Mark Bradley

By Theo

July 29, 2008 9:20 PM | Link to this

Too little in return but we were over a barrel.

A long road back to respectability awaits us, a very long road.

Little to trade and little $$ to spend and a dubious eye for talent. Course the sunshine pumpers will rule the day, per usual.

By Fahim

July 29, 2008 9:21 PM | Link to this

Very well written Mark! And my, was this a fast one too. When/How did you find out he was traded?

Don’t you think dumping Frenchy at fairly early in his career would be a bad move? He could possibly become another Jermaine Dye if he was traded away….

It’s just so early and he’s so young…this isn’t an overweight, impatient Andruw Jones…I truly think he can work his way out of it. Hell, let him work with BMac’s Dad :)

By Raleigh Dog

July 29, 2008 9:22 PM | Link to this

Back in the day, in the 70s, my friends and I would go to games and buy cheap seats cause we knew we’d be sitting behind home plate soon enough. The crowds were that bad. I saw the “we are family” Pirates beat the stew out of the Braves about four days straight. This current batch of losers reminds me of the bad old days. Attendance and interest may wane now. The dream has turned to ashes. They stink.

By cooper

July 29, 2008 9:29 PM | Link to this

Please ride Wren hard little Seattle Slew on the FA point.

We are not asking for insane Yankees baseball but to poo poo the FA market while bottom surf in the division is pathetic.

The Braves way frankly suxs.

While his model may appeal to pench-pinching accountants and rabid Baseball America fans the idea that prospects and over the hill veterans can lead you to anything but a going out of business sign needs to be burned into Wren’s gray matter.

If more than 40% of this team shows up on April 1st 09 it will be the 80s all over again. Empty stadiums and last place finishes. Explain that to Malone & Liberty Frank!

The fans are emotionally exhausted from the Braves way and unless Wren wants us to leave by the bus load I suggest he plan to open his wallet for CC, Burrell and or Bay and perhaps Orlando Hudson (2b) or Furcal (moving Escobar to 2b).

Getting Bedard via trade (if healthy) and basically a new pen he will show us that Liberty is not blowing smoke and that trading Tex was not an indication that the Braves will continue their cheapskate ways.

They will need to fork over 18-20mm a year for a starter so let it be CC.

13yrs since the last and only ring. 9yrs since the last WS. 6-7?yrs since the last playoff appearance that was not wasn’t a first round exit

Exactly what are they waiting for?

The Braves millennium at a glance calendar needs some urgency.

By hop

July 29, 2008 9:38 PM | Link to this

The corporate excuse has started to take hold and the underlining theme is, it will take a long time to get back as a contender.

the style of the braves is no free agency which means we are not going to spend the money despite the windfall of salary reduction with glavine,smotzie,hampton and few others off the books.

the braves will wait on the suddenly pitiful farm system that has run out of gas, to get back. this will take a very long time. thus- welcome to the braves of the 70’s and 80’s or the cellar dwellers playing in the national league east.

the owners of the braves the liberty corporate could care less, only balancing the bottom line.

i guess the braves will have to battle the washington team to decide who stays out of last place.

By The Dust

July 29, 2008 9:38 PM | Link to this

Good Article Mark. Hate to agree with you, but I saw this coming.

Our development of young talent (coaching), our scouting, winning for too long (draft position) and payroll issues have caught up to us.

Morton, Reyes and James (yes, Chuck, remember him?) all have proven to be either not ready or busts. I tend to lean toward the bust side of things.

Francuoer may be done not with the Braves, but with baseball. His football mentality (over aggressive just like Marcus Giles) may put him out of the league. He has never faced challenges like he has faced this season, and his spoiled nature is showing itself.

Chipper isn’t reliable due to his injury problems. McCann can’t do it all by himself. Escobar needs to learn to control his temper.

Smoltz and Glavine should retire so everyone can move on. Hampton shouldn’t be re-signed on principle alone.

There are two starters pitching for Milwaukee that I feel would make the Braves a better team. Here’s to hoping there will be money to take a stab at them.

By D-Cider

July 29, 2008 9:41 PM | Link to this

Mr. Moron Bradley, Braves in 1st place yet? And where is Cox and his, “we’re buyers not sellers,” comments? This is not a very good team and most of the fans saw it in early June as the string of one run losses on the road piled up. What is amazing that you finally did. I thought you would hold out until September. Go back to your cave and tell us how the Bulldogs are going to win it all this year. Loser

By Mark Bradley

July 29, 2008 9:53 PM | Link to this

Fahim, since you asked: Got the call at 6:30 p.m.; got to the park at 7:10; filed the story at 8:35.

