Caray to cover Braves for FOX Sports | MLB.com: News
As noted by JC in the comments, and as I predicted a few weeks ago, our long regional nightmare has come to pass. Just to chime in, he also reinforces Joe Simpson’s worst tendencies. I wish there was a radio broadcast here.
I can’t believe he was the best choice. The man is a big bag of stupid.
Eww.
Truth is, most Braves fans watching these games doesn’t know what makes a good announcer. Most of them probably think Chip Caray is a competent announcer and are happy he’s returning.
It bothers me. Not because of the nepotism, but because of the fact that Fox Sports South decided to, instead of hiring a competent announcer, do the easy thing and hire a familiar face, despite the fact that he sucks. Incredibly lazy of them.
It’s like they’re trying to encourage ignorance and stupidity.
I can’t wait to hear long-winded discussions about fielding percentage and pitchers’ victories. Going to be a great year!
Look at it from Fox’s perspective. The Caray name is associated with the Braves. Irony. Skip being so revered for being so damn good screws us.
🙁
Good point, Johnny. Sorta ironic. Thankfully the Extra Innings package (which my roommate and I will probably order again for $80 each) often offers Home and Away broadcasts.
God what the f*** are they thinking? This guy is the worst baseball announcer I’ve ever heard in my life.
Can’t wait to hear Chip and Joe talk of the stolen base replacing the homerun every other game.
I still say better than Bob Rathbun.
By Bill Shanks
The Braves Show Publisher
Posted Dec 20, 2009
| More
The market may present the Braves with a few interesting options as they look for a left fielder.
The Braves are still looking for a right-handed bat for the 2010 lineup. There’s still plenty of time to find one, and it might even take into the new year before the Braves get a new offensive player.
That new bat will probably play first base or left field, and there are several options still on the market.
Atlanta would probably be best served to see what it can get for pitcher Derek Lowe, who is on the trade market due to a crowded rotation. The amount of money the Braves save could determine what kind of player they are able to bring in for the lineup.
If the Braves trade Lowe for prospects, they would get a $15 million net gain for their payroll. And that could make things very intersting.
Right now, our calculations have the Braves at about $87 million for 2010. This includes projections for arbitration cases and renewals of contracts for players not yet eligible for arbitration.
If the Braves are operating under a potential $95 million dollar budget, there is still some room left to spend. But if Lowe’s $15 million is taken off the books, there would be significant flexibility in the payroll.
If our numbers are correct, or close to being correct, the Braves would be around $23 million under their budget if Lowe were traded for prospects and that net gain on his contract would be the full $15 million.
If the Braves are able to pull that off, would they then consider a different type of free agent?
Let’s say the Braves were $23 million under budget. Would they then say, “Well, heck, why don’t we see if Jason Bay would be interested in coming here?”
And here’s why: Bay has not signed yet, and the one team that reportedly has a current offer on the table is the Mets. From all indications, Bay does not want to play for the Mets. If that’s his best offer, Bay may instead wait to see if something else opens up after the new year before signing with a team he really doesn’t have an interest in signing with.
If the Braves more or less replaced Lowe’s salary with Bay, they’d still have the funds to bring in a first baseman (Xavier Nady for $6 million?), and then sign another utility guy (or even two if they were priced no more than $1 mil each). That would put them right at the $95 million mark.
The Braves almost got Bay two summers ago in a trade, but the Pirates’ ownership turned down the deal. Several weeks later Bay was traded to the Red Sox, and then the next spring many of those same players involved in the Bay discussions were traded to Pittsburgh for Nate McLouth.
So they liked Bay before, and if the market presents itself where he would be more attractive, due to Lowe’s money being off the books, then you wonder if they would revisit that possibility.
What would a lineup with Bay and Nady, for example, look like?
Nate McLouth
Martin Prado
Chipper Jones
Jason Bay
Brian McCann
Yunel Escobar
Xavier Nady
Jason Heyward
Not bad. Not bad at all.
What are Bay’s options right now, other than the Mets? The Red Sox have moved on, signing Mike Cameron. The Yankees (Cabrera, Granderson, Swisher) don’t have room for him. The Angels (Rivera, Hunter, Abreu, Matthews) seem to be crowded in the outfield.
Seattle was mentioned with Bay, but they acquired Milton Bradley and have Franklin Gutierrez in center and Ichiro in right. Bay has pretty much let it be known he does not want to play for San Francisco.
So if he does not sign with the Mets, where is Bay going to go? Could he be waiting to see if the Braves are going to be interested after they trade Lowe?
