little girl when he retires after next year. The man is a legend.
Regardless of what happens (or doesn’t happen) in the next two days, I am confident we’ll have a very busy off-season. No more Gilly, no more Sosa, no more Huddy.
A few random thoughts from today’s game:
I really like Adam LaRoche (actually, I always have, but in an attempt to avoid confrontation, have never said anything about it before). Ever since that non-hustle play he made (or didn’t make) earlier this year, he has seemed to be more focused. I enjoyed watching him play first today, and knew there was no way Chipper would have made alot of those plays had he been moved to first and Betemit put on third, as many on here wanted (actually, with Chipper hurt, it would have been Thorman out there today. Not sure how he would have done)
Andruw is really awesome when he’s hot, and really annoying when he’s not. I was kindof hoping TP would bang Druw’s head against the wall and yell, “hit it the other way!” right in his ear to see if he could knock some sense into him. Watching Andruw pull off on balls all day was, as I said, annoying.
Cliff Floyd looks really slow in left field. I know Langerhans would have had the single Giles hit, and would probably have had it rather easily. There were also other plays he made that he almost seemed to be running in slow motion in. That would really annoy me if I had to watch him very often.
Well, that’s about it. Bobby has seemed upset with Sosa recently, so his DFAing is no huge surprise. I am thankful for Sosa’s contributions last year, but it was time for him to go about two months ago. Also, I’m really hoping the Braves win tomorrow. This homestand has been a real bummer. Very frustrating. It’s time to do something fun and crazy to try to salvage something out of this season. Chipper going on the DL is a huge blow, so someone needs to step up and do something about it.
Sosa’s got a live arm, but I’m not sure what’s in his head. I’m sure someone will take a chance on an arm as good as his, so I’m hopeful JS will be able to make a trade and get something in return.
As for RobBroad4th’s query as to who, I think he may have answered his own question, Baltimore is hurting for pitchers, and with Leo there they may be willing to take a chance on him, Peter Angelos willing.
BP is absolutely killing JS on the Betemit trade, saying we got rid of a really good, versatile infielder who’s cheap over the long haul for a version that’s not as versatile or as good and a 2-month rental of the overrated Danys Baez, and that this was especially dumb given that we have a guy that can’t get out of bed without straining something and a guy that can’t get INTO bed without running into something in our infield, both of whom play positions Betemit can cover. They’re dubious that this bullpen help will do anything to get us anywhere in the postseason, and that JS should have gotten way more for Betemit and is damaging the Braves’ future with this plus the Marte trade.
BP’s hate for this deal concerns me slightly. They aren’t always right by any means, but they’re generally informed.
Who is BP?
Baseball Prospectus
I’m willing to trust JS on this, certainly more than BP. He was apparently more interested in Aybar than Baez, and with the Dodgers paying the rest of his salary for this season, he’s not even a rental, he’s free! I expect that if he does well, JS may try to resign him as a setup guy at a reasonable price, if not Sayonara.
JS apparently likes Aybar, and probably sees him as a replacement for Giles. If they do move Giles soon, this may be part of a sequence of trades designed to set up the team for the rest of this season and next.
JS apparently likes Aybar, and probably sees him as a replacement for Giles.
I can actually see this, with Aybar’s higher OBP and speed, JS would look at him as a 2B/leadoff type. Of course, the real problem’s going to be who’s gonna play 3B next year and the year after. Maybe Prado will be ready soon, but I don’t know. (Prado at 2b, and Aybar going to 3b, I suppose.) Chipper is clearly injury prone now, and I’m not betting on him getting in 100 games next year. Between Chipper becoming a walking(limping?) injury and Hudson’s mysterious suckatude, it’s gonna be a stressful couple of years.
Ahh crap, Hope that worked.
Well, Marcus won’t be a free agent this offseason, though they could trade him or even not offer arbitration. I don’t see Prado as a regular, though he could be a good utility infielder. (Not as good as Betemit.)
wow BPs actually right, color me surprised. id figured theyd be deluded by Aybars K/BB and think Betemits some toolsy bum
So… JS made a mistake in trading Betemit?