I wouldn’t trade Francoeur for the simple reason that you wouldn’t get much for him today. Better to hope this season was an aberration than to give up on him at the age of 24.

By Uncle Dave

July 29, 2008 9:56 PM | Link to this

We need some good news in this town. It kind of reminds me of the mid 70’s… and trust me, those were bad times around here. Between the Falcons, Hawks, Braves and Thrashers, there is a lot of misery to absorb. No wonder people care more about College football around here.

By bp101

July 29, 2008 10:01 PM | Link to this

Why not just see what the kids can do? How about moving Chipper to first, Prado at 2nd, Escobar to 3rd and Lillibridge at short. Go ahead and bring Schaeffer up and see what the kids got. Go with the young pitchers…Morton, Reyes, and Jurrjens. If we are going to give up this season, lets see what the kids can do.

By Nelson

July 29, 2008 10:02 PM | Link to this

Dear Fahim: Please wake-up, this is the 3rd or 4th year of Francoeur and still the guy is swinging at pitchers over his head, face the reality he is not and never will be a good hitter, fielding is acceptable, do not steal bases, do not bunt, the only good thing he has is his arm, period.

By proeye

July 29, 2008 10:03 PM | Link to this

It’s very unlikely that Frenchy is suddenly going to snap out of it. Big time players do not go backwards in their development. If you are talking about “young players” that means they have YET to find their stroke, so there is some hope with these guys. Francoeur already found his stroke his first couple of years, then lost it. That’s a bad sign. Give it up. Pitchers have figured him out and if hasn’t made an adjustment by now, he never will. He sucks and he’s not going to get any better. Look at it this way, he has been in the majors for 4 years and has actually started sliding after year 1. Name one player who has gone from 29 home runs to 19 to 9 by age 24. That’s backwards people.

On another note… It really doesn’t look good does it? We didn’t get much for Tex, there aren’t any big prospects coming up, Frenchy is not going to snap out of it leaving a huge whole in RF, Mark Kotsay is not worth anything leaving a huge whole in CF, and LF is a big questionmark because we don’t know if Matt Diaz’ season was an aberration or if he really can’t hit. Was it steroids that he gave up during the off season? Did Francoeur do the same and that’s why he can’t hit now? Who knows. All I know is that people we could have relied on suddenly went belly up. Very, very odd.

But, Josh Anderson could turn out to be a huge find, Brandon Jones could be the next coming of Andruw Jones without the burgers in the back pockets, and Jason Perry could be someone who came out of nowhere. Kind of hard to predict baseball. LOOK AT THIS SEASON? WHO WOULD HAVE PREDICTED THIS DECIMATION???

By Hillbilly Deluxe

July 29, 2008 10:06 PM | Link to this

They need to rebuild the farm system and that takes time.

By andrew

July 29, 2008 10:07 PM | Link to this

Sheffield was acquired via trade, not a signing.

By ku5h

July 29, 2008 10:11 PM | Link to this

Knew it would come to this right out of spring training. I’m pullin for the Rays for the rest of the season.

By country boy

July 29, 2008 10:12 PM | Link to this

To DUST - - brother you are spot on !! Only thing I could add is naming Cox as a liability in Braves current state. No flexibility or innovation. I rever? Cox for steering our ship well in the big, long run of playoff appearances however he is ill-suited to deal with upcoming changes.

By Nelson

July 29, 2008 10:13 PM | Link to this

Pro eye: I agree 100% with you. Now that they are giving up, why not to start developing all of those prospects, and forget about Kelly, Franchy, Kotsay, Corky and… many more!!!!

By Mark Bradley

July 29, 2008 10:16 PM | Link to this

Thanks, Andrew. You’re right. I’m correcting that now. (See what happens when you write something fast?)

By Bailer

July 29, 2008 10:16 PM | Link to this

You will alwaqys be sorry if u dont get something FOR jeff while u can. *I cannot believe he still strikes out swinging at pitches overn his head. no amount of coaching or talking can get through to him. that young white stuff has his mind all screwed up.

By proeye

July 29, 2008 10:18 PM | Link to this

Hello, bp101… Apparently you haven’t been paying attention to this season… Schaeffer got kicked out for 50 games because he was taking HGH. He now sucks since he is batting .242 with 4 home runs. This guy is NOT the future!

