One of the best hitters in baseball, with no weaknesses to speak of. Okay, he doesn’t run well, but who cares? The Braves more or less collapsed after acquiring him, but it was hardly his fault, as he hit .317/.404/.615 in 54 games with the team. He missed 30 games, mostly with injuries, after playing every game in the previous two seasons, but it doesn’t seem to be anything to worry about.
Let’s see… Switch-hitter, hit .357/.435/.565 against lefthanders, .284/.385/.567 against righthanders. No, actually in two games he hit righthanded against righties and was held to .200/.333/.200. So as long as you can get him to bat the wrong way, you’re in good shape. Strikes out a fair bit, but not at a rate to challenge a league leader, and honestly who cares? Most-similar hitters through Age 27 are Hrbek, McGriff, and Will Clark. Needs 30 homers for 200… Won AL Gold Gloves in 2005 and 2006, obviously wasn’t going to last year splitting between the leagues, but didn’t look all that great to me, and few righthanded first basemen are really Gold Glove caliber.
The Braves would love to re-sign him, but Scott Boras likes to take his guys to free agency. (This is not license to talk about Scott Boras. It’s unproductive.) He’ll make a lot on the open market, and it’s hard to see the Braves matching what the AL moneybags will offer, but you can never tell.
From the previous thread (#70 & #71)
My first reaction when I saw the Falcons going after Peter Carroll was to squeeze my eyes and shake my head in disbelief.
Then I saw Adam’s post at #71 and I realized he was right – there is a financial opportunity now to turn their front office into a Reality show. It could be a big hit for ESPN.
You get these candid shots of Arthur Blank coming out of his executive washroom brushing his teeth and he angrily is bleeped out as he pushes the camera out of the room – good stuff.
Re: Teixeira
Mac, I know we’re not allowed to talk about Boar-A$$, but he needs to be stopped by any means necessary so we have a shot to keep Tex.
In all seriousness, I keep saying over & over that the Braves have made the kind of moves and let the kind of contracts go that can keep Teixeira. Besides Andruw, Hampton’s contract will be off the books, and we may even see Smoltz and/or Glavine retire.
Teixeira is the kind of bat we can center the lineup around.
I hope you are right and we can spend the money necessary to keep him. I agree with Mac, I am not sure what else you can say about Teixeira. He hit ball good! I guess we can always talk about Bobby’s crazy batting lineup, and hope he does not bat him 6th!
Well, given that the recent GG for 1B in the NL have been hogged by Pujols/Lee, and Tex/Youks in the AL, that thing about RH 1B is probably not true anymore.
Interestingly, the Al has no good fielding 1Bman except Youkilis. Pena had a good reputationa while back, and Kotchman is not bad is the best you can say.
NL has Pujols, Lee, Tex, Adrian Gonzalez, Loney
And the DL has Nick Johnson
Actually checking the list out, Vic Power, George Scott, Eddie Murray, Mark McGwire threw RH too.
And from the NL list, Gil Hodges and Steve Garvey ( yea yea, am headed to the showers soon ) threw RH too
mraver (from previous thread),
I wasn’t trying to belittle Andruw but just arguing that he should not make the HOF before Chipper. I would argue that he might well be the second best switch-hitter in history (I assume you put Eddie Murray first) and being second to Mantle isn’t bad. And, for all the criticism of his fielding, the Braves had the best pitching in the majors for most of his career and won 14 division titles. So, his defense obviously didn’t hurt the team much. My feeling is if the Braves had had to choose between Andruw and Chipper, it would be no contest. Granted that Andruw is one of the best, if not the best, CF of all time, I think outfield is primarily an offensive position. I think that the difference, in terms of contributing to the team winning, between the best centerfielder and a very good centerfielder probably isn’t that great. As great a CF as Willie Mays was, his true value was his offense. By the same token, Mantle wasn’t known as a great outfielder but it didn’t seem to make much difference to the Yankee success. There have been lots of very good defensive centerfielders even if not as good as Andruw, such as Garry Maddux, Paul Blair, etc. and none are in the HOF. I’m not necessarily saying that Andruw doesn’t (or will not) deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, but that Chipper is a better player (albeit not as much of a home run hitter so he won’t have the huge home run stats)and should be in before Andruw.
I could see the Braves viewing Teixeira as the next centerpiece of the team (given the increasing age of Smoltz and Chipper and the departure of Andruw) and shelling out the big bucks to keep him. He seems like a character guy that fits in well with the image the Braves always try to strive for, and maybe they want him to be one of the faces on the next regime.
Teixera was always one of those player who I wished was a part of the Braves, and was thrilled when it came true. I hope they do everything they can next year to tie him up long term.
It’s really not up to the Braves whether to keep Teixera. I’m sure they want to keep him but this is obviously not an organization that is going to pay “whatever it takes” to keep him and if someone else gives him an arm and a leg, that’s it. To me, it depends on what the Braves see happening to their payrolls in the future; if Teixera takes up so large a proportion of their payroll that they can’t make any other moves, what’s the point? It seems to me that the Braves budget is likely to increase incrementally over the next few years but I doubt there would be a precipitous increase. So I’m skeptical but hopeful about keeping him. The reality is no one can predict what will happen because no one really knows what is important to Teixera. Maybe he will like playing for Bobby Cox so much that he takes less to stay in Atlanta. But I sort of doubt it.
