In case I don’t get the recap done in time, just to keep a fresh thread up.
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In case I don’t get the recap done in time, just to keep a fresh thread up.
Use code “Journal” for a 5% discount.
Something will get done guaranteed.
Clearly, the Braves shouldn’t give up, no matter what price Quite honestly, I don’t think that Schuerholz would make any kind of deal for Teixeira if there wasn’t some way to weasel into keeping him for a long time.
I dunno, Sam. We got JD Drew with no guarantee we’d keep him, and then he left.
I do think we’ll have more payroll flexibility to be able to keep Teix, though.
Stu,
Exactly. This is a little bit different than the Drew thing. This time, I think, the Braves have a few more options than in the 2004-05 offseason.
If Texas doesn’t trade Tex, I think their GM has dropped the ball. The Braves are offering a really good package.
I wonder if JS is pissed off at the Rangers GM. I don’t believe the claim that Bud Selig just hasn’t gotten around to approving the trade. It’s not a high school term paper, its a business transaction in professional sports. I think its all Daniels holding out.
Wow, I’m glad I can’t watch these games. This is looking really depressing. Hopefully a deal gets done that will spark something.
I’m finally getting back in the states 10 PM Monday. So excited…
I just received an e-mail update regarding Fredo Ledezma. He may not be gone for good. Per my Rotowire e-mail:
———————-
Ledezma was designated for assignment by the Braves.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: If he isn’t claimed by another team and accepts an assignment to Triple-A, the Braves will convert him to a starter.
———————–
Yeah, I don’t buy the “waiting for approval from Bud” thing. I’m sure the MLB commissioner has to stuff to do every year around this time, and there’s never this kind of hold-up. And as someone mentioned, I’m sure there’s other people who can approve the trade if the commissioner is off doing business.
What’s the package being reported? Salty, Andrus, Harrison? Yikes… we better get a reliever too.
Then if that’s the case, where the hell is Saltalamacchia going to be traded if Daniels is holding out? The right thing to do is break off talks and go with a backup plan.
Tony, from the previous thread regarding KJ’s fitness for the lead-off spot, due to speed:
KJ has good speed! He may not have Fast Willie speed, but then if that’s all we wanted we should have picked up Joey Gathright on the cheap or give Vick a shot once he gets out of jail.
Kelly is 4th in MLB with 9 triples. You don’t get that many triples without good speed. Who else has a lot of triples? Let’s see:
1. Curtis Granderson – 16
2. Jimmy Rollins – 14
3. Jose Reyes – 10
4. KELLY JOHNSON – 9
5. Carl Crawford – 8
6. Coco Crisp – 7
All of these guys are fast and most of them lead-off (Crisp does a fair amount and Crawford could and has in the recent past).
I reject that the only thing you want out of your lead-off batter is speed anyway, but even using that sole criterion, you are incorrect about KJ’s lack of fitness for the role.
I could see some reservation if KJ was only a high OBP, slugging, base-clogger, but he’s not that AT ALL. He is our best fit for lead-off and Bobby is wrong to keep him out of it.
I don’t think Fredo will make it through the waiver wire. If he does, it would be good to let him go to AA or AAA and have him start with the hope that he could compete for a job in Spring training. At this point, however, the trade ended up being a poor one. We just have to hope that everyone else sees little in him to use a ML roster spot for him.
How about we trade Julio Franco for Ric Flair
Whoo !!!!!!!!!!1
Cary,
AAGGGHHH, he said “base clogging”!
But he does know how to hit well and that gives him opportunities to get the triples.
Also, we got Drew in the midst of the streak and a lot of moves we made were kind of patchwork to keep the streak alive, not truly to build for future victories.
If we added Tiex, assuming some payroll flexibility from the new owners, I’d expect JS to make deals that have long term benefits. There’s no point selling the farm just to make the wild card and get obliterated by the AL team in the world series.
Better to build a team that really can win, and Tiex would certainly help for a couple years if his contract doesn’t handcuff JS for its duration.
13 …
to be the man, you’ve got to beat the man! whooooa!!!
