Atlanta Braves : News : Atlanta Braves News
I don’t really care a whole lot. Sorry. Open Thread.
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Atlanta Braves : News : Atlanta Braves News
I don’t really care a whole lot. Sorry. Open Thread.
Use code “Journal” for a 5% discount.
Yay! I guess
Well, that basically means that they’re the best at their position last season. Which is just peachy with me.
Who writes that ESPN ticker? I honestly thought for a split-second the Twins had stupidly traded Liriano.
“Minnesota Twins send P Francisco Liriano to Florida for…..”
“…Rodriguez is believed to want to be close to his winter home in Miami, which means he’d favor the Marlins or Braves (two teams without big money to spend) over the Angels or Dodgers (teams that are seen as the most likely pursuers).”
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/jon_heyman/10/10/scoop.tuesday/index.html
In other words, we don’t have a chance.
@3
That cracked me up.
This is how rumors start…
If the Dodgers were to trade for A-Rod, Betemit would pretty much have to go to the Yankees. And all he’d have to do is not strike out in a late and close game in April to become a folk hero.
Wilson Betemit would be much more of a fan favorite in New York than A-Rod. Then again, so was Clay Bellinger.
Daisuke Matsuzaka To Be Posted By Seibu
It’s official: the Seibu Lions will post ace starting pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka. That means a Major League team will bid on the exclusive rights to negotiate a contract with him.
Matsuzaka figures to beat out even Barry Zito and Jason Schmidt as the best free agent pitcher available. At least eight teams have already scouted him Matsuzaka.
Based on this report (scroll down), the Angels will also be players for Matsuzaka.
the process involved in bidding on him….
The process to sign a Japanese player who is already playing professionally is, in a way, like the amateur draft, with one basic, significant exception. While the right to negotiate with a drafted amateur is based on a team, in reverse order of record, using a draft choice on him, the right to negotiate with a Japanese player is secured by the highest bidder.
At any point between November 1 and March 1, a Japanese team can “post” one of its players, which essentially means it puts its player up for bid to see how much a Major League club will pay the team to get it to release the player from his Japanese contract. Sometimes the team initiates the process to see what it can get for the player. Other times the player asks his team to post him. And sometimes, a Major League club may anonymously request a status check, basically putting the Japanese team on notice that it has an interest in a particular player to see whether the Japanese team would consider posting him.
Regardless of which trigger is involved, the Japanese team has full discretion as to whether to post the player. If interested, it notifies the MLB Commissioner’s Office that it wishes to post the player. MLB then distributes official notice to the 30 big league clubs advising that the player in question will be available for posting starting on a certain date. The clubs are given 72 hours to submit a blind bid for the player. After the 72-hour window expires, the club that submitted the highest blind bid is awarded the right to negotiate with the player.
The club and player then have 30 days to make a deal. If the club comes to an agreement with the player, the blind bid money goes to the Japanese team as a transfer fee. If there is no agreement with the player, no money exchanges hands between the MLB club and the Japanese team (the bid money is returned), and the player cannot be reposted for another year.
SO I guess good luck to the Yanks and the Red Sox. The Mets may get involved heavily also
“…over the Angels or Dodgers (teams that are seen as the most likely pursuers).”
Seeing that makes me want to rant about how every big player is supposedly drawing interest from the Yankees, Mets and Red Sox. Every article always says the same thing about how those three teams are interested in said big free agent featured in the same article. I guess the Yankees, Mets and Red Sox want EVERY big free agent. I bet 95% of the time they’re not really interested, it’s just the authors of the articles want to pretend they know stuff and those teams have money.
And no to Alex Fraudriguez. I don’t want him. I’m surprised so many here are drooling over the thought the Braves could trade for him (you just know he’ll be a Yankee in 2007.)
“Matsuzaka figures to beat out even Barry Zito and Jason Schmidt as the best free agent pitcher available.”
I’d rather have Schmidt or Zito.
I can’t emphasize strongly enough how in favor of acquiring A-Rod I would be.
I will reiterate that I just don’t get the anti-A-Rod sentiment.
How exactly is he a fraud? Does he beat up little kids? Lots of illegitimate children? Mean to reporters? Or does he hustle every play of every game? Hmmm.
I’m not big on signing pitchers from the A’s these days. We think Huddy has control problems. There is a reason the A’s dont want this guy anymore. Same w/ Mulder and Hudson. Unfortunately, I have a weird feeling that JS might make a run at Mulder.
