My sorry-ass Braves lost big time to the Dodgers and fell below .500 one more time again. There was great news, bad news and even a little good news, if you take comfort in small things.
GREAT NEWS: Ken Rosenthal reported that Alberto Callaspo reversed his decision to veto his trade to the Dodgers for Juan Uribe. Ken Rosenthal never lies, and he is never mistaken. Therefore, pending Bud’s boy’s approval, the deal is done. The only drama remaining is what pieces are leaving the Braves and which is coming with Uribe.
BAD NEWS: Julio Teheran turned into Trevor Cahill in the fourth inning, allowing six runs on six hits and two walks. It would have been seven runs, but Andrelton Simmons’s relay to Christian Bethancourt turned that run into the second out.
GOOD NEWS: I saved this for last, because today could be better. Today we only have to face Zack Greinke.
Clayton Kershaw did not no hit the Braves. Neck broke up the no-no leading off the fifth, and Simba followed an out later with a liner to left.
Neither Pedro Ciriaco nor Bethancourt could drive the run in, however; and Julio and all doubt left when Adrian Gonzalez hit a two run home run in the bottom of the fifth. Gonzalez’s blast also sent me to bed; and the final score of this debacle can be gleaned from the box score Wednesday morning at whichever site you prefer.
At least the Braves didn’t lose by 30.
Bowman says Uribe and RHP Chris Withrow for Callaspo, Stults, Ian Thomas, and Juan Jaime.
Seems pretty fair–we traded one Fat Juan for another
Our last fat Juan was Francisco. This was just a fat Alberto.
Withrow had TJ surgery last June and back surgery last December. So that fits this front office’s MO.
Juan Uribe has the weirdest career of anybody. It looks like a random selection of single seasons from an assortment of players chosen from a hat.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/u/uribeju01.shtml
We traded junk for guys that make us a better team in the short and long run.
A bit late on this but was anyone infuriated that Fredi had Teheran walk A Gon with 1 out and a runner on second in a 1-0 game in the 4th inning? Deserved to have the inning blow up.
And good trade, really like Withrow saw him at Chattanooga a good bit, big arm improving control, lots of swings and misses.
I don’t understand this trade from the Dodgers point of view, but what the hell. Uribe was, like, actually good the past two seasons. Even though he is having a rough start of the year he is a damn sight better than Callaspo.
Kudos again to the FO for getting another potential arm and a possible decent 3b for next to nothing.
Uribe nor Callaspo are going to play on the Dodgers infield much. They have better, young players. I think they wanted to bring in Stultz and Thomas as relief arms, and the Braves wanted Withrow as a candidate to close in 2016. The rest is just money lining up.
#8
You don’t think the Braves might flip either CJ or Uribe to a team like the Mets or Giants? Maybe get more young arms in return? The stockpile continues?
I think we might flip CJ or Uribe now. We might even flip KJ now that Cunningham is showing some promise.
I’d hope they would try and unload CJ first
I think the Braves would flip either of those guys – CJ, KJ, UribeJ, CunninghamJ, CiracioJ – anyone not named Jace, Andrelton or Freddie (on the INF.) Assuming they got a decent offer. And I’m not sure there’s a player in the OF who they wouldn’t flip for the right return, as well.
Wonder who replaces Thomas on the 25-man. Time for a Cody Martin return? Some lefty who’s not currently on the 40-man?
Is there a third Perez?
This could be a very entertaining few weeks leading up to the trade deadline. All the guys that Sam named and Grilli and Johnson should be available for young anything. Wood, Teheran, Miller, Folty, Jace, Fredi and Simmons should be untouchable.
I can’t figure out what the Dodgers see in Callaspo or Stults that we haven’t seen watching them for six weeks. If Jaime figures outs how to know where he’s throwing the ball, he could become a good reliever one day, but that’s a big if. A team full of Ian Thomases won’t win a championship, but a championship team needs a few Thomases over the course of a long season.
Overall, this is as minor of a trade as a six-player trade can get, but the way it has gone down has added some hype to it (I mean, is it even official-official yet? What if someone backs out before the new Bud gives the thumbs up? I think the Furcal Rule is still in place for this, even if it is a trade.) This is the antithesis of the Kimbrel trade. One shocked everyone for how quickly and quietly it was done, while the other has been a very public soap opera. This whole thing has been a very odd way to go about conducting business.
