A short trip to Anzio first. In response to Soviet insistence on a second front and facing use of a small British force and an American force that was only beginning to mobilize, Churchill and Roosevelt invaded North Africa. Then, in spring of 1943 they had the resources in the area to begin to take Sicily which would make shipping in the Mediterranean fairly clear for the first time since May 1941, so next stop Sicily. Then, well doggone it is only 9 miles to Italy, why don’t we go there?
As the Allies pushed forward to the high ground around Monte Cassino, the fighting stalled. So, they decided to send a small force up the coast to push toward Rome to try to force the Germans to retreat. The landings at Anzio somewhat caught the Germans by surprise, and the perimeter was extended inland, but then a counterattack pushed the Allied beachhead back and a 20 mile by 20 mile pocket stayed there for 5 months.
So, our Braves comparison is that you can start off fairly well, but still not accomplish what you set out to do once the other guy gets the upper hand.
For some reason this Phillies team, which is wretched against essentially every other Major League team, is good to great against the Braves. Or maybe the Braves go from being middling to bad to being outright wretched. But nevertheless, this dominance / submission is not easy to understand. Maybe we need Christian Gray to explain it.
So, 3rd inning, Aaron Nola, the damn pitcher, drives in one to put the Phillies up. Then, in 6th Dansby Swanson‘s proof of life produced a double. Sac to 3rd, out by Ender Inciarte, and Dat Dude comes to the plate. So, Brandon Phillips singles to tie it.
So, in the bottom of the 6th, Lucas Sims gives up a few hard hit balls and it is 3 to 1. 7th he gives up a solo shot and gets an out. Sims pitched 6.33, got 7 strikeouts, gave up 1 walk, so overall, not a bad night. Something to continue to build on. Winkler came in and struck out 2. onward down 4 to 1.
So, in the 8th, Brian Snitker sent out his good friend Jim Johnson. I don’t understand how Johnson has gone from a minimally o.k. closer to a self igniting gasoline can in seemingly no time. He needs some DL time for “inability to pitch.” Loaded the bases, got lucky a well hit ball by Pedro Florimon was caught by Dat Dude, and walked in a run. one out, one in, bases loaded. Matt Wisler got the final 2 outs in the inning, but the first of those was a sacrifice fly. Phillies 6, Braves 1.
This round of the “Matt Kemp experience” has not caused a bounce in the offense. Ozzie Albies and “the Flow” starting to look like competent Major Leaguers hasn’t helped much. YOU CAN’T PUNCH YOUR WAY TO ROME WITH THIS OUTFIT.
@Rob, previous thread, I waited until Sean Rodriguez accumulated the same number of Pirates plate appearances as he had as a Brave. His bat did the rest…
Maybe Rome is where these guys should play.
Thanks, cliff.
cliff…thank you…Monte Cassino…one of those names around for ever.
As is another that featured prominently this past weekend on tv around the world, live. Liberty paraded the crown jewel of their new toy, Formula One. SPA Gran Prix.
High up in the Ardennes mountains of Belgium the Liberty helicopter followed a furiously fought race headed by a Brit and a German, in and out between the trees and sweeping curves of the track race around the famous 4.2 mile circuit. And then, occasionally, the chopper pulled back, went higher, an overview. Pretty, you know.
And some of us were back in the freezing winter of December 1944/January ’45. Germany’s last attempt to break out through the allied lined to Antwerp and the coast. Over the six weeks of fighting they suffered 100,000 casualties, the Americans c.70,000 including 8000 dead.The breakout failed but it was a close thing for a while.
cliff…excuse please my poaching on your territory…you’ll know 10 times more about this than i do but my emotions are still a little raw from Sunday, i wanted to write this after reading yours. I wondered if Liberty had any idea of what they were playing with.
@1 Either way, you’re proving my point that 47 PAs is not enough for neither Atlanta nor Pitt to know what they have. And since it’s a response to my FIP comment, you’re making a false equivalency.