I find myself a lot less willing to trust JS after this off-season and after reading his book (which I’m sure wasn’t the intended effect, LOL, but that Moneyball chapter made me throw up in my mouth). I really despised the Marte trade. At least from a Braves perspective. My Red Sox side loved it. *ducks*. I was also unimpressed with the return on Johnny Estrada, who is now hitting .321/.342/.477 for the D-backs. The BS bullpen construction irked me, too, as did the length of time it took to do anything at all when the team took a nosedive. Our farm system is pretty darn bare right now, too. And now I’m growing increasingly skeptical of the Betemit trade.
It’s really too bad we lost Dayton Moore.
I was at the game today and it sucked. That is all I have to say, we need a win!
Who got sent down for Pena?
jenny, welcome to the JS bashing party.
Pena is taking up Betemit’s place. Baez and Ayber will be added to the roster for the Sunday game. That’s when Chipper will be put onto the DL and Sosa being DFA.
…and btw, Thomson will be out for the rest of the season…things keep on getting better!
Thanks kc,
Well Thomson being out dosen’t help. I like Aybar and Baez has to be some what better than what we have.
Has there been any thought of moving the Vulture to the rotation? I think he has been good in the mop up role.
Quote:
“BP is absolutely killing JS on the Betemit trade…”
Do you ever wonder why the guys over at Baseball Prospectus have jobs there as opposed to, say, a real major league front office? Like, maybe a front office that has won 14 straight division titles? Hmm…
No, not really. I always assumed it was because they liked writing and analyzing from the outside. Kinda like Bill James, until he finally took a job with the Red Sox. Are you saying nobody can criticize JS? I find that a bit silly. We do it all the time, and we’re not employed in a front office. So do beat writers. Just because they don’t work for some team doesn’t mean their ideas and opinions don’t have merit.
I know why they don’t have jobs in “a front office that has won 14 straight division titles.” Because their ideas wouldn’t be welcome in the Braves FO. Reading JS’s book told me all I needed to know about that.
The Marte trade has actually worked out wonderfully. Renteria’s been a steal at only 4 mil a year and at any price hes been spectacular at the plate. Martes been pretty mediocre this year and if the Braves couldn’t even make room for Betemit where would Marte have gone in the pecking order since he can’t play 2b or SS like Betemit. LaRoche has shockingly been too good to dump so Marte would have needed 2 starters to go down for a while to have a shot at big league PT
NMS, the Braves will be paying Edgar $6M per year, which is still a good price.
I don’t know why the BP guys should be held to a higher standard than, say, Mark Bradley. A couple of them have worked in front offices for a time, BTW. I still think they’re wrong; I like Betemit, but I think Aybar is slightly more promising, especially for the Braves who need a 2B a lot more than a SS/3B. Could well be a win-win deal.
Francisely Bueno and Barbaro Canizares are also Cuban defectors… (responding to the Danys Baez) We have three Cubans on the AA team!
a note… Escobar played second tonight… I just got home… first game this season he’s played there! He had previously only played short and third. I thought that was interesting though!
Salty has REALLY done well since coming off the DL…
“Salty is now 13-35 (.371) since returning from the DL with 5 HRs, 2 Doubles, a Triple, and 12 RBIs. He also now leads the team with 17 two-out RBIs.”
Brandon Jones has adjusted well to AA… another HR tonight
Salty just missed another homer tonight… he hit it off the wall in right… missed it by a foot or so height-wise …and the wall in right is like 20 ft otherwise it would’ve been more than gone
@ Jenny
So, you miss Dayton Moore because you want him to take JS’s place and load up on bullpen arms?
Thank God we will finally be rid of Sosa. Hopefully this is the start of a purge of bad/underperforming players that will end up including Pratt, Giles, and Hudson.
I think JS realized Betemit was too good not to be an everyday player, but he was blocked at his best positions SS and 3rd. So he traded him for a player who better fits the Braves needs and a reliever who should help in the bullpen. Unfortunately, the team is no longer at the point where relief help will help them make the playoffs.