@14
I have to think Wood could be had, but it someone would have to love his upside.
Juan Jaime is definitely a fat Juan. I remember that time he tripped coming off the mound–he rolled a fat Juan.
Seriously, as Stults showed last night, he is pretty decent for once through the order. Definitely useful as a mop up guy and middle reliever.
Thomas–I never really understood why we didn’t give him more of a chance than we did, but he probably just isn’t very good. But if you need a LOOGY, you could do worse…
#17
IIRC, the Braves thought Thomas needed another out pitch to be more effective as a reliever. He was working on a hard slider that never quite developed.
@17, good point.
And, yeah, Stults should basically be a LOOGY, possibly a long man. Not a starter.
Withrow is the guy we wanted. Surprised the Dodgers basically are giving him away.
What is the record for most transactions in a 12 month period? If we go trade happy at the deadline, we could could set a record.
Grant Balfour opted out of his minor league deal with he Rays. He would be a cheap pick up and couldn’t be worse than what we have.
#22 – I’m willing to drop Cahill and take a chance on Balfour. Why not?
VERY few lefthanders in the upper minors. At Richmond, Greg Smith, Donnie Veal (again?), and Man Ban. At Mississippi, only 1.
Balfour might be credible, but if o.k., but not back to “good” he would suffer from “ROOGY”itis. His submarine stuff always worked better on righthanders.
Is a Braves fan considered “old” when he/she is older than the entire roster?
A ROOGY would be a lot better than some of the guys we’ve trotted out of the pen.
@25 – yes. Quite possibly before then as well, but definitely by that point. Which, BTW, was one reason I loved Julio Franco.
@6 – I didn’t see last night’s game, but do agree w/ you on the IBB. I thought that was the underrated play of last Friday night’s game (I was at the game, my first of the year, so it sticks in my mind). Stults was subbing for A Wood, in the 4th when things blew up, 2 on, two outs, they called for the IBB to Maldanado (Brewer’s catcher) in the 8 spot, with the pitcher due up next. And yes, the pitcher is easier to pitch to than the catcher, but Maldanado was hitting only .180 or something, if you pitch to him you essentially get two chances to end the inning (and hopefully then have the pitcher leading off next inning). Both times, led to huge innings by the opposition; and the bulk of the blame has to go to the pitcher who can’t get the outs…but when you are giving free bases away, it does seem to blow up on you way too often
@25: A Braves fan is old when he’s older than Hank Aaron.
JonathanF knows whereof he speaks, and he speaks truly.
@27, Fredi ran the analytics on it and concluded there was a slight advantage to walking Maldonado. I can tell bc he had a pencil behind his ear.
24—Am I thinking of the wrong Grant Balfour? The guy I’m picturing threw over-handed gas.
Why am I seeing on ESPN:
“Uribe confirms trade to Brewers.”
Are we planning on keeping both CJ and Uribe? It seems like a wasted roster spot since KJ, once he gets back from the DL, is a great platoon person for 3B. I really hope we keep Cunningham around to platoon in LF with Gomes. Is the roster breakdown as follows correct? I know some will be gone once players return, but who will go?
C – AJP/Bethancourt – platoon
1B – Freeman
2B – JP
SS – Simmons
3B – KJ/Uribe/CJ – We really need to drop one of those RH 3B – platoon
LF – Cunningham/Gomes – platoon
CF – Maybin
RF – Markakis
Bench – EYJ, Ciriaco, Gosselin (when he returns)
Wow, when you look at that roster breakdown, I’m even more impressed with our current record.
Do we have any catchers at Mississippi or Gwinnett capable of replacing Christian and assuming most of AJP’s workload? I’d much rather AJP be the veteran backup than the every day guy.
The same goes for Gomes. I like his attitude, but wouldn’t it be nice if he were just a bat off the bench and not part of a platoon?
The Brewers looks like it is just an error by the Four Letters. I was wondering if Uribe had already been flipped.
What is most disturbing is that ESPN is confusing us with the Brewers.
If you trade CJ, Uribe and KJ are gone at the end of the season (Uribe to free agency; KJ a one-year contract?), so who plays 3B next year? Ruiz, who’s at AA Mississippi, isn’t ready. Do you move Peraza to 3B and hope he works out?
