Because, you know, it does.
The Braves have a very interesting little window this month. It’s the period when trades can only be made through waivers, and the players who pass through waivers are generally those who make enough money that nobody wants to claim them. Doesn’t that describe a couple of the Braves’ starting pitchers? If they’re convinced that Hudson can come back, what’s keeping them from shopping Lowe or Kawakami? And if a team is desperate enough for starting pitching…
Very interesting month and off-season awaits. I have a feeling the Braves will just put Kawakami on the DL and keep Lowe (he’s the ace, remember), but I’d certainly try to sneak them through waivers and trade them to the Yankees or someone.
Neither Kawakami or Lowe will be going anywhere. We just signed Lowe to a 4 year deal, and he is a Boras client. That would seriously damage our chances of getting anymore Boras clients, not to mention, more than likely turn other FA’s away from wanting to sign with Atlanta. Kawakami was a PR move. THe Braves want to get into the Japenese market. To put a brand new signee through the waiver wire, would also seriously damage our chances of getting into that market again. If any pitcher is placed through the waiver wire, it will be Javier Vasquez, and that would be only if Hudson is able to make it back. Didn’t Hampton get side tracked with a “groin injury” when he was trying to come back from Tommy John. It is unlikely Hudson pitches this year. And a big mistake letting Vasquez go, because even if Hudson does somehow make it back, there is no guarantee he makes it back to his previous form.
I dont know if anyone would take on 3 years of lowe?
Does anyone know the status of draft pick signings? Minor etc.?
I haven’t seen anything.
Does a no-hitter count if it’s against the Royals?
I dont know, i did see a Roman Colon sighting for the Royals…they are big time!
I don’t think Kawakami would clear waivers. After April, he has pitched like a championship team #4, fair team #3. Hell, if the Phillies didn’t just get Cliff Lee, they should have jumped on him.
I agree that PR on Kawakami is part of the signing as well.
On Lowe, I don’t care if he is a Boras client or have any reason to believe that has anything to do with it. I only see him moving if he clears waivers while nobody is desperate for pitching and then a rich team gets desperate.
Take the Yankees, for example. If any one of their better guys (Sabathia, Burnette, Joba) goes down, they need another pitcher. they wouldn’t be scared of Lowe’s contract. They might send us something we could use as well. Red Sox would also play on Lowe, potentially. If the Cubs were 2 games back of the Cardinals and if their ownership thing is settled, then I could see them making a pitching move.
If Vazquez gets put on waivers, he will get claimed. thus the only purpose in that would be to have the exercise of pulling him back.
Besides, Vazquez is owed less than Lowe for next year, has no further obligation, and has outperformed Lowe. Why would you take an action that would get rid fo Vazquez?
What Cliff said.
While what chipperchop says is likely accurate, that means that two very important moves that should be made won’t be made for political reasons – not baseball reasons.
And if we never sign a Boras client again, it will be too soon for me.
That’s all very well and good until you look at his list of clients, hankonly. It includes Jair Jurrjens and about half of the other worthwhile people somebody might want to sign. We simply can’t do that.
Why would Boras/Lowe care about him being sent to a contender?
Lowe does have 10+ years of service time though
I don’t think you could move Lowe, but I would put him on waivers, as most players are.
Yes, he has ten years, but he has less than a year with the Braves. He’d need five years with the team to have a no-trade.
Lowe isnt a 10/5 player so he can be moved without his consent
I highly recommend a trip to Huntington Park for any Columbus OH Braves bloggers out there. Very cool little stadium. Great place to watch the Gwinnett Braves score 2 touchdowns and a two point conversion on the Hapless Clippers last night.
Everyone hits the waiver wire at some point. Remember the stink when the Bosox put Manny Ramirez out there? But I don’t think that the Braves would be all that anxious to put Kawakami or Lowe out. There is no assurance that Hudson will be a top rotation starter when he comes back. The 2 contracts are sunk costs and they have made a significant contribution to the team this year.
I agree with everyone here. Hudson is a gamble for next year, let alone this year. We have a pretty solid rotation. Having Tim Hudson and KK competing for the FIFTH spot in your rotation is a good problem to have.
(I usually hate all caps to make a point, but I don’t know how to do italics. 😉 )
Colorado won, and San Francisco are 4 up on the Phillies with 6 outs to get.
It’s getting confusing who to support now.
1. McLouth CF
2. Prado 2B
3. C. Jones 3B
4. McCann C
5. Anderson LF
6. LaRoche 1B
7. Diaz RF
8. Hernandez SS
9. Jurrjens P
Escobaaaaaaaaaaaaar
@16, should be <i>italics here</i>
I think Ryan Church is a pussy.