By duaner

July 29, 2008 10:25 PM | Link to this

frank wren is a homo for making this trade i hop tex wins a ring and bad mouths the team for years to come

By John

July 29, 2008 10:26 PM | Link to this

I predicted this after the winter meetings and after spring training. Patched pitching and lineup, too much age, Hampton and Glavine etc. The Braves way of doing things stinks and the future is grim .New ownership and management is the only answer.

By Nelson

July 29, 2008 10:28 PM | Link to this

Bailer: I’m not joking I don’t know if you watched the series against the Marlins. The Marlin’s catcher was asking the pitch while standing up and Frenchy SWANG AT IT!!!

By ErinJM

July 29, 2008 10:31 PM | Link to this

Hey everyone lets stay positive. The Braves has a god future ahead think about the last time we where sellers in 1990 we went on a 14 stright division championship. So lets play GM for a min. With Tex 15 million gone along with Hampton then 8 million from Glavine then expect Liberty to add 15-20 million to the pay roll that should put us around 55-60 million next season. We know we starting pitcher maybe CC or Ben I wish both but being realistic maybe a 3 guy starter. Make the trade with the Pirates Brent Lilibridge and Bradon Jones and a prospect for Jason Bay sign him to an extension. Pray and hope Jeff comes back and this year was only a young hitter with wrong machenics. As far as the pen sign a lefty hope Soriano is health Gonzo is stronger and moylan comes back around all-star brake or before. And Smoltz maybe he can contribute someway. We really don’t need a Tex I mean we loved him but timely hitting and contact baseball wins more often then waiting on the homer. A bunch of 300. hitting players is far better than 260. hitters. As for the remainder of this year how bout letting Heywood and Shaffer and Hanson come up let Clint stay and just play around with the future and see what could be for 2009-2010 season

By Mark Bradley

July 29, 2008 10:37 PM | Link to this

That’s the question, isn’t it? The Braves are going to have money available over the winter. Will they spend it this time?

Terry McGuirk is on record as saying, “Free agency is so inefficient … It’s the easiest way to waste a franchise’s money.” And he’s right: It is the easiest way. But sometimes it’s the only way to get what you lack.

By Nelson

July 29, 2008 10:39 PM | Link to this

ErinJM: And who is going to be the manager of that great team? Sure not Bobby Cox Please!!!!!!!!!!!!

By buddy bell

July 29, 2008 10:40 PM | Link to this

Don’t get the dumping on Thorman part. He’s leading Rich in HR and RBi’s and his arms being clocked at 90. Do him a favor and move him.

By JOJO REYES

July 29, 2008 10:42 PM | Link to this

The Braves are in the sad shape they are in because of TEX. They traded their future last year to get him. Would have loved to see Andrus and Harrison in Atl this or next year. Harrison wil be an arm the Braves regret letting go and Andrus has the speed that teams covet for the small ball game of today.

By Stewart

July 29, 2008 10:43 PM | Link to this

Back when Ted Turner was the owner it was all about the game. Sad to say now it’s all about the money. Goodbye Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Goodbye Peachtree TV. Goodbye Sports South. Until the owners are willing to put forth a contender I have seen my last Braves game.

By Dave in Arizona

July 29, 2008 10:47 PM | Link to this

Hey Mark, you’ve written some of the best comedy material of this entire lost season, especially when you told us this rotten team was bound for greatness and would blow people away in the second half.

I just heard the Cardinal broadcasters say, “And they throw to the wrong base again.” Don’t stop the comedy now. Keep it up.

By Navigator

July 29, 2008 10:49 PM | Link to this

Early in the 1990’s the Braves had great pitching, and smoke and mirrors for hitting. They need to return to that mode of stocking up on good young pitching, and let the minors provide them with the future hitting, just like the middle 1990’s when so many of the good players came through the minors. This is exciting to me, putting together a new young team, and surely beats watching the hospital brigade.

By JimK

July 29, 2008 10:50 PM | Link to this

I disagree about splurging on big free agents. We have two of the top three rookie starting pitchers this year. We’ve got some great young position players in A ball, so let’s save up for 2011.

The way to go now is judicious signings like Campillo, deals like Jurrjens, and above all development e.g. Tommy Hanson, and I haven’t given up on Reyes and Morton with proper instuction and conditioning. (Hint: call Leo).