Battle of the Bulge
a moment to indulge
two hundred thousand men
and here we go again?
I imagine JJ will essentially take the rest of the year off when rosters expand.
Blazon,
It is not “my territory”. You are welcome.
The most important single event in the entire “Battle of the Bulge” actually occurred just north of Spa (the town, for which the concept “spa” is named). Joachim Piper’s group tried to take the largest forward fuel dump of the Allies at the River Ambleve. They were pushed back with heavy losses. Without the fuel, there was no way to get to Liege and across the Meuse, let alone all the way to Antwerp.
And yes blazon, I remember my one trip to Bastonge every time anything on this comes up.
@7…
thanks…never knew about the fuel dump and its huge ramifications…why has there never been a real movie about all this, or has there? And did i read somewhere once this might have been the battle with the most ever American casualties?
From MLB Trade Rumors:
The Braves made what appear to be some fairly minor changes in their front office, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription required and recommended), but some within the organization wonder if they’re the start to larger alterations. Among the more notable changes, Dom Chiti has moved from director of pitching to farm director, per Rosenthal. Special assistant Dave Wallace will step into Chiti’s former role. Dave Trembley will no longer serve as farm director and will instead be a field coordinator. Many teams make changes to their front office structure and scouting departments around this time, so the exact timing of the moves isn’t a surprise. One club official, though, spoke to Rosenthal about a “power struggle,” rhetorically asking: “Is John Schuerholz running the club or are John Hart and John Coppolella running it?” Rosenthal cites other Braves sources in reporting that Hart refutes the validity of that view. Hart, according to Rosenthal, is expected to return next year (his contract runs through 2017), and the Braves are also expected to eventually hire another exec to work under current Coppolella, who is currently the GM.
Ummm…
This article from Rosenthal appears to be very interesting. Anyone who has read it care to give another summary?
Re: Sean Rodriguez, the conversational gift that keeps on giving…
Don’t forget S-Rod’s 47 rehab ABs of utter futility. (Quick, someone don’t play that number in the lottery!) He had three — count ’em, three — hits. I think it’s pretty clear that the sample size is established enough that this season is a lost cause for S-Rod.
And speaking of this season: With Dansby up and playing better, and with Ozzie up and looking like he’s here to stay, and with Brandon Phillips over at third and never not producing, and with Camargo coming back at some point, and with Matt Adams golden bat pushed to the bench…what exact role is there for S-Rod to have played this year? I really don’t get it.
Look, S-Rod seems like a likable guy and he sure does deserve empathy for what he’s had to go through this season. And he may very well have a bounce back season next year. But Rob, you want to use S-Rod as emblematic of Coppy’s inability to build a major league roster. In this particular case, I believe that’s a dog that don’t hunt.
Yeah, I don’t like giving players away for free, but I don’t know that I understand the freak-out, either, at least as it specifically applies to Sean Rodriguez. With Dansby back and playing well now, it’s something of a moot point.
Rob,
Should we look at his .232 career batting average? The .303 career on-base percentage?
The man is 32 years old, a below-average hitter for his career, and a below-average fielder since 2014. Awfully silly player to dig in your heels about.
To be fair, as I always am, I’ve not mentioned SRod in that tone lately. In fact, my most recent mention of him was more in a self-satire in comparison with Chief’s skepticism of Albies. It was re-litigated by Adam R because I dared make a backhanded comment about the FIP stat’s ability to properly evaluate JJ. I’ve been done with it only for Adam R to dig its old bones up.
It’s not the end of the world, but when his replacement Jace Peterson has a .584 OPS in wayyyy more PAs, you have an aging LF who could really use a caddy, and our payroll, which was sold to us as a rejuvenation of the franchise as the result of a brand new stadium, has been reduced to what appears to be bottom 5 with the jettisoning of Garcia and SRod’s contracts (and we got basically nothing for them), then I’m not going to be positive about that. Is he the Savior, even though he looks like the Savior? No, but there was absolutely no reason whatsoever why the Braves thought they were too good to pay Sean Rodriguez to play baseball for us, and that’s partly why we’re in this mess. And frankly, I fear that after I read Rosenthal’s article, I’ll probably become even more convinced that there may not be a competitive team on the field for reasons outside of what is apparent to fans yet: we’re not good at evaluating major league team and we’re much better at the easier task of auctioning.