Here is a nice piece on the SEC in the NYTimes:
It definitely makes nice reading….
Rumours were he refused a 8yr 140 mil extension from Texas. Whether he just didn’t like Texas, or he thought he could get more, who knows?
It would be so great if we could resign Mark Teixeira. He’s the kind of player that money is made for. (As long as he doesn’t, you know, become a 120-130 game a seson player, like Dave Justice, Chipper Jones, and the 2007 Mark Teixeira.)
Alex, I have to respectfully disagree. Our chances of re signing Teixiera are small. Unless he tanks this season he is going to be worth 120 to 150 million dollars over the life of his contract. Your hatred for Boras not withstanding his clients almost always test the open market. No matter how much Liberty Media opens up the strings there is no way that we an compete with Boston, New York or both the LA teams for Tex’s services. Marc made a great point. Do we want to be a team with a huge portion of the salary budget tied up in one player?
I don’t know that I’m as optimistic as Alex, but I do agree that we have a chance of re-signing Teix. We could pay him $21 million next year (and, obviously, in future years) without increasing our current payroll. I know the Braves haven’t shown any inclination to do long-term, big-money contracts in the past for non-career-Braves guys (like Chipper and Smoltz), but I have to think a guy like Teixeira would be worth breaking that standard practice for, if anyone is. And if our payroll is going to increase incrementally, so could his contract via backloading.
An example:
’09 — $17 million
’10 — $18 million
’11 — $19 million
’12 — $21 million
’13 — $23 million
’14 — $24 million
’15 — $25 million (age 34)
Total — 7 years/$147 million ($21 million per year)
Does that look unreasonable to people?
Every team needs a centerpiece. Tex can be that for the Braves for the next ten years.
Surely someone can plant some controlled substance on He Who Shall Not Be Named and remove his irritating ass from the equation …
Stu,
It’s not unreasonable but we obviously aren’t operating in a vacuum. What would the Yankees or Red Sox pay? My hunch is that the Braves wouldn’t have made the trade if they didn’t think there was some chance they would be able to sign him but I certainly wouldn’t make the Braves the favorites based on what we know. But that’s in the future anyway and it doesn’t affect what happens in ’08. If the Braves were to win the World Series (or even get there) this year, I wouldn’t complain even if he left. I think we have to recognize that teams like the Braves have limited windows to compete (whether or not justified by the actual financial condition) and that they have to strike while the iron is hot. You take your shot when you get it and then move on if it doesn’t work out.
Just to clarify my last comment, I didn’t mean that the Braves cannot be consistently competitive. They can. I meant that they cannot expect to have a World Series caliber team every year like they did in the nineties.
If I were us (does that make sense?) I’d frontload Teix’s contract, if he’s agreeable to that.
We have a plethora of young players on the roster who are currently quite cheap. Now would be the time to take advantage of that and pay Teix the big bucks. As the younger guys’ salaries start to pick up, it’d be nice if the extra-massive Teix paydays were behind us and we only had to pay him reasonably massive checks. That way we could afford to keep some of the other guys, especially if we end up signing them to escalating contracts, a la McCann, which makes sense with up and coming players who are expected to get better as the contract progresses but who aren’t worth high dollar contracts yet.
I think we are putting all our chips on this season. I think TEx might win the MVP
#17
Dix – your idea is one of the most sound. I agree. Right now, current Major Leaguers like Frenchy & McCann, and possible future Major Leaguers like Jordan Schaefer are cheap. A frontloaded contract where he gets huge dollars the firdt 3 years, would be something we could probably hammer out, even with Voldemort.
Teixeira was also very clear when he arrived from texas about how much he loves the Braves as an organization. He was noticeable unhappy in Texas and was aloof in the locker room because he wanted out. The numbers he put up when arrived, show a guy who’s thrilled to have escaped his previous situation and is now in a great one.
He has also since clearly stated how much he fits in the locker room and how tight he now is with guys like Chipper Jones, Frenchy & McCann. These are his boys now.
My feeling is, we will have to give him a huge contract, sure, but with Hampton, Rentaria and Andruw’s salary gone, and the likely retirement of at least one of our starters, I think Teixeira (even w/ Lucifer at his side) will give us every chance to stay in Atlanta.
Contrary to popular (re: ESPN) belief not every player wants to automatically go to NY or Boston.
With the exceptions of Kenny Lofton, Wickman & Brett Boone, every other person who’s come to Atlanta during Bobby Cox’s tenure has been thrilled to be here and see what an ideal spot it is to play – don’t just discount that.
Hell, even Gary Sheffield and JD Drew really enjoyed their brief visits to Atlanta. Sheffield loved Cox (which is unheard of that Gary likes anyone) and Drew’s best season ever was as a Brave. That says something.
It’s hard to see how Boston could fit Teixeira in. They have Ortiz at DH and Youkilis at first.
#18
Smitty – with that theory in mind about ‘putting all our chips on this season’ that furthered the argument Stu and I were making that the Braves should have dealt Schaefer and co. to Baltimore for Erik Bedard.
(and again – bedard’s 28 so it’s not like this is his last hurrah).
It makes no sense (whether it’s Bravesjournal fans or the organixation) to call this a ‘go for broke’ season, if we are not going to go 100% (instead of just going 75%) and get us a pitcher like Bedard.