Scouting and development is the responsible path, even if it requires us to endure some seasons like twenty years ago, when John Smoltz was 2-7 and Tommy Glavine was 7-17.

When we’ve got three young aces in place and producing, THEN it will be time to spend on one free agent pitcher, the way we added Maddux to Glavine, Smoltz, and Avery.

By Mark Bradley

July 29, 2008 10:50 PM | Link to this

If the Braves knew then what they knew now, they wouldn’t have traded for Teixeira. But they thought then (a bit optimistically, in my view) that they had a chance to make the playoffs last season, and they knew they were going to need someone to replace Andruw Jones in the heart of the order in 2008. The Braves left Lake Buena Vista this spring believing they had the best team in the National League and that Teixeira would be a huge part of that. Then everybody got hurt, and now he’s gone.

It was, I maintain, a chance worth taking. It used to be that most all the Braves’ hunches turned up trumps. This one, alas, did not.

By Forever Fan Jody

July 29, 2008 10:58 PM | Link to this

It’s truly a shame how far the Braves have fallen. Has the entire front office completely lost its vision? Yes, the Braves unfortunately had no other option than to trade Tex. And that’s just the problem. In the 90’s with Schuerholz doing the wheeling and dealing, the Braves were never in a position where they were out of options. They never had their backs against the wall. We just traded a PROVEN major league star for a couple of maybe’s. Kotchman may end up being fantastic, but he is as yet unproven over a period of time. All the injuries the Braves have suffered this year certainly deserve some of the blame for 2008’s implosion, but I think you also have to assign a hefty portion of the blame to Bobby Cox. It appears he’s lost all ability (and maybe even desire) to manage. He’s stale, just like the Braves are from top to bottom. Remember that it was Bobby Cox as general manager in 1990 who traded Dale Murphy to the Phillies for 3 little leaguers. I guess we should have realized then how bad he was at making the right decisions. Welcome to Atlanta Casey, I hope you enjoy your stay. (about a year if Wren holds true to form)

By Tommy

July 29, 2008 11:03 PM | Link to this

None of you are thinking outside of the line!! We can be way better next year!! We will have so many overpaid players off of the books. Hampton for example. That leaves us a ton of money to throw at CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets. And we may land a big hitter at tomorrows deadline like Jason Bay. I know they said they shot down our offer but that doesn’t mean we can’t rework it. Were going to have a very good bullpen next year assuming Moylan and Soriano are healthy. We will make a few trades in the offseason. We will be better.

By scott

July 29, 2008 11:27 PM | Link to this

I don’t have any faith in corporate baseball in Atlanta. The next seasons promise many empty seats at Turner Field, so Liberty Media will tighten the purse strings because no one wants to see the team play such as AOL Time Warner did (Hey….who are the billionaries here?) so I expect mediocre baseball in Atlanta for the forseeable future. Unless, of course, all us fans sell out every game, win or lose, so the suits at Liberty Media will shell out more money in the future to be a contender in modern pro baseball. I guess the public has to “front” the billionaires money so they can afford to field a winning team. Isn’t corporate baseball great?

By Boo Boo

July 29, 2008 11:32 PM | Link to this

The Braves have no one “for the future,” because the new ownership has pulled out the blueprints entitled, “How to run a small market team and still make money.” They never had any intentions of signing Tex; and they will never have any intentions of signing anyone represented by Boras. They will always be selling in July, looking for the prospects they can develop and sell in three years, for more prospects. They have returned to the pre-Ted Turner Braves. I see the future filled with, “Come on boys, let’s aim for an under 100-loss season this year” mentality.

By singndablues

July 29, 2008 11:32 PM | Link to this

202 536 3439

By Chris

July 29, 2008 11:35 PM | Link to this

There’s no reason to feel bad about this trade.

You get a guy back that puts up similar average, and only slightly less RBI than Tex did. And he’s still working on his power.

To the idiots who want to trade Francouer - for what? A single-A prospect? Good idea. Except it isn’t. Let’s see how he finishes the year and the first half of next season - he was a 100 RBI guy, you know. He’s starting to realize the mistakes he’s made and is trying to atone for it. Some good at-bats tonight.

If you can sign Kotsay, Francouer to 1-year deals, you do it. If either don’t work, THEN you bring up the kids. A Blanco/Diaz platoon (or even just Blanco) can hold down LF until/unless we decide we can do better. While I’d like to see our OF have more power, I’d just assume to have them get on base and steal bases in front of people.