Bay is 31 years old. He’s averaged 30 home runs per season in his first six full seasons in the big leagues. He would fit what the Braves are looking for, if the price were right.
If you’re wondering about Matt Holliday, it’s just easier to put the Braves with Bay, a player they’ve had interest in before. Plus, if the rumors are true about what Scott Boras is wanting from St. Louis for Holliday (8 years, $128 million), the Braves would not be interested in that type of deal.
The Braves may get something back for Lowe that would eat up part of the payroll and not give them that $15 million net gain in the budget. Let’s say the Braves add a player that might give the team only a $10 million net gain in the payroll, or
I don’t want Bay in our outfield. Not with McLouth in center.
When you owe a guy $15 million who’s worth less than $15 million, you can’t just clear the books of his full salary when you move him.
Why would we want Xavier Nady? He’s a league-average hitter playing positions that should be better than average.
And while I like Bay as a hitter, he’s perhaps the only regular LF who fields the position worse than GAnderson.
Just bring KJ back on a cheap deal and platoon him with Diaz. Problem solved.
Here’s a weird one: I’m hearing (on WFAN) that the Nationals are signing Jason Marquis.
Figured he’d be a Met.
Also, why would the Braves pay Nady $6 million, when you could have had Church for about half that? The Braves might end up with Nady, but I would think it would have to be for considerably less.
From Stu’s post last thread:
“I’m hoping Frank has a gem up his sleever, but based on what’s been reported, I think I’d rather just keep the incredible pitching depth.”
Good point. I thought it deserved repeating. If I took it out of context, please forgive me.
But do we have the defense to back-up the pitching without a better bat? Especially with Prado at second?
Skip, I miss you so much. And Pete, too.
Good question, Kevin, but seeing as how we’ve still got ~$7 million to spend, we ought to be able to figure something out.
Shanks is full of crap. Part of his premise is that Bay would accept less NOT to play for the Mets. Poppycock. Bay already turned down the best offer from a baseball prospective he was going to get 4/60 from the best team that is going to make him an offer the BoSox. I think Bay will rue the day he did that.
Matt Diaz, the Rodney Dangerfield of baseball.
With Marquis off the market, the Lowe trade has to be coming soon. I had been advocating getting a ML ready OF or 1B in return, but the more I think about it, I would rather have complete salary relief in exchange. On K-Ros’ newest blog, he reports the Braves have been in on the Uggla sweepstakes, but no names have been exchanged for a possible deal. The addition of Uggla would a) Put Uggla at 2nd, and move Prado to 1st, or put Uggla in LF and still leave an opening at 1B. Either way, the Braves would still need another bat, but with Lowe’s 15Mil, we could sign Nady and/or Delgado or Glaus.
I think the Braves signing Bay is a long shot of course, but the article makes an interesting point: if Bay really doesn’t want to play for the Mets, what are his other options?
Chip Caray Loves Porcupine Tree
“Line drive. Base hit. Caught out there. The runner tags. Throw to the plate. On target. And in time!”
I have to defend Chip on this one…he is NOT the worst announcer in baseball. His brother Josh is MUCH worse…
25,
Good point.
McLouth, Bay, Nady… Yeah that turned out real well for the Pirates.
IMO, the worst is Yankee radio announcer John Sterling.
He rarely gives the score, doesn’t update the game situation often enough, can’t describe the action very well, has a problem with the truth (if it varies from the Pinstriped Party Line), and has an annoying tag line for every situation (Eg.–“Robinson Cano! Don’tcha know!“).
I’ve driven 20 minutes without hearing him once report the actual game score.
Other than all that, I have heard that he’s a really nice guy.
I don’t need the announcer for TV, but radio…
Who’s Sterling’s female broadcast partner?
There have been some absolutely hilarious moments from her.
Just occurred to me that some of our younger posters may not know that John Sterling was briefly a part of the Braves announcing crew.
You always got the feeling the Skip had surreptitiously placed a “Kick Me” sign on his back.
Suzyn Waldman.
I actually enjoyed her as WFAN’s Yankee beat reporter.
Interesting trivia: She’s a former Broadway singer.
Back to Sterling: I never liked him as the Hawks or Braves announcer & when I moved up here in 1990, I brought a Walkman radio to a Yanks game, flipped it on, heard him blathering on and thought: “Jeez, I can’t get away from this guy!”
Susan Waldman is her name, I think. Her response to Roger Clemens being signed a few years ago in midseason was one of the funniest thisgs I have heard on a telecast “Oh my goodness, my goodness gracious”, every time I hear it I crack up.