@4, I don’t know what FIP comment you’re talking about. But spare me the lecture on sample size. I just said, “Here’s how Sean Rodriguez did in 47 plate appearances” and you replied, “Oh yeah? Well, here’s how Sean Rodriguez did in *37* plate appearances!” You only ever invoke sample size when it suits you, or when you want to dismiss it in favor of the conclusion you’ve already drawn: “I know, I know, small sample, but…”
Sample size is a useful tool for us because we, as fans, don’t get the opportunity to look closely at a player’s mechanics — most of us wouldn’t know what to do with that opportunity if we had it. The Braves can figure out a lot faster than we can, waiting for 500 PAs (or whatever number you think is significant) to accumulate, if they need to sell asap on a player because he’s not what they thought he was.
Maybe you’ll say the Braves don’t know what they’re doing or the jury’s out on Sean Rodriguez until after an offseason of rest. Let us know when you want to check in again: http://www.fangraphs.com/library/principles/sample-size/
@8 the whole fuel thing is prominently featured in the 1965 film “The Battle Of The Bulge”
Jim Johnson’s FIP is 3.45, so we’re all good there.
This comment? I thought this was sarcasm. I don’t understand what this has to do with Sean Rodriguez. Like I said, I was waiting until he had 47 PAs with the Pirates because he had 47 PAs with the Braves.
@9 The organization is in flux if not disarray. Too many cooks in the kitchen, unclear roles, not enough money, what is the plan other than hope that TINSTAAPP and wishcasting works.
JJ’s FIP is a good reason that I refuse to go full-SABR. Do I like sabermetrics. Absolutely. He sucks. Full stop.
The Braves can figure out a lot faster than we can, waiting for 500 PAs (or whatever number you think is significant) to accumulate, if they need to sell asap on a player because he’s not what they thought he was.
Are you sure? That’s kind of my point. How the bloody hell does Atlanta know that after 47 PAs that he’s toast? My hypothesis has been well established: Coppy likes to sell because it’s what he’s best at. He worked in scouting and development with NY, and they brought him in to scrap off the team. Now that that’s done, the key problems are emerging: we’re still not very good at major league talent evaluation, and perhaps more problematically, the cut payroll with no explanation whatsoever. And during all of this, we’ve scrapped off two players to cut payroll for almost nothing, and Coppy doesn’t have the stones to do a #AskCoppy anymore.
SRod is just a part of the systemic issue, not the issue itself, so I apologize if I come off as this Unofficial Sean Rodriguez Fan Club Prez.
As for my JJ comment, I’m not buying it. Any time I take a critical tone to advanced metrics, here you come with something, stereotyping me as a neanderthal. Someone who just… ya know… just doesn’t get it. Tsk.
@19, yes. No more #askcoppy because a bunch of the ?s might be ‘Do you all have a clue what you’re doing?’
@20 I thought your original JJ ‘take’ was/is that he sucks. I’m confused.
I don’t think you’re a neanderthal at all, I think you are confused. Or are you talking about AdamR, LOL?
Sorry, yes, directed @Adam R.
I don’t get all the angst about SRod. We tried for Brandon Phillips first but didn’t like the no trade clause. SRod was versatile and had a good chance to provide some value until Ozzie was ready and we could have traded him for a pitching prospect recovering from TJ surgery. No one could have expected shoulder issues from a car wreck. My guess is he may never fully recover from it.
How the bloody hell does Atlanta know that after 47 PAs that he’s toast?
They scouted him. Since they know what to look for when they watch players hit, they don’t need lots of plate appearances to figure out what his deal is.