Isn’t Thorman hitting in the .230s at Richmond? Not the guy I want up here.

By Coach (Lets Go Braves in 2009)

July 29, 2008 11:39 PM | Link to this

Teixeira = Bust. End of story. It was a nice gamble on the part of the Braves. Unfortunately, it cost them dearly.

They trade away and traded for and then traded away nine players total including the two draft picks in 2009.

The Braves have Casey Kotchman, Brett Devall , Stephen Marek and two wasted seasons (07-08) to show for it.

2009 isn’t looking any better. To say that the Braves got hosed is an understatement. More like taken to the cleaners would be accurate.

By Peter

July 29, 2008 11:40 PM | Link to this

When Corporations start cutting money they start cutting in the scouting dept and extra instructors in the minors. This started with AOL and Liberty has said that they will not sell the Braves for at least 5 years.

Liberty won’t increase payroll because they have stockholders. Anybody checked Wall Street lately. Don’t rule out Chipper asking to be moved. Those of us who said last year that even with Tex we wouldn’t win were laughed at by everybody. All five of those prospects will play in the majors.

After Liberty sells the new owner (if he’s willing to spend) will need at least three years to start to turn things around. You’re talking maybe a decade of poor baseball.

Question: What happened to baseball preferring local ownership? Maybe they were tired of the Braves winning.

By alex

July 29, 2008 11:41 PM | Link to this

Hey Mark, have anybody on your free agent wish list?

By BravesLover

July 30, 2008 12:03 AM | Link to this

Tex is a corner stone player. I’ll miss him and hope that he’ll be back next year. It sounds like he wants to be here so let’s see what can be done. I HATE to think that we are going to be bottom feeders for years to come but that is what it looks like now. Here’s hoping that the winter signings bring back a ray of light.

By keith

July 30, 2008 12:09 AM | Link to this

I wish we could have picked up a solid starting prospect instead of Kotchman but that being said, he will be a good fit. There are just so many holes. Between injuries and overperformance, where do we go from here. With the right moves, we are back with the Phils and Mets. The wrong moves and we’re back to the late 80’s and 105 loss years. Lock up Jurrgens and quick, he is now our ace.

By BravesLover

July 30, 2008 12:12 AM | Link to this

I’m going to wear my Braves jersey inside out tomorrow in mourning for the season and the loss of Tex.

By keith

July 30, 2008 12:14 AM | Link to this

If I remember correctly, Liberty had to agree with MLB, that the payroll wouldn’t be slashed. We will have a ton of cash beginning this Winter. We could end up like the Philly Flyers of the NHL. Everyone loves and respects Bobby so let’s go for it. This roster is not impressive and should be overhauled and they will have the means to do it.

By Mark Bradley

July 30, 2008 12:16 AM | Link to this

Here are three guys who’ll be on a lot of wish lists: Mike Mussina, Ben Sheets and Bobby Abreu.

By keith

July 30, 2008 12:20 AM | Link to this

Sorry, meant to say underperformance. Read Frenchy. Your 3 for 22 with the bases loaded is what we would expect from a PITCHER. The Braves announcers have been saying over and over, the pitcher is the one in trouble when he walks the bases loaded (in FLA) yet Jeff swings at all 4 pitches he sees.

By dwc

July 30, 2008 12:22 AM | Link to this

get rid tp he has no coacing idea on batting

By Steve in Alabama

July 30, 2008 12:27 AM | Link to this

All the talk about who to trade for or who to replace is beside the point if the most important factor is ignored. Why has this team underperformed? Is it the injuries? I don’t think so. Is it the lack of pitching? I don’t think so.
More than anything it is the lack of execution at the plate. Whose responsibility is that? TP? BC? I don’t know. I’m not in the clubhouse. But the problem is not new. I thought getting rid of Andrew Jones would help because he was an awful example for the other newer Braves hitters, but it seems it is beyond that. This season is really an extension of the past 10 years. Good pitching kills the Braves.
I know, that is the truism of baseball, good pitching beats good hitting. But it seems especially so with the Braves. Why? Does it matter why? What have other teams done in the same situation?
They shake things up! Do you shake things up by bringing in a new minor leaguer or a veteran having a good season?
No way!
The Braves are stale, yet the players are content, even happy in their situation. They love their manager and feel that their situation is bad luck and just one of those things that happen. Maybe so, but they just make too much money for that attitude.
Somebody has to light a fire under these guys and make them just a bit uncomfortable. Make them appreciate what they have and where they are, and that person is no longer Bobby Cox. He is history, I’m sorry more people can’t see it.

