Quick recap; I didn’t have any outside communication but phone and text last night, so I’m just catching up now.
The Braves got four runs in the third off of Anibal Sanchez. AAG singled leading off, Tim Hudson bunted him over, and Jose Constanza — whom we shouldn’t be seeing again — couldn’t get a hit. But Prado singled to make it 1-0. His sudden running partner Freeman singled in his turn, and Uggla stepped up to homer and make it 4-0.
Omar Infante singled in a run in the sixth to make it 4-1, but that was all they got; Hinske hit a homer in the eighth to cap the scoring and mess up a save opportunity.
Strong outing from Hudson; seven innings, five strikeouts, no walks, just six hits. You’ll take that most of the time. Venters was a bit shaky in the eighth; Kimbrel was not in the ninth.
I like the trade for Michael Bourn. The Braves have needed a CF all year but it’s gotten ridiculous in the last week; none of the pitchers was really in the Braves’ plans, which isn’t to say that they aren’t better than most of what the Astros have.
Wren just Anthopoulized the Astros. It’s not like we gave up chopped liver; Oberholtzer can pitch, sure, and Abreu’s a live arm and I suppose Paul Clemens probably has the talent to reach the majors too. But no one we gave up is a star or a future star, and we got a four- or five-win player. Huge, huge props to Frank Wren for filling the biggest hole on our roster without giving up anyone we’ll miss.
The only bad thing about the trade was that we gave away so little that I’ll still be hopeful that we’ll make another move for a corner guy.
Ever since he traded Frenchy away, I knew we have a GM we can trust. I just wish I can say the same thing on Fredi.
Well done Frank. AAR, I don’t think Astros did that bad on the deal. I think the Astros got fair value on Bourn. We just didn’t overpay like the Phillies did. It helps that Bourn doesn’t hit homeruns like Pence. Traditionally, a player like Bourn does not worth as much as a player like Pence. Of course, we know better.
The best part about this trade is everything.
“The only bad thing about the trade was that we gave away so little that I’ll still be hopeful that we’ll make another move for a corner guy.”
Minor, Prado and prospect for Quentin?
We have been hard on Wren, but I have to say he did a great job on all of this.
Even with McCann and Chipper out this is our lineup:
CF Bourn
3B Prado
1B Freeman
2B Uggla
LF Hinske/platoon guy we will probably get
C Ross
RF Heyward
SS Gonzalez
not bad.
3 – I agree. The Astros have made their farm system a whole lot better over the past 48 hours. This trade is probably fair value for them.
Wade definitely got quantity over quality for Michael Bourn. Like I say, he got living breathing humans, he just didn’t get anyone who is going to be a four- to five-win player, like Bourn.
I have no desire to trade a starting player for Quentin. Over the last four seasons, he has averaged 110 games played a year. He makes Chipper look like Cal Ripken.
I know this isn’t gonna happen, nor probably should it, but man would it be cool if we got in at the last minute and traded for Heath Bell. What a killer piece he would be in a setup role.
If we got Bell we could go ahead and get our postseason tickets.
I’m not very excited about Quentin for some reason.
Is there a misplaced modifier in this statement –
“Michael Bourn is a perfect fit for our club, which focuses on speed and defense to match up with our strong pitching,” general manager Frank Wren said.” –
or have the Braves been focusing on speed and defense all along in subtle, immeasurable ways?
Id like to get a righty in the pen and a righty bench bat, both are things we could get in August.
@10 As I said AAR, Bourn’s value is much higher than most people think.
I cannot begin to describe how ecstatic I am about this trade. Way to go, Frank, you just made the Phillies look silly. I’m so psyched by the deal Wren made, I think he should go to Congress and solve the debt ceiling debate. Cannot believe we avoided trading any of the “big 4” pitching prospects.
Sorry, this was not an even deal – the Astros just got bent over the sink and their pants are around their ankles. Thank you, Houston – you get what you deserve.
Why would we trade Prado? Did he not start in the All-Star game and finish in the top 10 in MVP voting just last year? He hasn’t been quite as dynamic this season, but come on.
Holy crap. I literally just came down from the wilderness and am elated by what happened in my absence. Guess Wren just needed me to stop refreshing mlbtraderumors every 30 sec to get it done.
I think Schafer still has a chance to be a really good player, but it’s not going to pain me in the least to watch him develop in houston. The pitchers are all decent and could lead to some future regret, but for what we got and what we’ve got left, that’s a great price toGood deadline.