Speaking of purge, purge the coaching staff too. Pendleton, McDowell, Dews… get rid of them. Get some proven major league coaches.
Okay… and who do you propose should be hired?
There is NOT going to be a purge of Hudson. We are STUCK with him. Who the hell would take Hudson with his new contract the way he is pitching? Even the Yankees aren’t going to throw away money on a guy that is this bad. And they can’t afford to release him and eat the contract. Face it, Huddy isn’t going anywhere and if he doesn’t improve, this is what we are stuck with for the next several years–a forty year old ace, an overpaid guy that can’t get anyone out, a guy coming off an arm injury, and two young pitchers that may or may not be any good. I don’t think the future of this team looks all that bright, especially given the young pitching that the Marlins have. I don’t blame JS for everything that has happened, but, at this point, the plan isn’t working. The Braves might get hot again and make a run at the wild card, but I doubt they will make it and if they do, I don’t see a team with pitching this bad doing much.
And, by the way, the Mets are good.
Glad to Sosa on the way out!
As far as coaches, the only thing we need back is Leo!
The rocking on the bench must have been good for something.
Just my 2 cents worth.
WOW, I’ve been traveling (Indianapolis – ugh) and JUST READ ABOUT THE TRADE! Not to repeat what some of you have been saying, but I don’t think I like it.
We know that Betemit has excelled in the role that he’s been asked to play for the Braves. We can only hope that Aybar will do the same. They aren’t that much different in age. Aybar might be a little faster (and have some more potential as a leadoff hitter), but he doesn’t have Betemit’s power and hasn’t played SS. Maybe he’ll grow into it, but we know Betemit grew into it. What, does JS think that Betemit just wasn’t going to get better, or even maintain his current level of productivity, over the next 2-3 years? Maybe. Or maybe he just figured the trade hype for Betemit was too great this year, and that he’d never be able to get more for him.
Baez couldn’t have been the deal-maker. He had to be a second thought in this deal. At best he’s going to contribute as a solid reliever for two months and then sign elsewhere. JS won’t sign a pitcher like Baez especially making $4M or more a year. Of course this is colored by my view that we are not going to get the WC this year, but why give up a known commodity for a maybe similar commodity and a two-month rental in a year we’re not making the post season? Even if the money is the same?
This is what I’ve been worried about. Betemit suffers from the curse of a player who can do a lot of things well … his value to the team is too often measured by what he can get on the trade market, not what he contributes to the current team. Oh well, good luck, Wilson.
I completely disagree about not being able to trade Hudson. If the Braves put him up for trade, somebody will take him. They may not get another Smoltz for Alexander, but they will be able to get rid of him and get a couple of at least halfway decent prospects.
Why would any team take Hudson and give up decent prospects? Nobody will do that.
Because virtually every team has starting pitching problems and Hudson could help them this year and for the next several years. Assuming he isn’t hurt, rich teams will be willing to gamble they can correct his mechanical problems and turn him back into the pitcher he was with Oakland.
Yes, there would be takers for Hudson. There are no starting pitchers on the market, and everyone would love to make him their “project” You may have to eat some money, or take less talent back in prospects. But he can be moved to anyone looking for starting pitching. These are the pitchers being kicked around in trade discussions as of right now that are available as of right now in compared to Huddy.
Player W L ERA WHIP
Rodrigo Lopez 2 3 6.97 1.94
Cory Lidle 4 1 3.74 1.18
Jon Lieber 1 2 4.85 1.50
Livan Hernandez 2 0 6.18 1.59
Tony Armas Jr. 1 2 6.60 1.20
Ramon Ortiz 2 3 3.98 1.35
Mark Redman 2 1 4.36 1.33
Huddson 8 9 5.25
Lidle has done well as of late, but is not as proven a player as huddson is. Im telling you there is a market for him if the braves wanted to explore that option
There went our Best Pitcher.
Jorge Sosa.
We suck.
Why did we get rid of Kevin Millwood again?