By Robert S

July 30, 2008 12:30 AM | Link to this

In Kotchman, the Braves get a guy who is comparable to Tex on defense, batting average, and run production, not so comparable on power, but the guy is exactly what the Braves should be trying to get - a contact hitter, a guy who puts the ball in play, and doesn’t strike out much.

It is maddening to watch these Braves strike out with runners on base, and say what you will about Tex and his gaudy stats, but he struck out an awful lot with guys on, and in crucial moments. It seems his run production always came when either the Braves had a comfortable lead, or were far behind, and not in the clutch.

It’s a first step to correcting things, but there’s an awful lot of corrections that need to be made in order for the Braves to get back to prominence again.

As for Jason Bay, I’m not so sure that giving up four prospects to get him is a great idea. If the Braves send Lil’ Bridge and Brandon Jones and a fringe prospect to Pittsburgh, then it might be sensible.

Then there’s the curious case of Nelson Cruz of Texas, who is demolishing AAA pitching in Oklahoma to the tune of a .349 average, 37 HR, and 96 RBI. He hasn’t panned out in the bigs (the dubious “AAAA” tag), but could be had for less than the Braves would send to the Pirates for Bay. Could the Braves get creative and take a risk, hoping that he’s the next Josh Hamilton?

And a pitcher - who can the Braves plug in to mute the absence of Tim Hudson? Lord knows, I hope it won’t be Paul Byrd. Would the Braves try to lure Greg Maddux back for the rest of the year, only giving up a low level prospect to get him? Would Maddux accept?

Of course, sending Bobby Cox back to his farm in Adairsville would be another nice step too…..

By keith

July 30, 2008 12:46 AM | Link to this

The Braves payroll this year was around 106 million. If you include Hudsons 15.5 which will be insured because he won’t pitch next year, we will have 73.6 million available. That will buy a #1 starter, a #1 bat and 2-3 good pieces. Wren should have the green light. I wish they had locked up Tex but his money for a #1 starter would look as good or better.

By KNOW IT ALL

July 30, 2008 12:48 AM | Link to this

I have an interesting idea.

What if all of the Atlanta Braves fans got together with something like the Green Bay Packers are owned by shareholders (the team’s fans and investors) and the corporate end of the Braves can go shove it

I have no idea what it would take for this to happen, but I have a feeling as of right now I will be going to more AAA games in Buford than the big time in Atlanta, at least in Buford they will play w/ passion!!!

By Bo

July 30, 2008 12:48 AM | Link to this

Good job Mark, thanks. The Braves got alot for Tex considering that Angels will only get two months service from him.

I believe the Fans will really like Kotchman once they see and get to know him . He gives 110%.

As for the rest of Braves the water is getting deep…we really don’t have a group of good players as stated by Wren. Management and press missed the boat on this team at start of year. Signing old players,and big talk about how great we are etc. and Bobby Cox’s Glory days are long passed. He don’t walk on water folks, get over it and gets some new blood to run this team. Same goes for TP and other coaches. McGuirk is a fi$%&*^# joke! Two days ago we were buyers, now we don’t need free agents, and BC is God in baseball world? Lord for give him and me. The sad part I still love the Braves.

By Robert S

July 30, 2008 12:54 AM | Link to this

Mark, Bobby Abreu would be a nice addition for the Braves, but the question is, how much has he got left in the tank? His power numbers have fallen off, and he’ll be 35 at the start of the ‘09 season.

I truly think the biggest move the Braves can make for 2009 is to bring in a younger manager to shake the monotony of the last three years. Bobby Cox had tons of talent on his roster that hid his shortcomings as a manager, but now he has nowhere to hide. This team has always been lacking fundamentally, it’s only now that it’s being exposed with the undistinguished talent this team has.

They’ve always been beaten by great pitching (which only revealed itself in the postseason), but now they’re getting flummoxed by also-rans as well. Any other team this pathetic in one-run games would fire their manager. Any other front office that sees the mind boggling in-game decisions that Cox makes would send him on the nearest bus station to Adairsville. Any thinking man would seriously consider replacing Cox, but apparently neither Terry McGuirk or Frank Wren use their noggin much.