I see the advantage that he is offensively, but there will be pressure on him in Atlanta as well. HUGE pressure. He needs to go to a small market that people don’t pay attention to, like Milwaukee or Kansas City.
@12
He’s not a fraud, he just seems to wilt under intense pressure.
“There is a reason the A’s dont want this guy anymore.”
I was under the impression it was money-related.
There would be very little pressure on him in Atlanta. The media/fans of Texas and Seattle would have put at least as much pressure on him.
Dan called him a fraud. That’s what I want explained. (And there isn’t any other pressure comparable to NYC, so I’d take my chances with one of the greatest baseball players of all time.)
Twins picked up Hunter’s option for next year
Aaaaamen Stu. The people that don’t want A-Rod are just the ones buying into the NY media’s garbage. The guy is a sure-fire Hall of Famer who plays Gold Glove defense and puts up ridiculous offensive numbers for a key position. A couple bad postseasons? So has Barry Bonds. Did you not want him three years ago if he could be had? You would. And then consider the fact that A-Rod would be a way better teammate and plays more often and a lot harder than Bonds.
Not clutch? Tell that to Jorge Sosa when A-Rod crushed his fastball in June for a walk-off HR. Of course, his next at bat the next day he grounds out and gets booed. NY fans are foolish.
Rob,
This isn’t about the NY media. It’s about A-Rod & the Yankees. It’s a situation unlike any other. There is no perfect analogy because of the team’s makeup, the history of the team, the city, etc.
But I’ll say this: If Barry Bonds had 3 consecutive awful post-seasons with the Yankees, instead of with the early-90s Pirates, and made dramatically more money than anyone else, he would’ve faced the same music from Yankees fans.
I’ve said it before & I’ll say it again: It isn’t about fair. It isn’t about what’s considered right in other places. It’s just different here, for better and worse.
And if you think that HR off Sosa somehow makes up for going 5 for his last 46 in the post-season, we certainly maintain different defintions of clutch.
I’m not saying he isn’t good Rob. But ask yourself, if you could make the exact same trade (in terms of what you give up) for A-Rod and Dontrelle Willis, who would you get?
I didnt know Willis was available.
I think all this free agent talk is pointless, the only FA’s we will go after are cheap ones, and if we make any trades it will probably be for so so MLBers or prospects.
I’ll jump in here. Between A-Rod and Dontrelle, I’ll take A-Rod. Yes, Dontrelle is an outstanding pitcher. But let’s remember that he’s already logged in a bunch of innings at an early age. History suggests that such pitchers are blown arms/elbows waiting to happen. Even if he doesn’t get blown out, he’s good for what 36 starts. A-Rod is a hall of famer who will help any team get to the play-offs. He regularly plays over 150 games a year and hustles the whole time. His numbers are ridiculous over the course of the season.
Once in the playoffs, it’s all a crap shoot anyway. Moreover, I’ve read statistics that show that even the worst team has something like a 40% chance of beating the best team in a best of five or best of seven series.
So, for my part, I’d take A-Rod. And this is odd, since I’m normally the type of guy that wants tons of pitching. Indeed, count me as a guy who was so happy to get Maddux over Bonds in the early 90s. Both of them are hall of famers, too.
The question as always is how to acquire such a player given the limited resources of the team. I’d bet this would take quite a bit of creativity. But remember, there are plenty of cost savings available. For one, if he’s acquired, Renteria instantly becomes expendable (and that saves about 6 million, no?). Giles, it seems to me, is also gone (saving somewhere in the neighborhood of 5-6 million). And if we could trade either Hudson or Hampton to get him, we’d save quite a bit of money there too.
I’m pretty sure that I’m dreaming here and that some of my information is imprecise (I’m too lazy to acutally do the research), but then this is just a fan board of people who want the Braves to win…
“I didnt know Willis was available.”
It was a hypothetical question.
So what you’re basically saying Jeff M. is that the Atlanta Braves, the team that hit an NL best 222 homeruns (second in the majors) and finished first or second in almost every single offensive area in 2006, needs another bat? Do we want to look like the 2003 Texas Rangers?
Interesting article on the A-Rod thing. I think it has a good point.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/john_rolfe/10/10/rodriguez.what.if/index.html
Interesting to think about, especially in light of more than likely losing Giles over the offseason. Do the Braves have enough of a fun spark in them without Giles? The Angels had their Rally Monkey in 2002, the Marlins were the underdogs in 2003 and you could feel the excitement generated by the team, The Red Sox were idiots in 2004 and, again, you could feel the excitement. Most of that was generated by coming back from an 0-3 game deficit, but it was still excitement and fun. Sure there were stars on those teams, but not everybody was a star. Many times it was the unheralded players who came through. I’m not a huge White Sox fan, but with Ozzie Guillen as a manager, they can’t be but so “professional.”