Without Bedard, we are the 3rd best starting rotation in the NL behind Arizona and San Diego. With him, we are unabashadly the best and way out in front of Philly & NY.
Marc,
What I’m saying is that I think we can, if we so choose, compete with New York’s and Baltimore’s offers.
Dix & Alex,
I like the idea of frontloading, but it seems like it’s almost never done with guys who aren’t near the end of their career. Players generally like getting paid more, not less, with each successive year.
Stu – I am assuming that frontloading with a guy in his prime like Teixeira means we could give him 3 successive huge money years, and not just 1 or 2.
Either way, I am personally on the side of giving Teixeira the biggest contract on the team. He absolutely can be a cornerstone of the offense, anchor the infield defense, and be a guy to build young hitters around.
i’d rather frontload than backload a longterm contract. not only would it help for signing the younger guys (dix’s comments sound good to me), but it probably also hurts our psyche less to be paying the heaviest part of a huge contract when the production is the highest — even though we’d all hope that it doesn’t wane.
here’s to hoping tex stays, that he likes the organization enough to be content with crazy millions instead of a few more crazy millions, and that he doesn’t want to go back home and play for a bad organization (i sure hope he doesn’t want to be the orioles’ hero).
Actually this offseason, both NY teams are going to have a shitload of $ and a vacancy at 1B. The other main contender for Tex was Baltimore, but as they are going through a Marlin like stripdown, they can be ruled out.
i forgot to add (but stu mentioned it) that i don’t expect a front-loaded contract to be smiled upon by tex or that guy that negotiates his contracts. it would be too advantageous to the organization.
Well, you also have to consider the markets in which these years of the contract would be paid, Murphy. $25 million in 2015 might actually be less, relatively, than $17 million in 2009, especially if baseball revenues continue like they have. I mean, the Royals are spending heavily!
good point. by then 25 million might be (gulp) a bargain.
…as they are going through a Marlin like stripdown, they can be ruled out.
Well, maybe. Remember, Peter Angelos runs this team. I wouldn’t rule them out from attempting (foolishly, obviously) to jump right back into the thick of things way ahead of schedule. Also, they’ve only traded Tejada so far, right? Until Roberts and or Bedard are traded, I’ll be skeptical that Angelos has given the OK to blow it up.
The bottomline for me is this – I would support actually giving into the devil on this one, and giving Teixiera a contract comparable to a Yankee/Sawx contract.
We may not have the ability like Boston or NY to do that with 15 guys, but we aren’t the Marlins and Pirates either. There’s no reason not to pick a few key, cornerstone, star players and drop the bank on them.
where can i find info on how long our current rostered players are under contract (even if it doesn’t have the dollar figures)? i’d appreciate any help.
Stu – you are right. Angelos is a fool and I wouldn’t put it past them, but I have to imagine tex would look at the talent level and in just comparing the Braves and Rangers, the Braves would have to have an advantage.
And I might be wrong on this, but before he even came to Atlanta, didn’t Mark and his wife buy a home in the area because of how much he loved the area when he played for Georgia (trade school) Tech?
If the quibbling is over a few mill. here or there, I would think having a home here already prior to even arriving, would give Tex and his family added incentive to try and get something worked out with the Braves.
But again, maybe I am just the most foolishly optimistic person in here on Teixeira.
i don’t know if he bought a home or not. but if i were making millions i’d buy a home near my alma mater just to have a place to stay on weekends during football season…
Murphy, Cots baseball contracts is the best for these issues. You will have to extrapolate for service time.
Teixeira turned down the Rangers extension because he didn’t think that organization was totally committed to winning. I think after seeing Soriano, Gonzalez and C Young traded he couldn’t see himself winning anything with Texas. Atlanta is different and he looks extremely comfortable and happy here. I think that gives the Braves a real chance to sign him.
I have to imagine tex would look at the talent level and in just comparing the Braves and Rangers, the Braves would have to have an advantage.
Sort of like A-Rod did when he took the most money? (Of course, in that case, the highest bidder was like $70 million over the second-highest bidder, so that may not be a good comparison.)
He does have a home here. Still, he grew up around Baltimore. Presumably his family is still there. He can afford another home. I think if the Braves win the Teix sweepstakes, it will be because they offer a contract that’s as good as the other offers.
Also, although I’m not sure how, I forgot about the Mets having a 1B hole after this year. (Let’s be honest—they already have a 1B hole.) Goodness, would that be painful if they took Teix away. On the bright side, he’s not Latin.
i forgot to add (but stu mentioned it) that i don’t expect a front-loaded contract to be smiled upon by tex or that guy that negotiates his contracts. it would be too advantageous to the organization.
Front loaded contracts benefit the player not the team. Money is worth more now than later.
I would need at least 10-1 odds to consider taking a ‘Tex returns’ bet. Unfortuantely we are just not that team anymore.
Can someone tell me how to determine how much a player rates “above replacement level” and if it’s a useful stat for discussion.
My notion is that we can find many players who can play first base (some that can only play first base) but Tex’s value far exceeds a another good hitter that has to play at first and may well be worth special consideration.
I think of Will Clark and Rafael Palmiero every time I see Tex’s stats. Although Palmiero won a disputed GG, I think Tex’s better.
#36
Stu – so absolutely true. Thank goodness Minaya is the GM. I doubt he’d go after teixeira considering his propensity for only aquiring Latin ballplayers.