@21
There’s an Uggla sweepstakes…?
Ugglas splits vs LH and away stats are awful
I read the Rosenthal thing. He has to be making that shit up.
DOB got a call from someone with the Yanks saying that something big was happening soon. That person wanted to know if it was with Atl or not. Here’s hoping that we are doing one of two things
1. dumping Lowe for a fringe prospect and them paying the salary
2. somehow Lowe/Swisher takes place
Ill take Bay over what we got now.
Buster Olney: “Heard this: Yankees working very hard tonight on deal for starting pitcher. Remember that they came close to deal for Aaron Harang in summer”
Lowe?
@38 – please…
I can feel it, its about to happen. I’m torn though, Swisher or prospects ant total
salary relief to get that big bat?
I wouldn’t be against Lowe for Swisher. It would depend on any money and/or prospects changing hands, though.
From DOB. Got a call from a NY writer today wanting to know if I’d heard anything heating up between Yankees and Braves….
Apparently Yankees have hinted at doing “something big” soon. Don’t know if that means pitching
Hope this is true!!!
Yeah, apparently the Yankees are really hungry for a starting pitcher… and all things considered, they wouldn’t be interested in Vazquez.
What do you think Mac?
Oh man…
JJ for Tex?? im kidding
Lowe would be a good fit for the Yanks, they could use a groundball pitcher in that bandbox.
Lowe for a pseudoprospect with the Yankees picking up the tab is my guess.
Mark Feinsand says it’s not a salary-dump deal.
Per MLBTR:
9:11pm: Now Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News tweets that the Yankees are “close to a deal for a starting pitcher, says a source. Still working on who, but I’m told it’s not a salary dump deal”.
In other words…not Lowe?
I owe you a Coke.
The salary dump deal would be Harang.
Still could be Lowe.
per a post at AJC
Ken Davidoff just twitted that the pitcher is Zack Greinke.
Yanks get Greinke
Royals get Hughes, Montero, Melky and McCallister
Davidoff’s Twitter says no such thing.
Tweets by KenDavidoff
55 – good, there’s still hope and just another reason why I hate seeing anything except DOB’s update
nevermind
I seriously think something is up. DOB is MIA on his blog.
@58: I was thinking the same thing especially since he was fairly active earlier tonight.
Csg, you broke my heart there.
I wonder how they plan on pulling this off…
@54, you almost had me.. any Yankee rumor involving Melky Cabrera just has the ring of authenticity to it. He’s been offered by the Yankees and their fans in every potential deal for 3 or 4 years running now. But he’s great, you know, a true CF!
In fact, I believe I know what’s coming.. Derek Lowe for.. The Melkshake! *vomit*
DOB just said he was MIA while at the gym, so nothing there. I still don’t like where they said the deal wasn’t part of a salary dump.
Everybody is waiting to see how we move Lowe and then Chip arrives….
Chip Caray is another reason to get ready for the World Cup…..
#49–Mac, that sounds about right. The Yanks will not trade us a serious prospect–but if they eat all of Lowe’s salary and we get somebody who can be as good as Diory Hernandez or Brandon Jones then that might as be as good as we can do right now.
I am afraid that if the Braves want something decent in return for Lowe, they will have to kick in a prospect of their own…
Lowe for Swisher would be great but it’s not happening. Lowe is a salary dump and nothing more.
I see sdp is running Windows 7. How do you like it?
It’s nice and very fast. The graphics and the improved Aero GUI are definitely sexy and useful. Overall, it has been much more stable than Vista, or at least in my experiences. A lot of the improvements from Vista to Windows 7 are backend, so you won’t necessarily see them, but so far, it’s been a much more solid system all the way around as compared to Vista.
Is Lowe getting traded to the Yankees tomorrow?
We can only hope, but I tend to agree with Dan #66–This will be little more than a salary dump….
Just want to thank the “Braves Journal Overnight Crew” for keeping things hopping this December.
Whether it’s Stephen in the UAE or the rest of you night owls, you’ve made it seem like the season just ended yesterday. If you keep it up, the six weeks ’til pitchers report will fly by.
Kevin Lee–Its nice to get back to Braves Journal–Is it only 6 weeks?
Stephen:
It’s more like 7&1/2.
But it can’t come soon enough to suit me!
Dystopian fantasy: Braves sign Joe Morgan to team with Chip Caray. Universe explodes.