Which leads me to my question, what was the last team to win the World Series with a bunch of go-about-your-business players? I know Sheffield criticized the Braves for this attitude when he was here (not that he was the spark we needed in the postseason…) and I know we had the whole “fun” attitude with the rookies last year and that didn’t turn out so hot. But, seriously, who was the last team? The ’99 and ’00 Yankees? Even they had guys on there like Paul O’Neill who was mostly heart and not so much “professional.”
Maybe getting A-Rod would hurt the Braves (not number-wise, but attitude-wise). Maybe what we need are more Marcus-like people who aren’t afraid to have fun, get down and dirty, or play the game as it’s supposed to be played.
That’s what was missing from the Yankees this year (was there ever a deader postseason team?) and I would hate to see the Braves end up like that. Maybe we should get a decent pitcher or three (or four…) and let the kids play and see what happens.
Brian Cashman has said the Yankees aren’t going to trade A-Rod. He may be bluffing, but maybe this will quiet down the tabloids for some time.
I have been outspoken in Alex Rodriguez-bashing, and thought I’d respond to Stu. Like Stephen Colbert, when it comes to baseball, I’m not always logical: I know things are true because I “feel” they’re true.
So, for example, when I compared Alex Rodriguez to Cesar Crespo, Juan Pierre, and Clay Bellinger in the past two days, I realized that the comparison didn’t work on a literal level, since A-Rod has about 400 more homers than those three guys combined. What matters more to me is that no matter how good of a player A-Rod is, in some essential, indefinable way, he will always suck. He will always be stuck up, self-important, prissy, preening, tip-frosted, convinced of his own greatness, and hurt that not everyone loves him. He will always be the guy who slapped the ball from Arroyo’s glove, the guy who’s 5-46 in recent playoff memory, the guy who (as Bill Simmons likes to point out) gets big hits in blowouts, but not when the chips are down.
Of course I’d love to have him on my team. But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t privately bash him every chance I got, until he turned his career around like Adam LaRoche did this year. “Suck” doesn’t measure his counting statistics: it’s a measure of the man, and the man it measures in this case ain’t exactly a dude I’d share a beer with.
AAR,
I hear you, but to be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t wanna hang out with John Smoltz either—and he’s one of my all-time favorite players.
BTW, here is Daisuke Matsuzaka’s numbers.
http://www.japaneseballplayers.com/en/player.php?id=matsuzaka
“Rodriguez is believed to want to be close to his winter home in Miami, which means he’d favor the Marlins or Braves (two teams without big money to spend) over the Angels or Dodgers (teams that are seen as the most likely pursuers”
They love playing with Brave’s fans don’t they?
Doesn’t everybody want to come to Atlanta and well not?
I have seen Matsuzaka in action through Youtube. The guy doesn’t throw very hard…mainly around 91-93mph on his fastballs…which is what Davies has, but Matsuzaka has better breaking pitches.
Fair enough, Ububba, but John Smoltz has won me a World Series. Plus, he has more passion in his fingernail than Alex Rodriguez has in his soulless body.
Dan,
I wasn’t thinking about it that way (though perhaps living in the DFW area I have been infected by that terrible disease known at hit the ball hard and suck at pitching). Like AAR, “when it comes to baseball, I’m not always logical: I know things are true because I “feel” they’re true.” Seriously, pitching does need to be addressed (and hopefully it will be). But, there is such a thing as taking the best available talent. If A-Rod’s available and the price is right, I’d still take him. I’d also realize that I’d lose Giles in the process and perhaps LaRoche as well offensively. And if I replace Giles with Aybar/Prado/Orr and LaRoche with Thorman, I’m going to lose offensively there. So, getting A-Rod won’t mean that Braves will simply add 45 homeruns and 120 rbis, will it? This is all speculation on my part. Continuing the speculative game, given the choice between A-Rod and say Johan (sp?) Santana, I think I’d regain my senses and take Santana… Pitching is seriously cool.
I would absolutely want to hang out with John Smoltz all the time.
And AAR, I couldn’t disagree with you more.
Is it the money that makes everyone so jealous? Or is it the fact that he actually is one of the 2 or 3 greatest baseball players any of us has ever seen? I enjoy watching the guy play, and I’d enjoy it even more if it were happening in a Braves uniform.