#37
Robert – I would have said we are not that team anymore when AOL-Time Warner owned us. Now, Liberty isn’t Ted Turner, but Liberty has shown a willingness to at least increase the payroll.
It’s safe to say Liberty falls somewhere in between Ted and AOL.
Money is worth more now than later, but it also makes a player much more likely to be traded later, when the dollar value will be worth less. Anyway, I agree that we ought to have a chance to resign him — and it’s good that some of the teams that are traditionally free agent players are set at 1B, like Seattle and Boston — but Boras is good at making teams go temporarily insane, which I think we can assume Wren won’t do. If there’s someone who decides to offer Tex an 8 year, $160 mill contract, or a 6 year, $150 mill contract, I doubt we’ll match, and I don’t know that we should.
So we’ll see. And enjoy the season while we got him.
8/160 would be fine with me; 6/150…tougher, but I could probably get behind that, too. I feel confident that the Braves would not do the latter.
37 — that makes sense to me too. but wouldn’t organizations rather frontload a longterm contract so they don’t carry around expensive, untradable weight at the end of the contract? i guess it’s not approached that way.
i was going to wait until francoeur day, but since contracts are being discussed … when is he going to get a mccannesque deal?
Doesn’t Tex want a no trade clause included in his deal next year? Will Wren concede that to Boras or will the Braves continue to refuse no trade clauses to free agents?
He was offered exactly the same deal McCann was last offseason, as I understand it. He turned it down. I suspect they’ll try again this season. I suspect it will again be unsuccessful.
There’s no chance of Tex resigning with Atlanta. You don’t hire Scott Boras to be your agent unless what you care most about is money, and Atlanta won’t be able to outspend both New York teams, the Angels, the Dodgers, the Orioles, and probably several other teams for Tex’s services.
It’s safe to say Liberty falls somewhere in between Ted and AOL.
I have to see it to believe it. If we had bought a real centerfielder this offseason I might think things have changed, but it’s still looks like we are just trying to get by with what we can dig up on the cheap.
I doubt Wren would offer a no-trade. Schuerholz categorically refused to do it.
@46
Ron,
“You don’t hire Scott Boras to be your agent unless what you care most about is money”
I must say that sounds like an emotional comment and not a rational one. Any baseball player plays for money, thats beyond obvious. What does it say about other players who sign agents that are not Scott Boras? That they don’t care about money? No, obviously they care about money just as much, they probably have other reasons for not hiring Boras, such as they think he’s a jerk, or they liked the other guy better.
Just because you hired Boras doesn’t mean you’re all about money. Andruw sidestepped Boras, A-rod did to a certain extent as well. The agent represents the player, he doesn’t make decisions for him. If Boras says to Teix “I can get you X dollars, but not from Atlanta” Tex can easily say “well what can you get from Atlanta”. At that point the decision is on Tex not Boras.
#49
Bravo, Dix – you;re on a good roll today with your posts. Completely agree with everything you just said!
I choose at this point to be optimistic about Teixeira untuil the day he might actually ink a contract with someone else. Let’s see how this season plays out before we all assume anything.
Let’s see the Braves season stories from D.O.B on the AJC Blogs and what is said about Teixeira, what kind of year he has, how well the team does – a year is a long, long time in sports. Let’s all not rush to any kind of conclusion and make giant assumptions.
I have no reason not to be positive.
Sure, we didn’t get a good replacement for Andruw, but did it occur to anyone that MAYBE we didn’t spend a bunch of money on ‘Druw to A) have more to give to Teixeira and B) because Andruw just hit .222?
I tenmd to be one of the least rationale people on Bravesjournal, and for some reason, I am the guy in the room calling for the most positive thoughts and most “let’s wait and see” of anyone. Weird.
My feeling is that if we don’t spend the money on Teix, we will end up spending it in smaller chunks on various players who not only aren’t worth what they’ll get paid, but also aren’t as valuable as Teix even collectively.
All major leaguers are overpaid once they become established. I feel like the superstars are typically less underpaid than the mid level guys. There are always albatrosses like Giambi, or even Andruw’s cost/production ratio last season, but most of the time I think you see guys like Torii Hunter who cost a ton but aren’t superstars. It’s better to stretch the budget for a guy who can carry the team and be built around, than to overpay for multiple players who will never outplay their contracts.
*less overpaid* second sentence second paragraph.
Damn Dix is on a roll and let me add that if noone trades for him, that a certain Santana will be a free agent after this season as well. Maybe the Wren administration wants to go back to being pitching dominant.
Sure, we didn’t get a good replacement for Andruw, but did it occur to anyone that MAYBE we didn’t spend a bunch of money on ‘Druw to A) have more to give to Teixeira and B) because Andruw just hit .222?
I have no problem with them deciding Andruw wasn’t going to be worth the money. I disagree but that argument certainly has it’s strengths.
What I do have a problem with is announcing that the team is going to spend some of the money they are apparently flush with and then rolling into January with one real full time outfielder. The plan seems to be to just piece together some platoons from spare parts which I’m skeptical of after last year’s Thorman/Wilson blackhole-of-despair platoon.
Spending the money just because we have it is something the Dodgers and Mets do, not us.
Was there truly anything you’d have said we needed to sign and who was also worth what it would cost us in the UFA market this year?
