The Staten Island-born Varvaro was a twelfth-round pick of the Mariners in 2005. He busted as a starter, but converted to the bullpen in 2009 did some fine work in the Southern League before getting beaten up in AAA and the big leagues. The Mariners waived him, just as they did Eric O’Flaherty once, and the Braves picked him up, just as they did Eric O’Flaherty once. As a setup man for Gwinnett, Varvaro put up a 2.90 ERA (and oddly, a 2-8 record — these things happen, in the minors) and struck out 69 in 59 innings pitched. In 24 big-league innings over two callups, he posted a 2.63 ERA and struck out almost a man an inning (23 in 24) but walked 11 and gave up three homers. The homers have not normally been a problem since he was moved to the pen, but the walks have, and limit his value. He was used mostly in low-leverage situations, often for more than just one inning, kind of like Cristhian Martinez is.
He’s got a good fastball, which averages about 93 and sometimes is a few ticks higher, and normally mixes in a curve as his second pitch though he also has a changeup. He probably needs to focus on just one as his offspeed pitch. He’s got talent, did better with the Braves than he ever did for the Mariners, and could eventually be a top reliever or at least a good middle man. If he harnesses his control. He’s 27 now, so the clock is ticking.
Anthony Varvaro Statistics and History – Baseball-Reference.com.
Just another AV, or AAV. DOOMED!
The Varvaros of the world — cheap bullpen arms who may or may not suck — are the reason that there’s never any cause to sign the Scott Proctors and Tanyon Sturzes of the world. The crappy rag-armed veterans usually have to be paid twice as much as the mid- to late-20s guys who haven’t yet managed to stick in the majors.
#2 – “are the reason that there’s never any cause to sign the Scott Proctors and Tanyon Sturzes of the world”
Exactly right.
More Met Woes—Bad News for Fred Coupon:
http://tinyurl.com/7t7etsg
Pretty good deal for the Pirates.
The Pirates and Andrew McCutchen have agreed to a six-year extension worth $51.5MM with a club option for a seventh year at $14.75MM, according to Michael Sanserino of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The deal is pending a physical, and is expected to be officially announced on Tuesday (Twitter links).
DOB – •#Braves vet Chipper showed up at stadium this morning and said he had some leg soreness, and Fredi agreed better to scratch him from trip. 2 hours ago
@4, considering that the trustee started out asking them for a billion, the Mets kind of have to feel they got off easy. Unfortunately, considering the kind of loans that Fred Wilpon has been taking out, that’s $83 million he doesn’t exactly have.
@5, I like that extension a lot. Look, I don’t know if any of you guys feel this way, but I think we should trade for McCutchen.
#7
Well, it’s not over. The Mets lost $83M today, but the other part of today’s decision says that the civil trial is going to begin on March 19. The trustee is seeking over $300M in that one.
@7 – yes, please.
McCutchen needs to be in a Braves uniform. It’s his path to the Hall of Fame. (Well, it’s a better path than the Pirates, anyway.)
What would it take? Pitching is no object!
It’d be easier to trade for him if Teheran hadn’t just ruined his trade value.
Will the principle owners of the Mets have to sell to pay the trustee?
Have the Dodgers been sold?
@7
If they just gave him an extension, it is doubtful they will trade him this year.
#11
If the Katz/Wilpons lose big in the civil trial, I’d only guess that they’d have to sell the club. It’s very hard to say with any certainty because Sterling/Mets is a private company, but they seem to be hanging on by their fingernails.
No, the Dodgers sale is still in the bidding process.
Thank God for the Astros.
12,
I could be wrong, but I believe that Alex was attempting to create humor by parodying the stooges that suggest that we trade for every superstar signed to a below-average contract.
On an unrelated point, we should totally for Brett Lawrie!!! Varvaro and the Terd (awesome name for a band) should get it done.
And now I’m off to preschool.
13,
Yup, old Frank is unwilling to sell the parking lots next to Dodger Stadium, and wants whoever is buying the team to rent from him.
@7. The Mets lost no money today, just a motion for summary judgment. They would lose $83M only if the Trustees win in court.
“While denying the motion by Fred and Jeff Wilpon and their partners in Sterling Equities to get the trustee case thrown out, Rakoff acknowledged that he was “skeptical” that Picard could show that the defendants didn’t have good faith in their dealings with Madoff. Rakoff also said he wasn’t sure a lot of the evidence developed so far on the issue of willful blindness was admissible at the trial scheduled for March 19.”
Big court day for baseball: Lenny Dykstra sentenced to 3 years.
That’s nothing compared to his sentence to being an unappreciated “investing genius”, which it appears will last a lifetime.
Apparently JJ hit 90 mph on the fastball today. Gotta consider encouraging for spring training. Hopefully he can pick up a couple more MPH by opening day and be back to where he was the first half of last season.
Another point: even before yesterday’s debacle, I’d like Medlen to be given every opportunity to win the 5th starter spot while Huddy is out. Let Delgado and Teheran start the year in AAA. It’s lose-lose to start them in the majors for a month and then send them down. Either they suck and the team is worse for it, or they show they belong and they go back to AAA possibly thinking they have have nothing to prove. Assuming Medlen is healthy, he’s shown he belongs in the show, and switching him back to the bullpen once Huddy is healthy is no disgrace because its Tim Hudson.
@19 Or Mr Minor should be traded, ha.
I hate this f’n team. Apparently “Yohan Flande” is our best pitcher. Look, it’s simple math, people. This is the worst baseball team in the history of sports.
LOL Mets beg to differ.
This team reeks of fourth place in a five-team division.