We have outscored our opponents 27-18 over the last five games and that is good for a 1-4 record.
It seems our problem isn’t scoring runs; it is the proper distribution of those runs. Will Tex help with that?
We don’t have to hear about serious trade rumors much longer.
If the Braves move, it’ll be tomorrow.
17 — we’ve had some tough luck lately, hopefully it will even out
Yeah, the Braves have played fairly well overall over the past few weeks, it just hasn’t translated to wins. We’ve won like 3 big-time blowouts and in that same span, dropped something like 3 of four extra-innings games.
But that’s baseball. :-/
I’m kinda of the opinion that if we make a move and then the record improves drastically, people will be like “wow, that really energized the team!” when in fact since the ASB, we’ve been playing pretty well and just not getting some breaks.
Dix,
Talk like that could get you mugged by Sam and KC. See yesterday’s thread.
I think at this point we back our offer down to Harrison and Andrus. OR Salty straight up. IF Texas’s GM won’t do the deal he’s killing himself.
mraver,
I think you’re right. I think our view of the team may be skewed to the negative as the W-L total is skewed from the actual stats/play.
But, I also think that is more likely pitching help that we need and blowing the farm without getting an arm or two might not be the “fix” that we think we are getting.
27 to 18 minus our 14-0 win equals 13-18, good for 4 consecutive losses. It’s not that crazy, really.
One way or another, I think we’ll see a different team come Wednesday. I was certainly hoping we’d be closer to the top or WC at this point—4.5 from 1st, 2.5 from WC.
(Gah, I hate the WC. Hate even thinking about it.)
I’ll just hold on until the trade deadline & put my baseball faith in JS that he’ll improve this club.
JB,
It is not the end of the world for the Rangers if they do not trade Tex now. Since they have him for another year and a half, they could trade him some other time over the next 12 months. I do think this is the time that they will get the most value in trading Tex, but changing our offer at the 11th hour certainly won’t get it done.
ububba,
I know it’s not crazy.
But, when you play a team to a draw over nine innings in a game, a different kick on a single grounder could have changed the outcome. We just had four games where we were maybe one call or bounce away from earning a “W.” The D-backs were more than a few kicks away from winning this one.
Chop-n-Change says that Peter Gammons reported the deal as basically done a few minutes ago and it was Tex for Salty/Andrus. I’m not sure anybody knows exactly who is getting traded, other than Tex and Salty, but I am really starting to feel like it is going to happen tomorrow.
Lance Cormier watch: 7 innings, 2 runs, 2 homers, 6 hits, 0 walks, 6 strikeouts. ERA down to 3.46.
I’m no Cormier fan, but we’ll see him again sooner or later.
It just goes to show you that JS has such a track record of getting the better end of the trade deals long term. Some people are saying that Salty must not be as good as everyone thinks if JS is willing to trade him. From CNNSI:
“Dissenting opinion on Salty
The Angels were said to be disappointed that Texas requested they sweeten their standing offer for star first baseman Mark Teixeira, which apparently consisted of young first baseman Casey Kotchman and probably young pitcher Joe Saunders, with a top prospect such as pitcher Nick Adenhart or infielder Brandon Wood. While they weren’t giving up the pursuit, it gave them reason to wonder whether the Braves were leading the race.
The Angels have been steadfast in their unwillingness to surrender big prospects in recent seasons, but some folks around the game are actually more impressed with their offer than that the Braves’ bid, which has been reported to be young catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia plus prospects Matt Harrison, a lefthanded pitcher, and Elvis Andrus, a shortstop. Unless there’s a surprise bidder, it could be a two-team competition since it appears the Dodgers are focusing on pitching instead.
Many rave reviews have been written about Saltalamacchia, but the Braves have a history of knowing their prospects. It’s hard to recall a time when they traded away any that have come back to haunt them.
It’s also curious that the Braves, which are in the playoff race, have consistently been playing the elderly Julio Franco over Saltalamacchia at first base. The idea that they believe Franco gives them a better chance to win doesn’t speak well for Saltalamacchia, who’s a catcher by trade but had been manning first base before Franco’s acquisition.