Most of the high dollar additions to teams this offseason came via trade. I am OK with not spending the money if its going to go to waste on a player and then handcuff us later on when something good comes around. Flexibility is valuable.
Mac,
There are rumors flying up here in Tennessee that Kevin Steel might be introduced as co-defensive coordinator for the Vols.
I’m with ya, Alex R. I’d like to have a wait-and-see attitude with Teixera. Ya never know what he’ll do. And honestly, who in their right mind would want to play for Baltimore? If it’s true he didn’t like Texas because of their inability to win, he’d be crazy to go to Baltimore.
Smitty,
That would be interesting. I had heard the rumors that he wanted to leave. Of course, it was also rumored that he was going to Texas earlier. Does Tennessee even have an opening? What is going on with John Chavis?
Ron you are exactly right. Players hire Agent X for one reason: $. I think the fact that Tex loves playing in Atlanta (which I agree that he does) will not be a factor when it comes time to re-up. It will not be part of the negotiations.
Off the top of your head, who do you think the Mets or Yankees have pegged to play 1B of the players who are either currently on their roster or in their minor league system?
ok CJ,
Why do players sign Agent Y then instead of Agent X?
Spending the money just because we have it is something the Dodgers and Mets do, not us.
Was there truly anything you’d have said we needed to sign and who was also worth what it would cost us in the UFA market this year?
Of come on. It’s one thing where the Dodgers just sign somebody every year just for a splash. It’s another when you have a big needs in the outfield, there are lots of free agent outfielders and you pass on all of them. You obviously don’t get tremendous return on your dollar through free agents but it’s better than just living with holes in your lineup.
I am working on the assumption that Tex is gone after this year. That way, I can only be surprised if he re-signs, not disappointed.
I know that he’s heavily coveted by the Yankees. That circus has mutated a bit recently, but they still have a boatload of money. If they want him, they can put out the best offer—nothing we can do about that.
Perhaps I’m setting myself up for dreaded disappointment here, but I am looking forward to a 130+ games of Chipper & Tex hitting back-to-back. I like our lineup & think we’ll score plenty o’ runs.
Favorite quote from the NY Times story on the SEC:
“I don’t know if we’re really far ahead of everyone else,” L.S.U. tailback Jacob Hester said of his conference. “But week in and week out it’s a tough game. After SEC games I feel a lot different than nonconference games, I can tell you that.”
My translation: Ohio State, you hit like Tulane.
Chavis is safe up here, but we are going to announce a whole new offensive coaching staff. We got the Florida RB coach yester day and it looks like the OC is going to be Richmond HC Clawson. Then we are going to get Michigan’s QB coach and WR to take the same possitions at UT with Michigan’s OC to be our TE coach. Then Larry Slade may be stepping down and DB’s coach and we bring in someone big. The rumor is Steel, but I am not sure. I kind of think it is going to be Al Wilson or Dale Jones, but I wouldn’t count out Steel.
There is another rumor that we couldn’t get the money for Steel, but it was a done deal. So who knows?
Steele leaving after one year? Wow. It seems unlikely, but then so did Gus Malzahn taking a co-coordinator job at Tulsa.
Then Larry Slade may be stepping down and DB’s coach…
This would benefit UT more than anything else you mention.
#62
Amen to Jacob Hester’s quote.
Ohio State, the “Hardball” number of the day? 0-9.
Your record vs. the SEC.
#51
Dix – another great post. (Today is Dix day IMHO).
That’s another perfect thought – overspend on one guy (Tex) who can carry a lineup, rather than the same money on 3 mediocre players.
teixeira’s ability is an elite class of players. That has to be worth something.
#63
Smitty – as a Dawg fan, I am sure I can speak for ububba and others and just say I am happy Cutcliffe is gone.
I have tremendous respect for him. But any other O.C. now in Knoxville is good news for the Dawgs. Cutcliffe is the 1 guy who really has us figured out and I give him tremendous kudos for what he (re: not Fulmer, but Cutcliffe) did the last 2 yrs.
i still cant figure out how anyone roots for a conference……….i mean isnt the SEC full of other schools that you guys despise no matter which school you actually root for? i’m a FSU fan (we’ll be back shortly} but i really dont care about the rest of the ACC teams. since i’m a braves fan, does that mean i should pull for the NL in the world series? sorry, i cant do it. they all beat the braves too much to suit me.
Good UGA reality-check column from Mark Bradley today:
http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/sportscolumns/entries/2008/01/08/2008_really_cou.html
“I don’t know if we’re really far ahead of everyone else,” L.S.U. tailback Jacob Hester said of his conference.
Yeah no kidding. The way your school schedules you would be in no position to judge. Nine home games this year (essentially) – I believe that’s a record.
barrycuda-
yes – in the world series, I generally root for the NL so that is how I also view the SEC.
And no offense – but when your conference is the ACC, I could understand why that doesn’t ignite passion and excitement. The ACC is not exactly a juggernaut.
But back to the SEC, just can’t help it – there’s a ton of pride knowing we’re the best football conference, year in and year out. It’s hard not to be giddy.
You kind of root for your conference in a backhanded way, because the success of your rivals and opponents reflects well upon you when you defeat them. If they all sucked, beating them wouldn’t look as good. see Kansas.