I wouldnt trade Prado straight up for Quentin. I may be alone in that also.
Kudos to Wren.
I was hoping Schafre could eventually become Bourn. Guess it happened sooner rather than later.
My early guess is that Oberholtzer becomes the best of the bunch.
It would be great if we added a corner outfielder and a reliver, but if Wren could get us Adams or Bell (or even Tyler Clippard from the Nats), I’d be thrilled. Hoping we can grab a righty reliever before 4 EST. But the Bourn deal alone makes Frank Wren a huge winner today – ALL Braves fans should be thrilled at that deal.
If we get a guy like Quentin it will be in the offseason if Chipper retires. And it won’t be for Prado as Prado would be Chipper’s replacement at third. We will get a RH platoon guy and probably be finished.
Trading Prado? No way. He is a bit crazy, but he is our starting third baseman. Yes, we all know Chipper can’t play forever.
I’d still trade Minor for Upton.
@24 Same.
It’s funny people keep saying Delgado is the worst of the “top four” but in fact he is actually the second best behind Teheran.
@26 I was impressed with Delgado when he made his spot start, even more so than Teheran. Not saying he’s better than Teheran, but I’m excited about him.
Upton isn’t getting traded. The Braves need a right-handed bat for the bench, and a right-handed reliever. I think there might be another move in store today.
I just read about the Bourn trade. Like everyone else, I’m pretty stunned.
This might be the first time a move by the Braves’ front office has been universally applauded by the commenters on this board.
Ziegler headed to the D-Backs. With the Balfour rumors is Oakland blowing up their bullpen? Any chance we could get Joey Devine back?
Props to Wren for not automatically trading our big four. My guess is that we could’ve done Delgado and/or Minor for Bourn weeks ago but Frank grinded it out.
This is going to make me stop playing I know better GM. I would have folded on Delgado or Minor right away and I can only assume they started wanting Minor or Delgado or both.
How good of a fit is Willingham now?
Good luck to Schafer. I hope he doesn’t hurt himself running up that hill in center field.
Get Reed Johnson or Willingham, Omar Infante, and a RHRP.
Willingham would be great. The Hairston rumor sounds more reasonable, though. I’d be very happy with either, though it would leave Atlanta with 6 outfielders and Julio Lugo still on the 25-man roster.
Olney praising Wren for not trading Minor for Beltran. Saying instead of chasing the best bat he got much more for far less with Bourn.
Check this out
vs LH’rs
Johnson – .356/.387/.542
Ludwick – .264/.320/.407
Willingham – .237/.336/.505
Hairston – .259/.328/.397
Frank Wren on pregame show…”If we had wanted to go to the mat to get Pence, we couldve gotten Pence. No player in the clubhouse or in the minors is untouchable. Some guys are less tradeable than others in order to sustain long term winning.”
That pregame interview with Wren is pretty good. He explicitly dismisses the notion that any player is “untouchable.”
CSG, is that this year or career?
@37
I love that Wren quote. “Hey, Phillies, if we’d have really wanted him, we’d have gotten him. Y’all enjoy the guy you massively overpaid for. We’ll just take our new all-Star leadoff hitter and keep all our best prospects.”
=)
I would disagree, though. I’m pretty sure a 10-and-5 guy who loves the area and the team would be about as untouchable as any player in baseball. (Hudson, Chipper)
What about Ludwick and Bell?
I think Reed Johnson would be best case addition at this point.
RHRP seems much more solvable internally. Chapman? Varvaro? Moylan? Unless there is just some (another) can’t miss deal, I would give another 30 days to see what we have in the pen.
I will say it was odd seeing Wren get crucified for not making the hypothetical deals we contrived on this board. I am most curious to see how the Bourn move developed.
@41 Well, Wren can still trade them technically, but Huddy and Chipper can reject to be traded.
Alex, this year. Reed’s career line vs LH’rs .314/.373/.468. Thats surprising to me.
Isn’t that the big problem the Cubs are having right now? Apparently all of these overpaid players with either no-trade clauses or 10-and-5 rights just love the crap out of the Cubs and refuse to be traded for prospects.
@46
That’s just Ramirez, isn’t it? Maybe Soriano? They’re just refusing to trade the rest of them. (Pena, for example.) I read somewhere that they think they can “retool” in the offseason and compete next year, and they refuse to blow it up. Seems like a pipe dream to me. Other than Astros, I’m not sure who’s farther away from competing again. And they’re boring.