““Matsuzaka figures to beat out even Barry Zito and Jason Schmidt as the best free agent pitcher available.”
In terms of pure talent/production or talent/production relative to cost. Cos NO WAY will he be worth what youhave to pay for him. He will get at least 10-12 mil per year over 3-4 years just in contract plus youll pay 25-35mil to even negotiate with him. So really you could pay almost 20 mil a year for him
Two words: “Hideki Irabu”.
Exactly Mac.
I’m not sure where I lean on the “passion meter.”
It’s easy to say that the Yankees need another Paul O’Neill because he was a good player who led by example. Some teams see a guy like that bitch & moan and throw things & think he’s a crybaby; others react by never giving away an at-bat, just like him.
When the Braves won their title, their 2 best pitchers were absolute icemen—Maddux & Glavine. In the ’95 WS, instead of engaging Eddie Murray after he brushed him back, Maddux didn’t scowl, glare or squawk. He turned his back! (I loved that, actually.) Also, from all I’ve heard & read about Koufax, he was pretty aloof.
I guess what I’m saying is that it works both ways. For every holler guy like Pete Rose or Gary Carter, there’s an aloof DiMaggio or a stoic Johnny Bench. Great players are great players & you need ’em to win.
FINALLY, MARK BOWMAN ADMITS TO THE TRUTH!!!
“The Braves may look to trade Horacio Ramirez — they’re able to do this because of James and Davies.”
If given the chance, A-Rod will probably turn the post-season stuff on its head. He is a great player and will eventually silence his critics. Kenny Rogers was thought of as the biggest choker ever, but look at what he did in his last game? He may stink in his next few outings, but who knows?
The thing is, there is no way the Braves will ever get A-Rod, and as has been pointed out, pitching is our greatest need. I don’t see the Braves getting an over the top salary guy like Zito or Schmidt, but I also don’t think they’ll start the season with Smoltz/ Hudson/ Hampton/ James/ and Ramirez or Davies as their starting 5. I see Ramirez as the most likely to be traded, followed by Davies, Hudson and James. I think JS and Cox understand that the starting 5 listed above are too fragile to be counted on for the whole season.
“I’d like to sit down and have a beer with him” is a piss-poor measure of competence, no matter what the circumstance. I don’t think I would want my heart surgeon or broker to be a guy I’d want to share a beer with, for example. I’d just like them to be good at what they do. I’ve never understood why that should even come into the equation.
urlhix,
You gotta admit that you get more attached to ballplayer than you do, say, an accountant.
I know I want to like players. I mean, I’ve liked mediocre-to-bad players because I found them amusing or entertaining or I identifies with them in some manner. (Full Disclosure: I was the co-founder of an ersatz Rafael Ramirez Fan Club. Also, in the depths of 1988, I wrote a column about how much I liked Gerald Perry because he busted his ass like Gary Matthews. Additionally, I later joined Marvin Freeman’s fan outfit—didn’t start it, though.)
The sad fact is, the disconnect is so dramatic between players & fans now that, with very few exceptions, none of these ballplayers would ever wanna have a beer with any of us. Hell, they probably don’t even drink beer.
A-Rod is a terrific player, but he’s not enough of an improvement over Chipper or Renteria to be worth his contract- which is, let me remind everyone, $27 million per year for the next four years, plus $19.5 million in deferred money payable between 2017-20. Barry Bonds at his ‘roidiest wasn’t worth $27 million a year.
The Braves have already made it clear that they won’t increase their budget until they definitely have an owner (and given the probable new owner, probably long thereafter). And by announcing their commitment to Torre, the Yanks have shown that they retain at least a little sense. So there’s little point on going on about ARod. He’s not coming.
I’m not so sure about that. Having had to deal very closely with accountants and agents and managers in the past, and to a lesser extent the present, I can say that I had way more invested in them, personally, that any ballplayer. And I wouldn’t want to go out and have a beer with any of them. That’s what friends are for.
I understand and agree that there is a certain amount of wish fulfillment involved in rooting for your team. I know I see my little league self in my favorite players. But as a realist I really could care less if I “like” the player or not, performance is what matters. I’m sure I’m in the minority in that, but I’m pretty wierd so it’s no surprise. *grin*
And yeah, you can bet the farm that your favorite player is making fun of the fans behind closed doors. Just like your favorite musician, actor, artist, whatever. The one’s that don’t are the exception, not the rule.
I guess an example is I really don’t “like” Chipper. But I’m glad he’s on the team, most of the time.