Even with Ted Turner, the Braves didn’t have an unlimited payroll. That’s why they traded Justice. They had a budget but it was larger relative to other teams than now; moreover,at the time, many players didn’t want to play for the Yankees because of the “Bronx Zoo” aspect. As a matter of fact, I think teams should have budgets because it makes them analyze how they are spending the money. I really think the Yankees’ willingness to spend anything has gotten them into some trouble.
It seems to me that Liberty is marginally increasing payroll enough to allow the Braves to not have to dump salary like they did with Millwood. But it doesn’t seem like enough to make a splash in free agency. I’m with Ububba; I don’t expect Tex to resign so I won’t be disappointed. I’m not all that upset that they didn’t sign one of the free agent outfielders considering the contracts they got. Tori Hunter at $18 mm per? Aaron Rowand? I think you can feel centerfield adequately (not spectacularly) without spending that kind of money. But I do want to see how hard the Braves try to keep Teixera. Personally, considering the appreciation of sports teams, I don’t think there is any reason that Liberty couldn’t raise the payroll to $100 mm but I doubt they will do that. But even if they did, that wouldn’t mean the Braves should just throw the money around willy-nilly.
Everthing I have heard is that the Steel thing was a done deal, except for the money. UT AD Mike Hamilton put his foot down to it. Therefore, Hamilton is stupid
Robert,
When do you get your HBO show? I love your brand of humor.
That would be huge if Kevin Steele left Alabama as a defensive coordinator to take a job as a secondary coach at one of our main rivals. I just could not see him leaving for anything less than at least a lateral move. Also, I know he is already one of the highest paid defensive coordinators in the nation, so there is that too. He also has a lot of family in Tuscaloosa for whatever that is worth.
I tenmd to be one of the least rationale people on Bravesjournal, and for some reason, I am the guy in the room calling for the most positive thoughts and most “let’s wait and see” of anyone. Weird.
My favorite post of the day. Alex, you root with your heart, and I love ya for that. I’m definitely hoping we can resign Tex, but whatever happens, I’m pretty sure nothing will get done till November. Anyway, we’ll see.
(over)Paying a superstar that can carry a lineup does sound like a better idea than overpaying a few midlevel guys.
I was elated that we got Teixeira last year, and he played like a superstar for the Braves. But is he that guy you spend on? Probably. It’ll certainly be worthwhile to see how this year goes.
2004 was a great year. 2005 was a huge year. 2006 was still a great year, but it wasn’t the mammoth production year that some expected (OBP was still great, SLG went down a bit but was still good). Then he had some injury issues last year before coming to Atlanta and again posting explosive numbers. I know this is nothing new to anyone.
I think Teix would have to have a great year this year (not just good) to warrant committing a huge chunk of the payroll to him. I can’t wait to see that huge year happen — should be fun to watch.
Spending a large part of your budget on one player is what turns you into the Rangers. As the Braves have proven over a decade and a half you need a core group of 4 or 5 players to build around.
I am in the ububba, marc group think. We only get Teixiera for one year then he leaves for the huge free agent pay day he is due.
Dix if you spend 20 on 3 just so so players you are right you cannot compete. But if your 20 goes to guys like Francouer, McCann and James you are better off with those 3 than just one Teixiera.
If you think that Minaya won’t make Tex an offer becuase he is not Latin then your crazy. I don’t know for sure but he’ll probably be the best hitter on the market this fall.
AAR I wouldn’t be surprised if the Braves try to lock him up before November. I know against SOP but we have a new GM.
79 — i’m not thinking a $240 million chunk.
i don’t think dix was talking about spending low dollars (and getting great value) on guys like mccann and francoeur. (i think) he was referring to spending $90 million on guys like t.hunter instead of spending $150 million (or whatever) on a guy who should be hitting better than 6th in your lineup.
On the Braves “no trade provision” policy.
It is not so much that Teixeira has specifically requested one, but when people have asked Boras about always going to the bidder and not the home town discount, he has replied that the proper way to then negotiate would be for the team to agree to a no trade clause. That way if somebody like Tex is wanting to take less to stay in Atlanta, then the Braves can’t just turn around and “sell” the discounted contract. It is partly just requesting a fair bargain.
That said, I think you could (if the collective bargaining agreement allows) structure a partial no trade that doesn’t cripple you, yet doesn’t spit on the player (if attendance drops, if wins drop, then we can trade you).
i’m actually not a huge fan of spending a large portion of the payroll on one superstar. but it could be better than overpaying for “good” players (as dix was advocating).
The problem with the Rangers was that their supporting cast wasn’t just cheap, it was terrible.
If the Twins could afford to, you don’t think paying $25 million a season to keep Santana wouldn’t be a good thing, even though he would take up a big chunk of the payroll?
The best money a team spends is on Super 2 arbitration (they were one of the 17% best players in the game after two years!!! and you pay them 1 to 2 million!!!).
The next best is taking out arb years and adding options or extensions. (like the McCann deal or the current deals that Haren and Swisher are on).
The next best is major league minimum guys. Some of them are really good, and at least the ones that aren’t good don’t cost too much.
The next best is for the ultimate free agents (best of the best) when you don’t have anybody on your team worth a damn. Santana, Teixeira, Maddux. I haven’t seen it quantified, but “VORP” seems to be cheaper when somebody has a lot of “VO”.