The irony is that you think I’m coming down on you about advanced stats. I’m not. The opposite, in fact. They probably watched him and said, “He looks a lot like the player he’s been most of his career, let’s see if we can trick Pittsburgh into taking him off our hands.”
That would explain why they rushed him back. The more opportunities other teams get to see him, the quicker the Braves lose their information advantage. The easiest team to dupe is of course going to be the team that thinks they had Sean Rodriguez figured out before. Maybe they will fix him again. We clearly decided we couldn’t do it, so why not let them pay him to try?
I’m not even sure I disagree with the idea that we’re not good at evaluating our own players. I keep mentioning Wood and Andrelton, who actually mattered to this team…I just think Sean Rodriguez is a weird guy to go crazy over.
Jim Johnson looks like a guy with a 3.45 FIP and a 3.85 xFIP to me. I can understand why myopia makes him look worse. He’s awful right now, he was better earlier in the season. A 3.45 FIP isn’t even that good for someone who you need to be a shutdown reliever.
For an article to come out like this about the Braves front office is very powerful. For the past 26 years, the front office has always put forth an image of competence and “the Braves Way.”
There must be some friction somewhere. When JS took on a smaller role a year or so ago, I wonder if he was forced to.
I also wonder if Heart and Coppy are butting heads.
I think we are getting to a point where the rebuild should start showing results. I think we have seen some and there are a lot of guys who are close. I also think this team has to contend in 2018 for a wild card or we may see some head start to roll.
If we don’t contend next year and/or put up another year like this one, I bet they move Freeman.
GCL
Freddie Tarnok
walks to the mound, he’s ready ta’rock
allowed only two innings
his other walks portend no dull beginnings.
My thoughts on S-Rod:
For me, Sean Rod’s production on 2016 had a lot to do with a BABIP spike of .344. While that might not be a lot in terms of the year prior, it IS a factor when you include that he had a spike in HRs as well in ’16 and those don’t count in BABIP. I’ve made my opinion known on how BABIP flukes are overlooked by the Braves and have bit them in the butt in the past. Also, put in play the shoulder surgery, the development of Camargo, the fact that I think they go after a 3B or platoon Camargo/Ruiz in 2018, and they want Albies and Dansby to start daily in ’18, and there wasn’t justification to keep him.
So, I don’t think that Jace P is replacing S-Rod in 2018, but Jace will not be part of the org, and the Braves will either go big and get a 3B, or they’ll go with a platoon and there wouldn’t be ABs to justify his salary.
And the Braves Way should learn to adapt with the times and realize:
the “Braves Way” of old had a crapload of $ and were able to keep 3 of the best pitchers in the MLB on the same team for a decade.
@16…thanks
@27 S-Rod…3 for 39
@25
Smitty…Heart and Coppy, Freudian? Seriously, am most impressed by your hypothesizing about what was/is going on. It’s reminding me of the current excellent Unabomber series where an FBI agent trained as nothing but a profiler who had very little to work with eventually got it right. You might just be in that league, you and your barber. Cheers.
It’s been suggested on Twitter, and I’ll pass this on as I think it’s a possibility (I’m still on the fence whether it’s true, but it makes sense): Coppy is the one who leaked the info indirectly to Ken.
I’ll sum up the article: Parts are being moved around and the inside source doesn’t know why but Coppy seems to be perturbed with certain front office people. IMO, here’s the money quote:
“Some in the organization, however, view the front-office changes as an attempt to stifle dissent, portraying Coppolella as increasingly testy with certain subordinates. Others view the changes as Hart and Coppolella “testing the waters” for additional moves with the major-league staff at a later time.”
Essentially everyone declined comment to Ken except this one guy.
Coppy is the one who leaked the info indirectly to Ken.
After reading the article just now, I was thinking that as well.
https://theathletic.com/90940/2017/08/29/tensions-mount-for-disappointing-braves-amidst-organizational-changes/
Here is the article in case people want to buy it.
I’m not paying for this article, but some of what you all are saying doesn’t make sense.