“[Texas] isn’t getting what they think they’re getting,” one competing executive said, referring to Saltalamacchia.
Well, so far Texas isn’t getting anything, because the trade hasn’t been consummated yet.”
It’s not going to kill us to have him in the Fifth Starter Shuffle. He’ll be no Tim Hudson, but maybe he’ll be a Buddy Carlyle?
Yeah, I have been expecting a Cormier callup…but the two homers allowed are not encouraging at all. Hopefully the Braves can get a starter so that Lance can forever be Buddy’s insurance.
Peanut has posted this on the official site.
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070729&content_id=2118170&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl
Um…if Harrison’s right shoulder is sore, what’s the problem?
Brent Lillibridge watch: after a slow start in Triple A, he’s hitting .301/370/494 in July.
Since the ASB he’s .333/412/600.
20 for 60 since the break.
Ooooooooooo, fun.
Could the deal be Mach-18 and Harrison, no Andrus? I am tired of speculating. I will be happy when this finally done.
We should get “Touch of Grey” for the video dedication tomorrow on the off day dedicated to Bud, regarding Mac’s Grateful Dead comment the other day.
I wonder if the Rangers would have an interest in Mike Gonzalez if they are uncomfortable parting with CJ Wilson. I’d trade Salty and Gonzo for Tex and CJ. I’m probably undestating the injury factor, though. /I’m/ confident that Gonzo will be good to go after his rehab (but CJ would be worth more to us right now), but as an investment for another team it’s probably to risky.
j-rod,
I seriously doubt that they’d want to do that, because that basically means they jsut get Salty until 2009, at the latest.
i might be wrong but I don’t think you can trade someone on the d.l.
I think you’re right about the DL, Trace. And Sam, 2009 is stretching it a bit, I think (mid-2008 is what the hope is) – but it would still be sooner than Elvis will be able to contribute.
Trace is correct. You can’t trade someone on the D.L.
I vote for as few Grateful Dead videos, music, pictures or references as possible.
Many years ago, I was in San Francisco on business & met this really fun hippie chick in a bar in the Lower Haight. I was interested for a minute, until she told me she actually worked for the Dead.
I made what I thought was a fairly benign joke about Jerry Garcia & her reaction was as if I had drawn a Hitler mustache on a picture of Jesus. She was aghast. Appalled.
Beyond our few shared Anchor Steams, we were obviously incompatible.
Some of my best friends are Deadheads, but I tend to forgive them.
Braves, Angels have top Teixeira offers
The Rangers were split on whether they wanted Braves Class AA left-hander Matt Harrison as part of a prospect package for first baseman Mark Teixeira.
They no longer need to worry about it.
Harrison recently developed shoulder trouble, major-league sources say, prompting the Braves to remove him from the deal.
The Braves are still offering catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Class A shortstop Elvis Andrus for Teixeira, and they gave the Rangers a list of young pitchers to consider as Harrison’s replacement.
The list does not include left-hander Jo-Jo Reyes, but otherwise the talks remain fluid. It is even conceivable that the deal could be expanded from a 3-for-1 to a 4-for-2.
The Angels remain a strong contender for Teixeira. While the Diamondbacks submitted an offer, it fell short of the Braves’ and Angels’ proposals, according to an industry source.
The Dodgers and Rangers exchanged proposals, but found little common ground.
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/7072074
Consider me in the pro-Dead camp. But I am a big fan of improvisational music of all kinds. Old school free jazz to Japanese noise skronk, It’s all good to me. Though most of the time it is more fun to do than listen to.
Not to mention Robert Hunter is probably the most underrated songwriter in America.
Oh, and Cormier sucks, I hope to never see his weaselly face ever again.
Who in the world would be in a 4-for-2? Better be CJ Wilson if that’s what it is. But who else could be thrown in with the Braves?
Woodward.
Url,
I’ll admit that “Workingman’s Dead” & “American Beauty” were good records, but I could never deal with their noodly-ness.
That journey just didn’t work for me. And let’s just say I’ve had my moments when I really tried.