Then, as the free agent’s quality drops and as your team’s need for the free agent drops, you better watch out or you are going to get burned.
I am in the resign Teixeira camp, but if we are unable to resign him I just hope the money they allotted to Teixeira are used to sign younger players to McCann type deals. Francouer and Johnson are the only players that fit this description.
The NYM deals with Wright and Reyes are great for their team payroll. It’s just we don’t have talents like those two to use the Teixeira money on so I am in favor of resigning Tex.
ok AAR…….i admit the ACC is pretty weak these days but who knew that miami and FSU would kinda disappear from the scene? even as it is, FSU beat ‘bama and with half a team played kentucky about as tough as the “champions” at LSU did.
I could certainly understand offering Tex a partial no-trade. I’m sure he wouldn’t want to be pawned off on a team in the basement that would give him no chance to get to the playoffs. Fortunately, a lot of those teams are so poor they couldn’t afford to trade for a $20 million man. If we gave him a contract that said he could only be traded to, say, the Yanx, the Bloody Sox, the Metz, the Dodgers, the Angels, and the Tigers, I bet both parties could accept it.
Isn’t “Super 2” status based on games played and not relative production?
Does anyone remember the website where you can plug in hitters and come up with an expected total of runs scored?
Look y’all I WANT the Braves to TRY to resign Teixiera but I don’t think that they will be able to compete with the 2 New York teams or Boston or the LA teams when it comes to the dollar amount of the contract.
My point is that a contract in Manny territory could prevent you from locking up a Francouer, Johnson, James or big contributor if you don’t have the unlimited resources of the Yankees or Red Sox.
I am also totally convinced that Tex will not offer any hometown discount what so ever.
And even if he did, I’m not sure Atlanta qualifies as his hometown.
“I am also totally convinced that Tex will not offer any hometown discount what so ever.”
Agree!
The conference thing is like a family — a backwoods family, where everybody hates each other but outsiders better not do anything to any member or the whole clan will unite against them.
Unless Frenchy shows a hell of a lot of improvement very fast, then I wouldn’t have any problems losing him by locking up Teixeira, or James for that matter.
@94,
Great analogy, Mac.
Also, one of the great things I ever read on that was on the LSU site for Rivals.com about 4 years ago. It described each SEC member in terms of the cousin you would see at the family reunion with various traits. It was hilarious.
Mac,
You nailed it, although there are certain levels of hate that each SEC school has for each other.
For UGA:
Worst: Florida (For general nastiness that has resulted from the huge decade-long swings of dominance for each side. I’ve seen fans from both schools do things that should embarrass them enough to at least consider rehab. U-G-L-Y.)
Way Up There: Tennessee (Before the 2-division setup, we didn’t play ’em so much, but it’s full-on early-season nastiness now.)
Hate Losing to Them, But…: Auburn (So many UGA/Aub connections—from Joel Eaves to Vince Dooley & Pat Dye. My favorite game of the year.)
Just Annoying: South Carolina (Playing them is like walking through a doggie-doo minefield—you feel like you shouldn’t step in it, but when you do you’re just mad at yourself.)
Don’t Play ‘Em Enough to Really Hate ‘Em: LSU & Alabama (Lots of respect, really. Had big wins & brutal losses against each. Biggest win vs Bama—21-0 in ’76; Worst Loss—29-28 in ’94 or the 20-16 opener in ’85. Biggest win vs LSU—34-14 in ’05 SEC title game; Worst loss—34-13 in ’03 SEC title game.)
Rarely Lose to ‘Em (At Least When Ray Goff’s Not Coaching), So We Kinda Love ‘Em: Arkansas, Vandy, Kentucky, Ole Miss, MSU (What can I say? I appreciate their efforts.)
From DOB:
But as I’ve said, I still think the Braves might make a move or two before opening day, including the addition of another stopgap center fielder. And there is reason to believe that Oakland’s Mark Kotsay could be the guy.
I’m not saying a deal is imminent or even that the Braves have strong interest in the veteran Kotsay, but I’ve talked to people connected with both teams and have yet to have anyone tell me it’s not gonna happen. Maybe that’ll change soon, but so far nobody is shooting down the possibility, and that tells me something could be up.
Another possibility is Georgia native Corey Patterson, but only if the Baltimore free agent’s price tag keeps plummeting and the Braves can get him for perhaps half of the $6 mill salary he was once looking for, and probably only if they can get him in a straight one-year deal. The Braves don’t have huge interest, but I think they still have some.
Alabama it’s Tennessee we hate the worst, Auburn who’s the archrival, LSU third. I root for everyone in the SEC outside of conference unless Fulmer has particularly annoyed me lately.
Or Auburn is the little brother, Tennessee the cousin whose side of the family you’ve been feuding with for forty years and whom you get into a fight with at every reunion and wedding.
No, not Kotsay… Ugh. 56 games last year, hit .214 .279 .296, declined each of the last three seasons, .337 career OBP, not even a good glove man anymore. Also, he made $8 million last year, how is it better to give him that than to give Patterson $6 million? Not that Patterson is actually any good, but right now he’s better than Kotsay.
lol…….never knew you SEC guys had such warm and fuzzy feelings for each other although i do understand the backwoods clan part. my wifes family are hardcore auburn folks. her dad played football there and her uncle won the outland trophy there so i have to at least pretend to root for them.