Coppy moving staff around who he isn’t getting along with is a sign that he’s consolidating power, not losing it. Likewise, Hart and Coppolella working together to engineer staffing changes isn’t a sign of disarray.
If that’s the news here, the person leaking about it — and insinuating that there’s a power struggle between Coppy and Hart or Coppy/Hart and Schuerholz — is probably one of the subordinates who is getting moved around by Coppy and is unhappy about it.
Again, I’m just trying to interpret what you all are saying and won’t be reading the article.
@32
Or Schuerholz might be the leak, thinking he’s losing even more power to the Hart/Coppy group.
Anyhoo, I’m not concerned about whether we kept or let SRod go for nothing. It sucked he hurt his shoulder, and I hope he recovers and plays well. But, he was never going to be anything more than a bridge to the Dansby/Ozzie years.
I’m just ready now to win one game against the Philadelphia Juggernauts.
Among the more notable changes, Dom Chiti has moved from director of pitching to farm director, per Rosenthal. Special assistant Dave Wallace will step into Chiti’s former role. Dave Trembley will no longer serve as farm director and will instead be a field coordinator.
I bet it’s Dave Trembley who’s leaking. His move sounds the most like a demotion. Coppy loves pitching, so of course he replaces Trembley with the director of pitching.
Side note that is actually more like the main point: The front office was never expecting to compete this season. They made a somewhat convincing facade, and attendance-wise, it worked. Coppy probably doesn’t feel like his job’s on the line right now. The next couple seasons will determine that. And despite a number of things not going well, they might actually pull this whole thing off in that timeframe. Just because you’re impatient now doesn’t mean Coppy feels threatened. If I were him, I’d be looking at Acuna, Gohara, Allard and company and feeling pretty good.
If you would have rather been the Astros and gone full-tank (this is the krussell position, I think), maybe you have a good argument. Maybe payroll death spirals don’t matter as much as ownership likes to pretend. We also don’t have anyone quite like Carlos Correa, and look how quickly the Astros got good. But the way the Braves are doing this rebuild, even factoring in mistake trades/signings, the future seems bright to me.
Read this, guys/gals. It’s from Tommy over at Walk-off Walk and it’s this kind of piece that made me want to join him. http://blog.walkoffwalk.net/2017/08/is-schuerholz-running-club-or-are-hart.html?spref=tw
@35
Very good.
I imagine Braves state media (DOB and Peanut) will come out soon with, “Nothing to see here!”
But if Rosenthal is the one reporting it, then there is something to it.
It feels like they will reassign Snit and promote Washington. I bet we see tons of internal moves this off season.
The issue with a front office that’s pulling in different directions is that it can lead to a stagnation, as nothing can get done. Like him or not, Coppy should have full control right now. He’ll be judged on his decisions, but it would not at all be helpful for others to be pulling in the other direction (beyond being in a purely advisory capacity). That’s just going to lead to there being no chance of Coppy’s rebuild working out at all.
And the fact that we’ve basically done nothing in the way of moves since the middle of the offseason makes me wonder. We traded away Jaime Garcia, and that’s about it. The two salary dump trades don’t really count, it wouldn’t be difficult to get those done. If we don’t see a flurry of moves this offseason, I think it’s fair to question if there’s so many cooks in the kitchen that nothing can get done. That would mark essentially a full year with the front office basically not doing anything and just waiting to see if the prospects develop. I know that’s what a lot of people want to do, but you have to be more proactive than that.
@35 looks like a lot of speculation based on one anonymous quote.
What is the evidence that Coppy is being micromanaged or hasn’t been able to build the team he wants to build?
It certainly seems like it’s his team. People spend a lot of time complaining about how much the organization reflects Coppy’s particular fixations.
If Coppy is shifting people’s roles around, isn’t that evidence that he can do what he wants?
@36
If they do that, it’s probably a sign that the Coppy side is winning out. If Snit is the manager again next year, it’s probably a sign that the Schuerholz side is. So that will be an interesting barometer of sorts.