#31
Overhand gas & often overheated.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pyt6jTyOQM
@coop
Chris O’Dowd is OPS’ing .901 at Mississippi and is said to be a good game caller and a nice framer, but blocking and arm are below average.
BTW, the Furcal Rule has been satisfied:
http://m.braves.mlb.com/news/article/126624892/braves-trade-alberto-callaspo-to-dodgers
@37, CJ is a replacement level player. It’s never hard to find a replacement level option. But to answer your question, Gosselin, Jace Peterson, and Jose Peraza can all play third as well or better than Chris Johnson. And I doubt Adonis Garcia would be much worse.
Oh, not so fast. I will respond to the “never heard to find a replacement level option” with two words: Melvin Upton.
@41 It’s a bit unfair to call CJ a replacement level player as his career has been up and down. A replacement level player is worth nothing on the open market. CJ, on average, has been about a 1 WAR/year player and a 7 million dollar/year contract for that type of player is justifiable.
@42, I will see your Melvin Upton and raise you a Jordan Shafer and a Todd Cunningham. It’s not hard to find replacement level players, but when you have a sub-replacement player signed to a mega deal, it is tough to get rid of him.
I think you move Peterson to 3rd and call up Peraza to play 2B. Gosselin backs up both spots. Worst case you go get a FA scrub like Uribe or KJ to come back after this offseason. Either way, the Braves best bet is to get rid of Chris Johnson and his awful contract if possible.
@43, I may agree that it costs $7 million to buy a Win Above Replacement on the free agent market and still disagree that spending that $7 million on a 1-WAR player is justifiable.
@46 Agreed. This rote formula is a little too simplistic to be useful. There’s a scarcity problem that isn’t accounted for. Plenty of players can be signed for nothing and surprise you with 1-2 WAR season. Plenty of minor leaguers can come up and give you a WAR. A player who gives you 5 WAR on a consistent basis, however, may be worth paying $5-7 mil per WAR for, as you can’t find this kind of player on the refuse pile.
I think we should give Peraza the season at AAA
Justifying spending 21 million dollars on a player over the course of 3 years that just put up a 2.5 WAR year is much easier to do than justifying spending 150-240 million on a player over 7-10 years after a 6 WAR year in their late 20s, early 30s.
Contracts are inflated, we all know that. But I’d much rather see my team do A then B… and B is happening way too often in the MLB.
Chris Johnson’s contract isn’t crippling and shouldn’t be looked at as a must trade. The argument stemmed from calling CJ a replacement level player, of which he isn’t. And as we’ve seen at 3b, finding a scrap heap player to fill CJ’s shoes is harder than it seems.
Edit…my points are somewhere inside that heap.
I like Peterson at 2b. Play Uribe at 3b until he loses the job. Or some kind of loose platoon with CJ.
I think we have to get KJ’s bat back into the lineup as soon as he is ready. I think he should be in LF. In the meantime give Cunningham plenty of PAs and if he makes a decision to go back to KJ/Gomes in LF hard then so much the better.
EYJ better be enjoying the MLB life as much as he can for the next however long it takes for KJ to come back.
I know he isn’t tearing it up but just looking at Maybin’s line makes me smile.
edit: I also think Peraza should stay in AAA this year.
In case looking at the bullpen roster wasn’t depressing enough, the Braves are calling up a man named Veal
I guess I should clarify that my comment @45 was at the start of the 2016 season. Peraza needs to stay in Gwinnett at least until September.
DOB posted that Gwinnett’s Elmer Reyes has been charged with kidnapping & rape.
@49, the biggest problem with the Johnson contract is just that it was utterly unnecessary. We still had him under team control, and as soon as his performance came back to earth, the team could have retained him at a far cheaper price. But once they had given him $20 million, it forced their hand and they had to keep him in the starting lineup for longer than his performance would have otherwise dictated — plus, obviously, it was $20 million that they didn’t have to invest in a better third baseman.
The Johnson contract wasn’t at all crippling, but of all the bad contracts that Wren gave out — Kawakami, Lowe, Upton, Uggla — it outranks all but Uggla for sheer needlessness.