On a personal level, the worst thing to come out of the Fox Braves broadcast dominance is that I can’t even read Teixeira’s first and last names together without hearing that frat boy song they played in that commerical for about two months. That’s our Frank TV.
@60 If you were injurred in a car accident, how would you choose a lawyer, and the better question is a) would the lawyer take your case and b) would it be worth whatever fee you had to pay vs. your expected return. It is the same type of principle with agents (who are worth about as much as plaintiff’s attorneys). Some people may be morally repugnant and professional mercenaries, but that is generally known by the person signing up for the representation before the deal is consumated. All I am saying is that it is not my belief that Tex will take a discount to stay based on who has retained to represent his interests. In fact I believe that this particular person tells his clients this up front, the whole Andruw thing from a few years back notwithstanding.
barrycuda,
Who’s her uncle? Did he play in the NFL?
If the Braves have 5-8 million to give Kotsay, why don’t they use it on something with a real chance of being useful? Or save it so they could maybe add payroll at the July trading deadline? Why just flush it down the commode like that on Kotsay or Patterson? Are either of them likely to be much better than the best of Josh Anderson, Gregor Blanco or Jordan Schafer in 2008?
They might as well bring up Schafer instead of trading for Kotsay.
they might as well put Javy Lopez in CF over Kotsay
Justin, I don’t agree with you, because I think that bringing Schafer up to early could have a very negative effect on his development. I think it would be worth spending a little more on a crappy veteran so that Schafer has a brighter future.
Then why not just spend nothing on a crappy prospect? We have two of those.
I’m with you there, Mac. If it’s between Anderson/Blanco and Kotsay, the former is much more appealing.
I’d still be interested in a Corey Patterson signing. I’m terribly biased with respect to him, though.
marc………..her uncle is zeke smith and he played a couple seasons with the giants.
Regarding a Tex contract, he’ll stay in Atlanta if and only if he really wants to. NYY is going to offer to pay him through the roof (Well, unless they get Santana. Which I find unlikely. And even then they might.) They’ve got no 1B, and Tex is clearly going to be the best one on the market next year. I mean, what’s his competition? Pujols, sure, but beyond that? Howard, Fielder, and Berkman are all similar hitters, but none will be available for a while. Maybe if they deal for Konerko or something, but he’s not the player Tex is.
So yeah, I think the Yanks are going to need a 1B with Giambi on the way out after 2007, and I doubt they’ll settle for mediocrity at that position, especially if they miss out on making a splash this off-season by not getting Santana (although I guess they did get ARod).
At the same time, the Braves are going to be in a similar situation; not a lot of options out there and certainly nothing coming up from the farm (barring a huge breakout for Kala Ka’aihue in the high minors, which I don’t expect at all). Dunno, though. Maybe they could trade for Berkman (signed through 2010) or something.
mraver,
Giambi has trouble playing 1B now. If you go to the Yanks’ current roster, Giambi is listed only as a DH.
Regarding CF, I really don’t think Blanco should be ignored. From all reports, he plays good defense in the OF, and his OBP has been good throughout his minor league career. In Winter ball, he hit .345 with a very strong walk rate. The obvious downside is a complete lack of power, but frankly I don’t mind that, as everyone else on the roster should slug better than .400, and besides Escobar, at or around .450. That said, adding a veteran wouldn’t suck, but let’s not trade anything of real value.
ububba- True, but recent reports have him scheduled to platoon there with Chris Duncan (although Betemit could also be a factor). Still, the point is, I think the Yanks are going to go after Tex hard next year; they’re not the type of squad to field a platoon long-term. 🙂
Shelly Duncan.
I’ll be curious to see how Girardi uses Giambi because he’s pretty entertaining out there. Torre was always terrified to use Giambi in what he considered a big game.
Hey, I’m all for giving Gregor a shot until the pitchers knock the bat out of his hands. Who doesn’t like rooting for a guy who’s scrappy?
@107 LOL
But you know the Braves. They love that veteran thing. Chris Woodward anyone?
Ok I know that they just traded Dukes and Upton away and I know that I’ll be booed right off the journal and that I really think this guy sucks but (whimpering voice) trade for rocco balldelli? Awaiting the vitriol.
If Dan’s around, look out.
More Baldo Rocdelli talk. Yikes, I’m taking cover…
Mind you I don’t want the team to trade anything of value for baldelli ….. ok I’ll take it back.
Just kidding….. I surrender……joking around……please don’t hurt me….
Of course I was one of the biggest flamers last season when we were actually trying to get Baldelli. Y’all realize that we were trying to trade Salty and Escobar for Rocco?????? EEEEEGADS!
im just glad that they turned down our Salty, Yunel, and another for Baldelli offer last year. some folks here wanted it, i bet thats changed
Dan, #105 – if we are going to dump that much $$ on Kotsay or Patterson, we should just make that offer to Cameron. He’s still the best option right now
#118, I think you meant Delmon Young, the other famous sibling in the Rays’ former outfield. B.J. Upton’s still a Ray, and Justin Upton’s still a D-Back.
AAR you are correct sir.
Count me in the i’d rather watch Anderson/Blanco skitter around CF than pay anything for a Kotsay or his ilk.
As for Schafer I’d much rather see him tear it up in Pearl 1st half then Richmond second then have him and Jair come up and make an impact in September.