I doubt Boras would mind very much if one of his clients were traded — hell, we just traded Teixeira last year. He certainly doesn’t encourage his clients to cultivate anything approaching team loyalty. He encourages them to chase the dollars.
@ 22
Agreed. We signed his 35 year old pitching client to to a 4 year, 60 million dollar deal. Boras should have no beef with us, regardless of where he goes from here.
He can demand a trade after the season if he’s traded.
Uggla and Ross just hit back-to-back HR in the bottom of the 9th to win the game for the Marlins over the Cubs, 3-2
Smitty,
I’m starting to agree.
Also, I hate ESPN, but ESPN HD is sooo kickass…
The commentators have never heard of Jurrjens nor can they pronounce his name.
Jurr-Jehns, Jergens
La-Roach
Yeah, it’s kinda like having a Brazilian supermodel for a girlfriend, but she’s dumb and has an annoying voice.
If Yunel was playing the inning would be over.
Does Jair work really slow or does he just throw a lot of pitches?
Ryan Church sucks…
Whee…
BBTF’s Newsblog Discussion :: TR Sullivan: Neftali Feliz headed for Arlington
Jurrjens threw 19 that 1st inning.
Well I won’t be able to watch this entire game. With Diory at short and Jair pitching, this game may last 5 hours. Man I miss Greg Maddux.
This team is so much worse w/out Escobar.
Listening to Joe Morgan ramble nonsensically about Plan A vs. Plan B is painful
EDIT: check that…excruciating
Will Diaz strikeout yet again?
At least he hit it hard…
What’s your feeling for this game, Mac?
35,
He was on “Plan C” for a minute and nobody in the studio or in the baseball community in general seems to have any idea what he’s talking about.
C’mon now guys, Joe is painful to listen to, but I think we know what he’s talking about with the PLAN A, B, C nonsense…
49 pitches in 3 innings…..Damn
Great pitch, JJ.
I hope Billingsley doesn’t set the record for strikeouts in a game tonight.
Say what you want about Joe Morgan, but he pronounces McLouth the best of any broadcaster I’ve heard. I can’t stand the SportsSouth guys and their recurring unintentional Highlander reference.
@42, If the Braves win, Billingsley can set all the records he wants. It’s easier to set a strikeout record if the PAs that aren’t strikeouts aren’t any other kind of out.
Billingsley’s got a gnarly hook working tonight.
Prado is almost a serviceable second baseman now. Shame he’s playing with Diory.
70 pitches….YIKES
Its my penance that I have to listen to Joe Morgan ramble. Good God he makes Steve Phillips sound intelligent.
Nice play Nitram/Adam.
Yesco makes this team complete. please let us steal this tonight, and come back tomorrow.
Jurrjens is a stud. Cat’s just got another level.
Dang. I think that’s the ballgame.
Terrible pitch call by McCann.
Dammit
Way to jinx it, ETHAN
*sigh* that’s the ballgame.
Game over
Damnit. My fault.
Jair has been getting lit up the whole night to be honest. He just got lucky that the balls were hit right at people.
The comedy crew in the box actually had a good point. Mac wanted it waaay up
@52: mccann flashed the glove way out of the zone. jurrjens missed the spot by a lot. 0-2 pitch…damn.
Wonder how much ESPN are right with his leg bothering him.
You know when the rare species of animal “Boone Logan” appears…its never a good night
@52 Still it was a bad pitch call on an 0-2 pitch. Should not have been nowhere near the plate to a hitter like Kemp.
Jeez. Seriously? Can’t believe Adam swung at that one in that situation.
This offense is pathetic. I’ve never seen a team take more strikes down the middle then swing at pitches in the dirt or outside the zone
@63 Agreed.
Also, Tony, if you’re the same Tony from a few years ago with the great KJ/Escobar debate, I’d say we’re about to the time where it’s appropriate to concede the point.
You were right. Had no idea he’d be this good. Makes me want to give Barbaro a legit chance.
If Norton swings at the first pitch, I’ll cry.
Worst inning of hitting I’ve ever seen. Diaz and norton should be shot
The offense picked the perfect time to go into a slump. And since the Braves never play well in San Diego, nothing is guaranteed out there either.
@66 Yes, I am the same Tony.
Did anyone tell Diaz the 2nd half has begun? He is really slumping. Nevermind I forgot he’s not an everyday player.
Whiff!
Whiff!
Whiff!
Whiff!
Whiff!
Whiff!
I’m being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for this!
@21 & 30– why the Church hating? what did I miss?