@46 I expect most of those cubbies are overpaid anyway
“This might be the first time a move by the Braves’ front office has been universally applauded by the commenters on this board.”
The Uggla for Infante/Dunn trade was pretty well-liked here.
http://bravesjournal.us/?p=6379
Chip: “And that’s an easy play for Brooks Conrad.”
No such thing.
Okay. Just returning from the Swiss mountains, starting mlb.tv and the guys mentioning Bourne for three Braves pitchers plus Schafer. So I was really scared there for a moment that Wren had panicked and was expecting Minor plus one other top pitching prospect… Quickly checked the web and, man oh man, what a deal Frank Wren made. Un-be-lievable! Wren rules!!
24—No way. I wanted Upton more than I wanted Bourn, but either of those guys is much less valuable if you’re playing them in left or right. Not worth parting with a top prospect to get a guy whose value you can’t really maximize.
26—It’s hardly a “fact” that Delgado is the second-best of the Big Four.
43—If the Braves don’t trade for another RHRP, I assume we’ll see Vizcaino pretty soon.
T-Bone!
Constanza might have a place on this team in September.
Thought Bourn wasnt here today, he’s already at 2B
I think it’s very possible that Wren tells fans there’s no such thing as untouchable but tells trade partners something different.
Hey, George!
ESPN:
“Since the start of 2009, only Ryan Braun has more Wins Above Replacement among NL outfielders than new Braves CF Michael Bourn.”
The Prado is back!
Good thing they didn’t keep the bunt on. Stop bunting, Fredi.
Cooley Hustle
Bourne, Chipper and BMac back…, Uggla of late, Freeman. Our pitching. Man. We have a scary good team.
325/ 411/ 675 in the last 28 days going into today. Yep, I’d say we’ve finally got the Dan we paid for.
And Heyward breaking out?
Nope.
This hitting streak is really one of the more bizarre things of this season. Of all players on the team, Dan Uggla….
Really?! Just saw this! This is robbery.
The Astros also sent an undisclosed amount of cash to the Braves to cover part of Bourn’s salary. He is making $4.4 million this season.
I will say that the Braves needing 3 hits to score a run on a regular basis needs to end soon though.
The Boscanator is an offensive machine.
LMAO
Tommy Hanson can’t do anything off the mound.
If we did manage to trade for Omar, I wonder what the chances are that he would just take over at short. Man, I’d love to see somebody at SS with an OBP over .260.
Hanson is terrible at bunting of all the time.
Bad day to complain, but how can Alex Gonzalez have such a bad approach at the plate. Is it really that hard to put the bat on your shoulder and not swing?
And Hanson might be the worst bunting pitcher in the NL.
I hate Tommy Hanson.
I honestly don’t get what Alex Gonzalez thinks when he swings at the pitches he does
Ooh, Chip’s getting annoyed at Cubs trash talk.
I honestly don’t get what Alex Gonzalez thinks when he swings at the pitches he does
Wonder if it’ll be awkward for Glavine to sit next to the GM responsible for unceremoniously releasing him in 2009. And with the pitcher (Hanson) that he was released for pitching too.
Freaking Hanson is ruining my day.
His starts are becoming one big “episode”
Tough to win without 4 starters, but Tommy ain’t helping.
Eh…he did all right there. That could have been a lot uglier than it was. Part of being a quality SP is fighting through those starts when you don’t have your best stuff or your best command. Look at Glavine. How many times did he give up 2-3 runs in the first and then leave in the 7th with a 5-3 lead? Hanson managed that inning okay. With Hanley up, it could have been a lot uglier.
If we’re going to keep playing these nut-cutting pitchers’ duels, having a blazer at the top of the lineup who gets on base at a rate better than league average (and way better this year) is a great guy to have.
And then there’s the not-so-small matter of his outstanding defense. Nice work, Mr. Wren.
Heath Bell to the Rangers, per Rosenthal. Man do they now have a scary back end of the bullpen.
EDIT: Apparently it was Adams, not Bell. Still a scary ‘pen.
@83
ESPN and others have corrected the report– it’s Mike Adams going to Texas, not Bell. But your point is still exactly right. Yikes. Think they’re the AL favorites now?
Hanson is getting squeezed, but still hasn’t pitched very well lately.