In my experience, there are 2 sure-fire ways to kill a great party: Give an acoustic guitar to someone & watch them start playing “Hotel California” or allow someone to play a Dead bootleg.
TV & punk-rock ruined my attention span, I’ll cop to that.
Well, I would be shocked if Salty’s not traded somewhere in the next two days. Like, as shocked as I’ve ever been about anything in my whole life. The fact that he didn’t play today when everybody else and their mother did spoke volumes. We had Peter Moylan pinch-hit instead of Salty. He didn’t even have to come into the game to catch. All he had to do was come to bat once and we left him out. He’s going somewhere, and very soon. I’m frankly a little surprised it wasn’t announced directly after the game.
kc,
Realistically 😛
I wouldn’t say those were good records. Great songs, sure. But the Dead were terrible in the studio. Horrible, abrasive singers, on top of that. It’s because the songs are so good that people love it. Such rich symbolism and meaning that a squeaky high-nasal like Jerry could get away with it.
Their greener fans are an example of why some people get turned off by other things, if you catch my drift. The cult of personality is just plain annoying. But that doesn’t change the fact that Lesh is also one bad mutha (shut-yo-mouth!) on the bass, YO!
Of course, if it’s a party I’m putting on the Band’s Moondog Matinee instead. Never fails to have them dancing through the floor.
Sam, it would be nice if they take Orr or Prado!!!
I hear ya, Nick. Salty is as good as gone. The shots of him on the bench today showed him looking pretty relaxed which makes me think he knows the deal and is in the acceptance stage of things.
Meanwhile, Thor is still stuck on anger.
Trading a back-up catcher sure is problematic. A foul tip can ruin the deal.
url,
Yes, I’ll buy the notion that Deadheads can be much more annoying than the Dead. (“Omigod, Jerry’s wearing red tonight!“)
Ever watch VH-1’s “Classic Album” shows? (I’ll watch any of them, doesn’t matter who, even if I hate the act.) They had a great one on “American Beauty” & the bit where Hunter is explaining how he wrote the songs is a perfect little moment. He gets all-wistful, as if he never wrote another good batch of tunes.
Does anyone remember that Boys of Summer cover that came out a few years ago by The Ataris? Instead of saying “out on the road today I saw a Dead Head sticker on a Cadillac,” they sing “Black Flag sticker on a Cadillac.” I searched the internet one day out of curiosity and it turns out that they hate the Grateful Dead so much that they don’t want to even mention them in a cover of a Don Henley song.
I’m not a big fan of the Grateful Dead either, but talk about an ego!
I guess, being a longtime Deadhead, I’m in the pro-camp, but the reality is I don’t really care in regards to this site. Mac can play any videos he wants. I’ll just be happy when the trade deadline has passed and we can all move on with our lives… for better or worse.
oh, and as for The Ataris, who cares what you think when you start playing Don Henley covers?
Mac, I hope you don’t mind my linking to talkingchop, but I think they have a great idea. Blackout The Ted for Hank when Bonds comes to town in August.
http://talkingchop.com/story/2007/7/29/221931/077#commenttop
Thanks Mr Harrison for hurting your shoulder at the most important time. He must really want to stay as a Brave. However, I wish he can develop a third pitch. Otherwise, I hope JS can deal him away when his value is high. I don’t understand why some people prefer Harrison more than Reyes, but Harrison is only a two-pitches pitcher right now…which explains his low strikeout rate.
Perhaps Dan Smith will be included in the deal instead of Harrison. He is actually BETTER and more advanced than Harrison…another lefty…
Please no, Schuerholz.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune suggests the Twins spoke with Atlanta about a deal involving righthander Carlos Silva.
http://cbs.sportsline.com/mlb/story/MLB_SC-RUMOR
Why?
Because he’s always wanted a righthanded Horacio Ramirez?
Much-delayed recap should be up soon.
Why on earth are you up so early Mac?
Dan, that tells you the low quality of starting pitchers available in the trade market. For those who don’t understand why the Braves trade Salty for a bat instead of a starting pitcher, I hope you can understand now.