Until this batch of Georgia-based rooks showed up, it’s quite possible that Chipper Jones is the one Atlanta Brave that most resembled its regional fanbase.
Brian J -ARod…exactly…ARod also has an attitude problem.
ububba,
True ‘dat.
Dan
About the ESPN ticker, I interviewed to be one of the people who wrote the ticker. I didn’t get the job though.
“Until this batch of Georgia-based rooks showed up, it’s quite possible that Chipper Jones is the one Atlanta Brave that most resembled its regional fanbase.”
I dunno, Smoltz moving down from the north and growing really strong roots here, being in charge of his kids Christian school and all, and calling the place home is pretty representative of alot of the population of the Atlanta area
Is there anything we are happy about?
My wife and I are going to Hilton Head in a few hours. I’m pretty happy about that.
ububba,
I meant to ask this already…why don’t think you’d like Smoltz the man?
PInella not interested in the NATS job
http://www.washtimes.com/sports/20061011-121912-9808r.htm
“The sad fact is, the disconnect is so dramatic between players & fans now that, with very few exceptions, none of these ballplayers would ever wanna have a beer with any of us. Hell, they probably don’t even drink beer.”
True for some, maybe even a majority, but not all.
http://www.wickmanswarriors.com/
“The Braves may look to trade Horacio Ramirez — they’re able to do this because of James and Davies.”
Mark Bowman has finally repented on his “trade James so Davies and Ramirez don’t have to compete for starting spots” line. Problem is, pretending the Braves don’t sign or trade for any new starting pitchers, I’d rather have Ramirez over Davies.
Dan, we are in agreement there. I dont really want to see Davies next year at all.
“One candidate to fill the Yankees’ pitching need was given permission by his Japanese team to leave for America yesterday. The Seibu Lions will post Daisuke Matsuzaka, a 26-year-old right-hander who some scouts say has better stuff than Hideki Irabu.
U.S. teams can make closed bids on Matsuzaka next month during the posting process. Seattle is expected to go heavy after the pitcher who won a career-high 17 games last year and had a 2.13 ERA and 200 strikeouts.
If the Mariners get crazy with the posting price – some say they will go as high as $30 million – the Yankees won’t be in it. After a team wins the bidding it has to sign the player. … ”
ummm..no thanks!
I generally don’t care about the players’ personalities–I have nothing in common with them and, in any event, you can’t really say you know someone just because you read about them in the paper. Tyler Yates might be the greatest guy in the world but who cares because he sucks as a player? The one exception is that I can’t abide Barry Bonds–he is such an asshole that it takes all the fun out of watching him. In general, though, I root for the uniform. I am very uncomfortable with some of Smoltz’s political and social attitudes, but, who cares, he is a great pitcher. I don’t have to have dinner with him. By the same token, a lot of people on this blog hate Glavine–to me he is one of the few ballplayers I could see having a drink with and actually being worth having a conversation with.
AAR says A-Rod is prissy and stuck up and all those other things. How do you know other than what you read in the paper? He has never done anything remotely as reprehensible as a lot of players. I find it sort of strange that people object to A-Rod actually wanting people to like him. I guess it would be better to be Bonds and not give a damn about any other living being. And he has never bashed gay people like Smoltz did. As to whether he is a good teammate,that’s for players that have played with him to say, but I guarantee there are a lot of players that have been lousy teammates, but were great players and their teams won.
In the abstract, I would take A-Rod in a heartbeat. I don’t think there is a chance in hell he is coming here. (And, by the way, before we start treating Atlanta as heaven, he only wants to be there because it’s close to Miami. Atlanta, of course, is a great place to be rich in.) I don’t think it makes sense to give up pitching because another bat is not the primary need (although I continue to believe that the Braves should strengthen their offense as much as possible because I don’t think they are going to be able to improve their pitching that much.)
I suspect that A-Rod puts too much pressure on himself and that manifests itself in the playoffs especially. And, I don’t doubt that some guys, such as Reggie Jackson, can get more focused during the playoffs and perform better. But, in general, whether you hit in a particular game or spot is highly dependent on variabels beyond the hitter’s control. If Mitch Williams had thrown a better pitch to Joe Carter in 1993, Carter might have popped up and everyone would say he choked. I don’t care who the hitter is, in any given situation, the pitcher has the advantage–if he throws a good enough pitcher, he is going to get the hitter out 90% of the time. And in the playoffs you see better pitching. Does anyone think that Mark Lemke actually became a better hitter during the 1991 World Series because he had clutch hits? If so, why didn’t he hit better during the season? I can’t understand the reasoning that somehow it’s more important to hit during a few games in October than during 162 games in the regular season.