I don’t think Hanson has bad stuff today. Both his walks in the game looked like strike 3 to me.
Hanson’s looked fine. He lost it for a bit in the top of the second, but he’s been pretty good the rest of the time. I don’t see anything systemic.
Verlander’s got a no-no thru 7 vs the Angels.
Is Heyward standing closer to the plate?
Just an awful at bat there from Conrad – it didn’t help that he was bunting with AAA hitters behind him.
These Verlander no hitters are starting to get old.
Snitker stopped someone? Awesome.
It’s hard to hit sac flies when nobody hits fly balls. Let’s see if we can do this…
We’ve got to be the worst team at getting a runner home from 3rd with less than 2 outs.
To be fair, the Braves just had arguably the worst position player hitter in all of MLB at the plate. And now Hanson.
At least with the other pitchers, I have faint hope. Hanson might be the most hopeless, hapless pitcher at the plate we’ve had in decades. But the flip side of that is if he’s traded in the next few years, he’ll have high value to an AL club.
Given who was following, Snitker should have taken his chances with Heyward.
A lead off double and a base hit and we still don’t score….
So, home feed or away feed for the Verlander game?
Even if Boscan would have succeeded there, it wouldn’t have changed my opinion. It just seems like every time we have a runner at 3rd with less than 2 out, we pop it up or strike out. Didn’t we just go something like a month between sac flies? That seems impossible.
Good grief.
Hate Hanson. Just hate him.
I think Heyward would have been toast at home if Snitker sent him.
Giving up a HR to Emilio Bonafacio should void players’ contracts.
Wow, what a bitch move by the Angels.
“I think Heyward would have been toast at home if Snitker sent him.”
Yeah, but with Boscan and Hanson due up after that: Heyward’s chances of touching home were “toast” either way.
Bethany, what was the bitch move? Try to bunt for a hit to break up the no-hitter?
@105, At least this way we clear the pitcher for the next inning… It’s a lose-lose.
So very stupid, past and future minor-leaguer.
Sheesh.
“For I am Constanza, Lord of the Idiots.”
Such a jerk-store move.
Well at least we got a run there.
Oh wait, what?
If there was ever a case of a player running back to AAA….
After today:
Constanza: “My name is Jose. I’m unemployed and I live with my parents.”
I was on the Verlander game until the no-hitter was broken up. I see this:
“J Constanza safe at third on error by pitcher R Nolasco, J Constanza advanced to second on R Nolasco error, J Constanza tagged out at third attempting to advance on play.”
What the heck does this mean?
@106 The bunt, yeah.
115 — Constanza bunted for a hit. Nolasco threw it in to RF, and Costanza tried to go all the way to 3rd on the error and was thrown out.
Maybe Bourn can have a baserunning clinic when he gets here.
Anyone else having a hard time not spelling his name “Bourne”? I’m already mentally preparing for Chip Caray’s Bourne Identity puns.
Oh, I see. So the “safe at third” thing is a mistake.
@118, I have already seen too many Bourn Supremacy headlines on the internets.
We’re probably going to see quite a few puns on the word “born” too – especially “Bourn to run.”
Best get prepared for Simpson and Caray’s daily screeds about “how the game is getting away from the home run” and “teams value speed more and more now.” They already say that once a week even with the Braves currently holding the worst successful stolen base percentage as a team in the majors in 2011.
Yeah, cant wait for Chip’s “Bourn” tag lines
Well, at least the Phillies center field wasn’t Bourn again.
Great, Phillies are losing. Let’s take advantage!
Go Bucs & go Dodgers.
Of course, there are other puns waiting to be Bourn. Has the trade Bourn fruit? Will Wren’s faith be Bourn out? Can he hit the broad side of a Bourn? (OK, that’s a reach.)
Lol Chip getting ripped.
Better than hearing how he gets fisted. Shudder.
Caray, of “Kentucky bluegas” and “Ar-bees” infamy, will get in a lot of awful Bourn puns.
If he has an off game the day before, will Caray say “he wasn’t Bourn yesterday?”
I’d like to see Ross pinch hit now, but I know he’s getting a day off. Boscan will kill the rally – again.
Seriously! Even one of his patented DP’s would have scored a run there. Holy cow.
AAG decided that he needed a change of pace from GIDPs, especially since one of those would have given us a run.