Uggla hit a homer today?! Doesn’t he know it’s still Spring Training and he’s not supposed to actually be good until May?
Weird stat of the day: braves pitchers recorded no strikeouts in today’s game while every pitcher that pitched in Sundays game recorded 1 strikeout.
17,
US Court system duped again. Apparently, if they gave Lenny 3 years, he would turn their investment into 12 years in no time flat.
@23-
Whose would you prefer? The Nats? The Marlins?
I’d prefer the Cleveland Spiders to these clowns.
Apparently the reduction in runs scored (i.e. the “post-steroids offensive environment”) has less to do with steroids than umpires calling more strikes.
If Wren was any kind of GM, he would trade Varvaro and Jack Wilson for McCutchen. This seems like a reasonable trade to me.
@30
Whoa whoa whoa! Varvaro AND Wilson??? Let’s not panic and overpay!
@31
Agreed. Varvaro and JOSH Wilson would be more than enough.
Why go after McCutchen? He doesnt upgrade this team, that would be a terrible move. We cant afford to move any pitching prospects. We need all 267 of them.
Ok, resign Nate McLouth and trade him straight up for McCutchen.
On PTI yesterday Wilbon suggested one reason for the Cubs historic futility has been hungover players dragging through the day games. Makes some sense to me. Thoughts?
Better yet, trade Varvaro to Pittsburgh for McLouth. Then trade McLouth for McCutchen.
#35 – Seems like it could be a reason. Bad contracts and poor choices probably has more to do with it though. Id think the players would be more rested for night games and it could help them improve.
Epstein probably isnt the right guy to come in and try to get people to stop drinking.
#28 – what is the URL for Spider Journal? I’m in.
All- why trade at all for a guy that can’t spell McCutcheon? And isn’t it bad luck to have two CF’s in the history of a franchise named Andruw(ew)?
Andrew McCutchen – nope, not bad luck at all
Should have trade Lowe for McCutchen. He never broke his face bunting.
@35
Poor contracts is the main reason
Poor contracts is the main reason
Examples? I’ll start with the obvious:
Alfonso Soriano
That doesn’t take us back 100 years, though.
No doubt they have been mismanaged for decades but the Cubs really haven’t been all that much worse than most teams since the mid-60s. They should have gone to the World Series in both 1984 and 2003 but blew the LCS. And, of course, they blew the division to the Mets in 1969. They have had good teams and bad teams over that time, but, I bet if you compare them to the Pirates, for example, they don’t come out much worse. The Pirates have a couple of World Series championships but also 18? straight losing seasons.
Carlos Zambrano
Both the Pirates and the Cubs do have fantastic uniforms.
Jeff Blauser… (how quickly we forget)
DOOOMED!
Sori
Zambrano
Budman
The Cubs have been bad at developing prospects, and they should have tied Greg Maddux up forever, but I’m not sure they’ve been worse than average for “bad contracts.”
Did Wilbon also mention the refusal to develop a minor league system for decades, and then decades more of incompetent management? Or did he just go with alcohol?
It was in the context of Theo trying to crack down on player lifestyle, if such a thing is possible. He didn’t make it sound like the only reason. I’m just always enticed by off-the-field explanations for on-field variation in performance.
Well ,, not surprising that Chipper already is hurt …. did anybody think otherwise …. guy is done … would have been nice to that 15 Mil on a power hitting LF !!!!
@42
They have also traded a ton of guys away. Lee Smith, Palmero, Eckersley, Lou Brock, Willie Hernandez, Bruce Sutter, Willie Hernandez, Dontrell Willis
Good to see you’re still hating on the team’s best player for more than two decades, Tad.
Did I miss the big LF bats that were on the market? Chipper slg’d .470 last season which was the highest on the team.
Just saw Yunel Escobar in Tampa. Told him that Atlanta misses him.
55,
Did he say anything back?
Sam …. I loved Chip when he was worth the money … but lets get real here .. he knows he is not going to play 120 games this year … help the team out .. so he has a chance to go out a winner …. play for 5 mil this year .. hes got plenty …
He just laughed and said thanks.
Actually, he said Bobby Cox is a jerk.
Just kidding.
Chipper Jones is worth as much as Brian McCann. Shall we ask him to play for $5 mil per year as well, Tad?
@56 The player union will not let that happens.
If Josh keeps playing like this, the Hawks should consider just taking all the useful players away from him.
@55 That’s pretty funny.
Chipper doesn’t owe anyone in the organization a damn thing.
Cleaning out a drawer tonight, I ran across a pouch of tickets that I’d never opened. Of course, after I opened it, I quickly remembered why I found it that way: It was tickets for 2011 NLDS Home Games 1 & 2. Jeez.
@64 Nobody turned in the tickets for a refund to the Elvis concert in Roanoke after the King died
Tad,
I assume you make these idiotic comments simply to annoy everyone here.
Tad to Lou Gehrig after told he has ALS: “Get out of here, you loser. Maybe you’re the luckiest man in the world, but our team sucks with you out there. ”
Maybe the Braves should be like the Colts. They know how to deal with Hall of Fame quarterbacks (Unitas, Manning).
From the AJC comments:
“Why play a hustling, no name, upstart like Constanza when you can have a loafer like Heyward playing everyday?”
Are you required to take dumb pills to be a commenter at the AJC?
#67 – The level of stupidity at AJC is off the charts. Just avoid that place. I simply just look at DOB’s tweets on the side of the page for updates.
Its just like September all over again
Heyward 1 for 9
Pastornicky 1 for 9
Bourn 1 for 10
Diaz 1 for 9
New post.