I’ll pick on these two paragraphs.
The Braves named long-term organizational filler Brian Snitker as his replacement. At the end of 2016, Snitker seemed like a longshot to return despite a solid end to the 2016 season. The Braves were valuing heavyweights like Ron Washington and Bud Black and Snitker just seemed overmatched. He also seemed like a questionable fit with Coppolella, who took a more innovative and nuanced approached to baseball than a traditionalist like Snitker (or Washington and Black for that matter). Instead of a more exciting younger hire, Snitker was promoted to full-time manager and Washington was brought on for added experience.
But the team only gave Snitker one year. It screamed of compromise, but why? Freddie Freeman had joined the ranks of baseball’s elite in 2016 while dynamic young stars like Dansby Swanson, Ozzie Albies, and Sean Newcomb were either already in the majors or very close. The Braves seemed on the rise and the farm system was only getting better. The job had to be enticing with a new park, a winning tradition, and so many pieces in place. Why had the Braves settled for an organizational lifer as their manager? Why had they been so focused on guys like Black and Washington over younger and hungrier – not to mention better fits – like Dave Martinez, the longtime second-in-command under Joe Maddon? None of it made much sense.
This is a lot of writing and drama and build-up, all to ask a question that has a simple answer. All the rhetorical flourish of Freddie Freeman joining the ranks of the elite and “so many pieces in place” obscures the fact that the Braves weren’t ready to win in 2016 or 2017. Why saddle a new, high-profile manager with a losing club when you can stick a guy in the role who’s a loyal foot-soldier type who will simply appreciate the opportunity?
But if Rosenthal is the one reporting it, then there is something to it.
I lol’ed. For real?
@40
Yea, I think something of this magnitude isn’t based on speculation.
You don’t think maybe someone who Coppolella shuffled around is now disgruntled and anonymously is leaking things that may not be true, in order to undermine him and get a little revenge?
Maybe they will replace Snitker, but if they do, it’s a sign that the front office thinks the team is ready to contend. It’s that simple. It’s not going to be because Ken Rosenthal exposed the inner workings of the Braves Illuminati.
I think if Rosenthal ran that piece, his source isn’t a person who was shifted. I’m thinking it is Coppy.
End of the day, better players make managers look better. Our 25 man roster at the start of the season was a joke for a team wanting to compete. A different manager wouldn’t have changed our outcome.
Why would Coppy leak that he has pissed off some of his subordinates?
Nevermind. I’m changing my mind. I was annoyed by all of this at first, but now I want to see how conspiratorial Braves fandom can get.
Let’s see who can create a story that ties together: Hart, Coppy, Schuerholz, Schuerholz, Jr!, Snitker, Fredi, Bobby, Leo, Wren, The Pictures, Freeman, Freemasons, Freddie-to-Third-Base, Chipper-to-First-Base, the Hooters waitress, John Malone, Ted Turner, Skip Caray, Chip Caray, Joe Simpson, Peanut, DOB, Ken Griffey Jr., Rafael Furcal, the term sheet, Hector Olivera, Aaron Blair’s dad, Pascual Perez, Rufino Linares, Jason Isbell, Sam Holbrook, Ryan Howard, Bartolo Colon, Bob Wickman, and Dan Kolb.
One rule: in the end, it has to be Andruw’s fault.
A divided front office does explain some of the the disjointed moves the Braves have made since 2014.
I’m sorry, I’m not over the Ken Rosenthal aspect of this.
Any other baseball writer would totally quote one anonymous source with an axe to grind in search of your clicks/paywall $$$…but never Ken Rosenthal!
Is it the bowtie? Is that why you trust him implicitly?
It seems to me like some individuals in the FO are becoming impatient with the rebuild. It’s not really that surprising to me that many of our best prospects are not in the major leagues yet seeing as how most of them were drafted right out of high school or were very young international signings. I fear that Coppy might be pressured to make a poor trade to try to be competitive for next year when it’s going to take time for our top prospects to make the majors and then have their adjustment periods. I don’t see this team being ready to compete until 2019 or 2020, and giving up on the rebuild could push that back indefinitely.