@49, that’s a false dichotomy. It’s more stupid to dole out one of these 9 figure contracts to a 30-year-old coming off his career year–I agree there, but those aren’t the only two options in spending one’s money.
It is also stupid to lock up a 29-yo guy who didn’t need to be locked up after he’d put up a statistically anomalous season.
It may be slightly unfair to call Chris Johnson a replacement-level player. But whether he is replacement level or slightly above depends on whether you favor BR or fangraphs. In other words, it’s in the margin of error of WAR measurements. For 2016 and 2017, I’ll be surprised if he puts up even 1 total WAR on either scale. Not a whole lot better than Phil Gosselin, if at all.
Bethancourt’s got a gun, I’ll agree; but does O’Dowd’s strengths outweigh CB’s deficiencies? I’m ready to see, Ryan.
Elmer Reyes, what a dumbass.
From @40: “MLB needed to review … the stipend Callaspo received to persuade him to waive the trade veto privilege he held until June 15…. Callaspo initially exercised his right to veto this trade that was agreed upon on Monday. But after a having a change of heart, he provided his approval…”
So, Callaspo’s heart apparently is in his wallet. Anatomically curious.
I hope Maybin hits .270 with 15 bombs. He’d be an awfully nice cheap trade chip going into 2016 if Mallex is ready to man center.
Per Rosenthal, Stults designated for assignment.
Huh. He was not the one I was expecting to be DFAed.
Well at lease the Dodgers pay his salary and not us this way
CJ was activated from the DL. With Gwinnett’s two rainouts the last two nights, he did not get many rehab at-bats.
Gomes starting against a RHP for some reason.
Stults was making $2M. Callaspo was making $3.5M. Uribe is making $6M. So let me get this straight: we traded organization filler, two atrocities in Callaspo and Stults, we got a serviceable 3B and a well-regarded prospect who has had big league success… and the payroll pretty much washed? Is this real life? Is there something I’m missing here?
what do y’all think is up with Julio this year? is he just missing his spots / leaving too much stuff in the zone? after his last start there was talk of his velocity being down–was it last night, too?
Also, I understand why opinions vary on him w/some folks, but it’s still such a treat to be able to hear Vin Scully call a few of our games. The guy called a game managed by Connie Mack, and here he is with paragraphs of backstory prepared on Christian Bethancourt.
No one really knows why the Dodgers made the deal. It’s speculated that they just didn’t want to designate Uribe who is a fan favorite. Still doesn’t make much sense
@63 Well we’ve got to get his glove out there.
@64 Uribe wasn’t worth much to the Dodgers, Withrow is recovering from Tommy John AND back surgery (at age 26).
Picking up Uribe improves the team, but nobody got fleeced, yet.
Is Cunningham hurt? I really do not get why Gomes is playing against a RH pitcher of Greinke’s quality.
@68: Fredi: “well u got to get gomesy some AB’s against a righty sometimes”
Also he ran the analytics and yeah
The Dodgers have a Juan Uribe bobblehead night on July 17th that they’re still going to hold. That’s actually pretty funny.
Also, the Dodgers feed just showed the homerun off of Carpenter in the NLDS. I might have to go back to Chip and Joe.
Juan, you’re going to fit into this offense. Sadly.
So former dodgers don’t do to them what former Braves do to us. Why would they? No reason.
31 pitches, no runs: it could be a long night.
Well. That was not the best bunt I’ve ever seen.
73- Greinke only threw 9 in the second inning. Happy? (Me neither.)
@73 if wood had thrown 31 pitches in the first you’d assume he’d get roughed up soon enough. Since its greinke you’ll assume it means the Braves missed their best chance, and they’ll be shut out. Sigh…
Chip’s stories are brutal
@74, that bunt was Hansonesque.
Cameron Maybin!
WHY CAN’T CAMERON MAYBIN JUST PUT THE BALL IN PLAY LIKE SEITZER WANTS HIM TO?!
Wait a second. The Braves are allowed to hit home runs? When did this change?
CAMERON!!
@78, yeah I thought “mmbop” to myself as he did it
Cameron DID-bin!
Am I the only one who thinks Dodger Stadium is a really, really pretty park?
I love this new offense that manufactures runs
That strike 3 call on Nick Markakis would have made Eric Gregg proud.
No, Edward, you are not. It’s beautiful.