Whoever said Heyward is standing closer to the plate, I thinly they’re right. And Alex Gonzalez looks all kinds of shitty right now.
AAG sucks sucks sucks. Can’t wait for the end of the year to see him leave.
This is what happens when you give away outs at 7,8,9, and 1 in the lineup.
Lugo is on deck? Ugh.
Come on, Chipper.
Gonzalez is justifying the vote for him to be the official “BravesJournal whipping boy” during spring training.
Geez…DFA him already. At least if he left his bat in the dugout he couldn’t hit into a DP or swing at bad pitches
136 — Don’t get too excited; they may resign him for next season to be a placeholder until Pastornicky is ready.
That was pathetic.
Epic fail at scoring…again.
Ugh.
Twelve minutes to get a shortstop.
That may be the worst Chipper at bat I’ve ever seen.
After 6 innings, we have 10 (!) hits now and one (!) run. How pathetic is that?
Did anyone hear Joe as they were going to break? “He should have used him for Boscan.”
Yep. But then, Fredi lacks even Joe Simpson’s imagination. You can’t do anything about Alex Gonzalez right now, but Boscan has an OPS below 500 in AAA this year. Seriously.
Too predictable. I am so mad right now. The Braves are so clueless in situations that don’t even require a hit to score a run.
Braves don’t deserve this one.
It feels like the series with the Pirates all over again….
#149–Yes, and he was stating the obvious….
We must just be waiting on Uggla’s 3-run HR.
I think the umps have missed a few close plays in this game, though none have been particularly controversial. It’s just the way it goes in MLB these days, I suppose: they get 20-25% close calls wrong. The league seems fine with it. Whatever.
Frank Wren chilling right now. I guess that’s a no on the RH bat or reliever.
156—I understand not moving for a reliever, but not improving the bench would be a mistake.
DOB said on his blog they will probably try for a RH reliever and/or a RH bench bat on the waiver wire.
I’m sure we’ll make a move in August.
I guess there’s always waiver deals. You never know.
Yeah, but we could sure use the help ASAP, given the injuries.
What poor luck.
George belongs in The ATL simply sue to hie phenomenal base running skills
Juan Rivera for a PTBNL sure wouldve made a whole lot of sense three weeks ago.
This is ridiculous. Yesterday, the Cardinals scored 13 runs on 12 hits. Right now the Braves have 12 hits too; and one whole run.
And Ricky Nolasco does his best Rick Mahler impression….how the hell do we only have 1 run?
No walks? Seven hits and 4 walks isn’t that different from 12 hits and no walks.
With AAg seemingly up in every big spot with runners in scoring position you aren’t going to score any runs
How many games have we had lately with double digit hits and one or two runs? Of What is that an indictment?
Watch. With two outs and none on, AAG will hit a double.
AAG should be benched for these at bats. It’s astounding how awful he is right now.
@169, Bad baserunning and even worse situational hitting/bunting.
Maybe we should try scoring without a hit. Walk, error, wild pitch, sac fly (to deep right), sac fly…that would tie the game. Wait, what am I saying…walks? Sac flies?
Negative 21 minutes to get a shortstop.
“AAG should be benched for these at bats. It’s astounding how awful he is right now.”
If only there was a young short stop, one with frosted tips, who could play good defense for the Atlanta Braves and hit .305/.383/.440 or so. That’d be nice.
Vizcaino with a scoreless inning for Gwinnett. Think we might see him in Sept.
176—I think we might see him on August 31, if not sooner.
Boy, what happened to the usual flurry of deadline trades that came through right at the last minute? All I’ve seen so far are Ludwick to Pittsburgh and Bedard to Boston. Usually the Braves get in on something right at the end, but I guess not this year.
Seriously? A pitching change with two outs in the 9th?
179 – Was just gonna post the same thing.
Ugh, Fredi, what are you doing?
Over-managing or proper Sherrill usage, discuss.
NOW he puts Ross in.
How good would this team be with Joe Maddon at the helm?
Prado is due
for a home runto ground out.1 run on 13 hits.
AAG’s OPS since the break is now sub .570.
I’d love to watch Fredi play chess.
If OPS is so important, why don’t they put it on the scoreboard?
“I’d love to watch Fredi play chess.”
“Forget promoting this pawn to a queen, the bishop is a real winner.”
“This rook sacrifice is a perfect move.”
“The pawns can move two spaces on their first move??”
Recapped.