I think its about time to give up. This team simply does not have enough playoff quality hitters
Zombie Schmidt crosses the plate.
@72 – Insult to injury.
Why the Church hating? I don’t hate Church. Just expected a little more than he has shown.
@73 – Exactly.
Anyone else ready to call it a season?
i also missed the “hate church” memo. im still very satisfied with his not-being-francoeur ability.
You’ve got it bonitis. I don’t even care if Church plays or not. Thanks to his being on the roster, Francoeur isn’t hitting into double-plays for us.
Well, maybe we can muster a little offense now that Cy Billingsley is out of the game but the hour is getting late. Jurrjens can’t get a break this year… he’s been on the wrong end of too many pitching duels.
Escobar is the one who is a wuss. Anytime there is something wrong with him he is out for an extended time. Great player when he plays though.
Good for Salty. Esco does come off sort of soft. I love him to death, but he does come off looking week with these injuries.
Say what you want about Frenchy, at least he came to play everyday.
#76
Why? Because we lost 2/3 to the best team in the NL?
No, I think I’m gonna keep watching for the next 9 weeks.
@81 If you are pretending to be a contender, you need to win at least 2 of 3 at home against the Dodgers. Plus getting shutout two of three is ridiculous.
The Braves seem to have lost all fight…..
Haha not gonna happen guy. There comes a time when reality overtakes optimism. After tonites game its pretty clear this team has too many offensive weak spots to be a wild card team. Its just time to come to that realization.
Joe Morgan just questioned a guy for stealing a base! I’m shocked!
And the Braves get to play the Dodgers 4 more times next weekend!
edit–the season may not be a lost cause but this game is
The Braves won’t win the Wild Card.
They’ll win the division. Count it.
At least Soriano gets to rest tonight.
I’m worried about BMcCann. He is now batting .200 against lefthanders.
It’s been said a bunch of times on here already, but before the season, how many regular posters thought the Braves would’ve been in contention at this point? I can’t think of anyone who thought we’d make the leap to the playoffs after the kind of season we had last year. This blog has been the place that’s most clued in to Wren’s thinking on rebuilding.
I remain quite content to enjoy the progress we made this year, while looking forward to a brighter future. And if this season can be made more exciting, hey, I’m all for it.
This lineup really misses Escobar. It’s a constant struggle to grind out runs w/o him. He may be the most important player on the team.
Joe is pissed at Phillips, so I guess he is going to disagree with everything now.
This team has too many offensive weak spots to be a wild card team. Its just time to come to that realization.
About those 7 runs a night they scored for the 10 games after the all-star break… didn’t count?
The Braves have had a bad offensive series vs the Dodgers. They’re missing one of their best players & replacing him with one of their worst.
They might slump some more or they might not. But let’s give facts a chance, shall we?
Win or lose it is never worth it to listen to Morgan and Miller on ESPN. I dread Braves games on ESPN
I agree this lineup really misses Esco. He and Prado are the glue to this line-up b/c they are so consistent.
I wonder when Esco gets back, will they move him to the clean-up spot against lefties?
But ububba, that’s sortof the point. Our offense is a V8 that runs like an in-line 4 if one cylinder misfires. Any player missing and there’s no one to fill it at even close to replacement level.
Ugh, Diaz looked really, really bad there. That reminded me of Little League.
Face it this is not a playoff team
Well, no team looks good when they are losing like that. So, just turn off the tv and pretend you have never watched the game!
I’m with Ububba. There’s no shame in losing to the best team in the league — though it would be nice if we kept a little bit more of our dignity intact. We’re looking awfully raggedy.
I remember how awesome we looked right after the break, and I still like our chances at the Wild Card — we have as strong a 5 deep pitching staff as anyone and our lineup’s pretty strong when healthy, especially if LaRoche hits like second-half LaRoche.
I never thought we’d be a playoff team this year; I’ve been looking to 2010 since last offseason. Just seeing some meaningful baseball this September would be a big step in the right direction.
We need to find another bullpen arm, though. Jeez, Acosta sucks.
I really hate this. I want to just write this atrocity up and go to bed, but it won’t end.
My biggest fear with 2010 is Chipper will be 38.
Are we assuming Heyward will be playing everyday next year?
Queue Chief Nocahoma to post something moronic.
Quick, desultory recap is up. Hey, if it’s good enough for the pros to pre-write their stories, why can’t I?
that sums it up, mac. i could just feel this game’s outcome from the beginning.
Mac, it’s not worth it! Go to bed!!!
@100 I have been saying that too. We are not supposed to compete this year, so let enjoy it while we are still in the race.