When did they let Chris Sabo become an umpire?
This game is pretty alright so far, but I’ve got a Malamud novel on deck just in case it becomes bleaker than a Malamud novel.
Greinke using George Michael for walk up music is pretty funny.
Oooh, Joe Simpson spends 5 minutes setting up his own “deaf ears” joke. That’s the sort of dedication we need in the broadcast booth.
Johnny Gomes likes to have a good tug before each pitch
Juan Uribe does not know with whom he plays. That’s Andrelton’s ball, Juan. Don’t get in his way.
May been a good month for Cameron
Former dodgers just kill LA
85 — there’s a reason why it is the 3rd oldest stadium in baseball with no plan to replace it
Bring it home, y’all. Old folks’ eyelids close after 11:00.
Night, coop.
Juan Uribe is must-watch TV, just because he looks like a beloved bit character actor. Think he’ll hit one out into Kimbrel’s Korner?
Nice play, Gomes. Morticia approves.
Edit: Greinke’s walk-up music is unparalleled.
That’s why johnny Gomes is starting.
Umpires are really killing it tonight. Good thing this one is reviewable.
Edit: Unless Freddie left the bag. So, first base ump, you were right after all.
There’s just a bitter irony that dogs atlanta sports. The absolute worst, and I mean total dog shit, former Braves, will dominate against us. Players we trade for that once dominated us will wilt like the most delicate flowers against their former teams. Who decided this? Some sadistic gods
Spinners down the middle are unhittable for the heart of our order the third time through
The bungling of the call on that single – example of why Don Sutton sucks at play-by-play.
Callaspo walk off single tonight?
Pretty pretty pretty pretty double play.
I absolutely love the DP combo of Peterson and Simmons.
@105 The man is a national treasure
So how many innings will it take for our bullpen to implode tonight?
If we come away with this one it’s thanks to a gutsy outing from Wood–and thanks to Mattingly pulling Greinke an inning too early.
Classic clutch performance by Freeman to force the wild pitch!
Edit: I like Neck Cakes. Greinke would not have relinquished this lead the way he was pitching.
Some ABE baseball!
@112 Freddie has TWTW
113- Indeed. It is sad that ABE is our most reliable offensive weapon, but it IS a weapon.
Of course, Nick Markakis then drives in a run with an obscure play known as a “double.” Like we’ll hit one of those ever again.
Intentionally walking the guy they just salary dumped. That’s… odd.
Let’s everyone make like a Sterling-Cooper client and thank Don.
The Braves send their bad bullpen pieces to the Dodgers and suddenly the Dodgers bullpen gets bad. Coincidence?
Really, the Dodgers should have held on to Stults for one night, started him against the Braves, let him pitch a perfect game and pick up a win for them, and then released him.
We just have to be grateful the Dodgers front office doesn’t read Braves Journal.
The scene that happened when they gave the umps the line-up cards:
Mattingly: I wasn’t sure you were the same. Let’s see, the last time we met in the playoffs…
Fredi: Was Chavez-Ravine
Mattingly: How nice, you remembered. But of course, that was the day the Dodgers marched into the NLCS.
Fredi: Not an easy day to forget.
Mattingly: No.
Fredi: I remember every detail. Craig Kimbrel wore grey, Uribe wore blue.
The Grilli cheese is burnt.
Callaspo is going to get the walk off hit, isn’t he?
Oh, good, it looks like Jason Grilli’s decided to try to retire the Dodgers entirely on hanging sliders.
Oh God not Callaspo.
124- “In play, out(s)” has to be some kind of mistake. I’ve read this script.
That no-call on a 2-2 count was utterly ridiculous, especially considering how many balls he’s rung up on our guys.
Thank goodness we won. The home plate umpire was a freaking joke.
The universe conspired to get callaspo the walk off homer. He just wouldn’t cooperate. He really is a terrible player.
I dunno if you saw after, but the ump made a sweeping motion with his hands as if to say the ball was inside on that 2-2 pitch. I thought it coulda been low, but in no way was it inside.
It was two to three inches above the knees, at least according to the on-screen graphic they showed. It was not a borderline pitch. It caught quite a bit of the plate. The umpire was just terrible.
Umpire conspired with the universe. You’re not following.
Whew.
Recapped.