With the Braves needing a leadoff hitter who can play left field, what are the odds they could acquire Carl Crawford?
— Tyler N., Macon, Ga.
It certainly seems the Braves’ biggest offseason need is to locate a legitimate leadoff hitter, and Crawford seems to be the most appealing option. If the Devil Rays are truly going to trade this potential superstar, they’ll be looking to get young pitching in return, and the Braves certainly could pique their interest with either Kyle Davies or Chuck James.
So, obviously, the Braves will at least inquire about Crawford.
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061009&content_id=1706411&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl
I’ve made it pretty obvious I want pitching and not hitting. But if the Braves can get Carl Crawford for Kyle Davies and, say, Will Startup, how can you not?
“By the same token, a lot of people on this blog hate Glavine–to me he is one of the few ballplayers I could see having a drink with and actually being worth having a conversation with.”
Are you serious? Smoltz comes off, to me personally, as a nicer guy and one that I’d rather chat with than Tom Glavine.
MAC or any other Bama fans..Has anyone heard that Guillon quit the team yesterday. I know he wasnt any good, but that’s not a good sign if a SR QB, backup or not, quits the team. I think there may be some in house problems and Shula doesnt know how to deal w/ any of his players. Did anyone see when Shula was trying to talk to Robinson the other day that Robinson just threw his hand off of him and just kept walking. Shula look startled, thats when you get up in the guys face and let him have it. Shula needs to take charge of his team or quit
If the Braves can get anything of quality in return for Davies, I say do it.
Marc S., every single point you just made is right, except that you’re dealing with the matter logically. I’m not. Even though Alex Rodriguez is one of the greatest players of all time, I have an irrational dislike of him that I rationalize by pointing to elements of his public persona. He’s nowhere near as much of a jerk as Gary Sheffield, Barry Bonds, Albert Belle, or a loon as Milton Bradley, Elijah Dukes, or Izzy Alcantera. He’s just irritating, and he annoys me more than just about anyone.
Most annoying and probably the worst teammates. Barry Bonds and Gary Sheffield, both are pieces of crap and they think everything revolves around them. Also, blame the media for letting them do what they do.
Brian J. – Arod is due 64 mil over 4 years (16 mil a year). The rangers are on the hook for 11 mil a year the next 4 years. If we traded for Arod, we’d get the Yanks to pay some of the 64 mil they were responsible to pay. So with Renteria and Hudson (total of 12 mil next year) having to be moved for Arod to fit on the roster, I don’t think money is the question.
Also, someone was saying how good our offense was last year and asking why Arod would be someone worth getting. Well, the fact of the matter is that we will lose Giles and I really thing we will also lose Andruw soon. So, someone like Arod would help with that loss of production.
One more thing, I (like Stu) am curious to know what people wouldn’t like about the man Smoltz seems to be. He has always been one of my very favorite players and has always struck me as a genuine person.
I also apparently missed the day Smoltz was “gay bashing.”
Stu,
It’s not that I don’t mostly like Smoltz the man. I just wouldn’t wanna hang out with him. Reasons?
1) I don’t go to church.
2) I don’t golf.
3) His comments about gay people angered & disappointed me. I don’t suffer ignorance, bigotry or racism very well—no matter how it’s framed, explained or apologized for—so I guarantee you he wouldn’t wanna hang with me either.
O.K. the power of the internet has led me to the article with Smoltz an Perez giving their views on gay marriage. Apparently he thinks it is wrong and a slippery slope. At least that’s what I understand him saying.
Anyway back to baseball…
csg,
As bad as Davies was last year, I wouldn’t be too quick to give up on him. He is very young and was rushed to the majors. We pretty much know what HoRam is–basically a fourth or fifth starter that can eat innings but doesn’t have the stuff to dominate. The Braves obviously think highly of Davies and I would be reluctant to simply write him off.
As for Glavine, he always struck me as more intelligent and conscious of the world than most ballplayers. I obviously don’t know him and I know a lot of people are angry because of his rolein the union, but he just strikes me as an interesting guy. I don’t Smoltz is a bad guy, but, while I don’t mean to offend anyone, I find his religiosity and his fundamentalist beliefs on gay marriage off-putting. This doesn’t mean he is a bad guy, but I simply think I would be more comfortable with Glavine. However, as far as baseball goes, I would certainly rather have Smoltz on the Braves at this point than Glavine.