8:17am: Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that the Yankees are working to re-acquire Javier Vazquez. The Braves have “always liked” Melky Cabrera and Nick Swisher, Sherman says.
umm, please tell me thats not the best we can do for JV?
@75, csg is pulling my leg again folks. No need to PANIC!!
Swisher for Javy could be ok. But, Melky? That can’t possibly be.
Ugh. I mean, UGH. Melky Cabrera, Mike Dunn, and a prospect for Vazquez and Boone Logan. Dunn’s apparently a lefty reliever?
I just had one of those “holy crap, I just slept through my final” stomach-melting feelings.
Also, Dunn apparently struck out something like 18/9innings in the AFL, so maybe he’s really good. But really, a relief prospect is the best haul you can get for Vazquez?
8:34am: The Yankees are closing in on a deal for Vazquez, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (via Twitter). Heyman says the Yankees will acquire Vazquez and Boone Logan for Melky Cabrera, Mike Dunn and a prospect.
a 4th OF’r that slugged .409 away from Yankee stadium for our best pitcher that finished 4th in the NL cy young last season, good grief
#75–I find that hard to believe: given that we have Heyward and possibly Schafer waiting in the wings, I can’t see the Braves trading for two outfielders–unless the idea is move Swisher to 1B. And we would get to keep Lowe….
Vazquez for Melky, Mike Dunn and a prospect. I’m gonna be sick.
No NO NO. Melky Cabrera = not good. His numbers aren’t even good inflated by the Yankees park and lineup. This can’t be true.
Cary, Im not pulling your leg. Just posting what I find, Im not making this crap up. Hopefully, none of its true though
Everybody is saying it’s Javy for Melky with some other random parts.
If this trade happens, Frank Wren will have, in a single move, lost me forever. That deal would be a disaster.
Someone is reporting the story wrong. Braves can’t possibly be trading Javy for Melky.
I’m crossing my fingers that twitter is giving us bad info.
Twitter is retarded.
Please God no. Wren has done an excellent job in his tenure, but this would certainly put a blemish on that.
Melky is not good enough to start ahead of any of the Braves current outfielders. If this is really the deal, then it’s basically a salary dump (of a player that’s a very good value). And if that’s true, then there better be a good use of that $$$.
I’d be willing to trade Javier Vazquez to the Yankees for Melky Cabrera if they’d be willing to permanently disband their franchise. Otherwise, no.
Well, the info is coming (via twitter) from Olney, Heyman, Sherman, & Rosenthal… with a few discrepancies… but still the core of it being Vasquez for Melky. That’s just sad.
Maybe we’re getting some pieces the Tigers want in a Miguel Cabrera deal.
Sherman now has:
“so the trade is vazquez and boone logan to #Yankees for melky cabrera, mike dunn and arodys vizcaino, that is now confirmed “
We get Arodys Vizcaino too. We’ve gotta be acquiring a big bat…there’s no way Wren would do this otherwise.
ESPN just reported the same thing on the air.
More on the prospect: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/138201-a-look-at-yankees-prospect-arodys-vizcaino
that is putrid.
Yeah, but he could have gotten so much more for Vasquez. I mean, the dude’s OPS has never been higher than .800 and never hit more than 8 homeruns before moving to the bandbox. That is insanely rediculous. I think Schafer could put those numbers up now.
garbage, absolute garbage
Yeah, I’m hoping we flip Melky for the bat (maybe packaged with Medlen?) Seriously, why would we pay Melky when we could’ve just kept Church (or even KJ) for not vastly different money?
This is just sad. Vazquez is not the pitcher you deal to dump salary, as he’s not overpaid. You certainly don’t deal Vazquez, who is probably the best starter on the team, simply to relieve a logjam at SP.
I’m with Stu, if this deal goes through Wren will be on my shit list indefinitely.
I feel terrible. I called it @62.
Of course, I WAS JOKING!!!
There is no rationale for trading for Melky Cabrera, especially trading Javier Vazquez for MC Crappy. I didn’t like the Swisher AND Cabrera for Vazquez and I can’t even stomach the deal as reported above*.
*I like Aroydys Vizcaino, but he ain’t no Vazquez. If we’re doing that, why re-sign Chipper? He will be dust by the time Vizcaino is in the Majors.
Oh good lord no. And Frank has been doing so well – I am exceptionally disappointed if this is so.
I’d rather have Tyler Flowers.
And we decide to throw in filler because Vasquez wasn’t enough? Really?
New disgusted post.
Bummer deal. Hope it’s part of something bigger.