@45, You left out Eric Gregg. He fits into this somehow I just know it.
This thread has gotten into the biggest question facing the franchise and the FO right now. Do they seriously plan to compete for the postseason next year? If so, you’ve gotta trade some of the grade A and B+ prospects for established major league stars, especially a SP or two. On the other hand, it may be better in the long run to keep all the prospects and see which ones look like they will pan out at the ML level. If you do the latter, though, I think real contention is at least another year or two away.
People on this board have strong opinions both ways. I truly don’t know which way I feel. I want to be in contention in September again. There aren’t many more things more exciting than meaningful baseball as the weather begins to cool off. But I do worry that premature dealing away could backfire and the last three years of misery would be for naught.
As to 2017, I’m not surprised at the lack of midseason deals. They never planned to be in the postseason hunt this year anyway. OTOH, they couldn’t do the krussell tank either. With the new ballpark, they had to at least have a shot at .500(hence Dickey, Garcia, Colon, Phillips, SROD).
Let’s see who can create a story that ties together: Hart, Coppy, Schuerholz, Schuerholz, Jr!, Snitker, Fredi, Bobby, Leo, Wren, The Pictures, Freeman, Freemasons, Freddie-to-Third-Base, Chipper-to-First-Base, the Hooters waitress, John Malone, Ted Turner, Skip Caray, Chip Caray, Joe Simpson, Peanut, DOB, Ken Griffey Jr., Rafael Furcal, the term sheet, Hector Olivera, Aaron Blair’s dad, Pascual Perez, Rufino Linares, Jason Isbell, Sam Holbrook, Ryan Howard, Bartolo Colon, Bob Wickman, and Dan Kolb.
One rule: in the end, it has to be Andruw’s fault.
Wow, that’s incredible. Bravo. You just hit every controversy in the last 10 years with Braves baseball. And a great finish too. I don’t normally agree with you, Adam R, but that was your best work.
Baby Braves headed to AFL sport some talent.
http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-braves/
@50, even though the “we will ‘compete’ this season” talk frustrates me to no end, I do understand why they do it. For one, they could get lucky and be spot-on (stop-gap veterans all have crazy unexpected career seasons), and second and more importantly, there’s nothing that will hold them accountable if they are wrong. We’re going to draw $3M people to the new park for a few years, no matter the record. Ownership is not directly involved and certainly not emotionally invested in the product on the field. The accountability starts a few more years down the road when the new park effect dies down, there’s tumbleweeds blowing through the Battery, and the real-estate venture that is Atlanta Braves Inc. starts to look like it could lose money.
I’ve said it before…the current FO collectively have some of the best jobs on earth. Their performance does not matter for 5 or 6 years, and the knowledgeable parts of the fanbase are embracing the tank-for-picks / trust-the-process talk. Literally anyone on the planet could do what they’ve done so far – destroy a team and start completely over – that part isn’t hard. The hard part isn’t even measurable until past 2020.
@50. IMO, and I’m in the minority but that is what they should do. First paragraph. As I’ve said. Identify 1-2 prospects and ALL others are available.
@53
Yeah, I dunno though. The roster was pretty good at the end of 2014. There were arguments for a couple years that they didn’t even need to rebuild. The better the team, the shorter the rebuild should have been (you had more assets to turn over). They tacked a year on by not having a 4 WAR pitcher (Wood), a 4 WAR position player (Andrelton), and the sunk payroll for the Olivera deal. That’s the difference between playoffs or not right now. Someone really screwed these things up, and I’d imagine you’d be held accountable if you torpedoed an entire season, right?
Who’s going to hold them accountable? Collective fan wallets? Maybe if we lose 90 next year the heat is on. I still think they will be able to get away with the trust-the-process line.
New thread.