Hence, he’ll be back in 2009, and we can look forward to more of the same, maddening, fundamentally weak baseball that we’ve all been accustomed to seeing.

And this team will never win a World Championship again as long as that fact remains. I’ve been saying it for ten years now, as I’m sure many other fans have.

But us fans apparently aren’t as smart as the Braves’ brass think they are…………..

By keith

July 30, 2008 12:58 AM | Link to this

Trade of the week: Micah Owens for Jeff Franceour.

By Robert S

July 30, 2008 1:13 AM | Link to this

Keith, Micah Owings is the better hitter, amazingly. And he’s a pitcher! But Frenchy’s not going anywhere, unless the GM of the Royals sees another reclamation project, a la Kyle Davies. But having Owings as a left fielder…..well, he can’t be any worse than Adam Dunn….

By Bill Donohoo

July 30, 2008 1:15 AM | Link to this

Name one top pitcher to come through the Braves Farm System in the last 7 years.

Move McCann to LF and save his health and his bat.

By Marc

July 30, 2008 1:36 AM | Link to this

McCann to left field?! HA HA HA.

Oh, God. Dude, thanks for the laughs. I needed them.

By ronp

July 30, 2008 1:38 AM | Link to this

The Braves need a player who can hit 37 homers, drive in 134 runs and hit around .300. Apparently, these numbers can easily be replaced because they just dumped the guy who did it: Mark Teixeira.

It is unfortunate they would allow such a talented player to drop right through their fingers..It will be a long time coming before the Braves can ever replace a player of this magnitude.

Good baseball teams step up to the plate and pay the going price for top notch talent.

How come the Braves could not pay the market price for Teixeira? They won’t have to pay Hampton anymore, they now save on Tex’s salary and they could retire Glavine…that’s at least $34 million plus coming that’s from non-performing areas…they have plenty of cash to spend..

These owners have gutted the power out of the middle of the line-up and this egghead move shall ensure at least three more years of mediocrity for the Braves.

I really don’t see what’s wrong with paying a player what he’s worth particularly when you have the money, the market and the fan support? Other teams raise the cash and do it on a regular basis.

They saved the bucks, don’t have to deal with Scott Boras but have sold the team down the river.

I don’t need to pay top priced season tickets to watch deliberately designed medocrity placed on the field by tightwad owners interested in stuffing their own pockets.

Future fan support should erode as this team continues to decline by design. Nobody wants to support a second rate product on the field..

By Robert

July 30, 2008 1:39 AM | Link to this

“Now for the bad news”

Bobby Cox is still the manager

By Mark Bradley

July 30, 2008 1:44 AM | Link to this

Micah Owings just got sent to Class AAA by Arizona. He and Francoeur are having similar seasons, for what that’s worth.

By vic

July 30, 2008 1:48 AM | Link to this

AMEN!!!! ROBERT

By Bo

July 30, 2008 1:54 AM | Link to this

Mark you up might late tonight. Thanks for the effort.

By PaverDawg

July 30, 2008 2:01 AM | Link to this

P** ON TEX!!! Good RIDDANCE YOU GT POS!!!

By JF

July 30, 2008 2:18 AM | Link to this

http://theblogofchampions.com/?p=159

By Greg

July 30, 2008 2:28 AM | Link to this

As an Angels fan, I am unhappy to see Kotch go and the prospects of signing Tex long term are shaky - due to that elephant in the corner named scott boras- but the future for the next two monts look bright us the angels.

the future for the braves look a little brighter courtesy of Kotchman. you’ll love him, he plays hard, is a good team mate from all reports and he should tear up the pitching in the NL.

enjoy the show braves fans! I for one will miss good old number 35 at first base. one thing to watch for: notice that Casey always stars a play with his glove on the ground - always. it may not stay there, but it starts there.

if that is not fundamental and something that the game could see more of, i don’t know what is.

goodbye, thanks and may your future sparkle Casey Kotchman. you will be missed not in southern california at the stadium with the two giant red hats bearing halos but in the hearts of the fans you have brought smiles to game-in and game-out.

By scottbravesfan

July 30, 2008 3:12 AM | Link to this

The Braves made the best trade that they could and for people who don’t understand that, then you don’t know how the business of baseball works. The Braves will have a lot of money to spend this off season, they better spend it. CC Sabathia will look real good with a tomahawk on his chest next summer.

By Check this out

July 30, 2008 3:18 AM | Link to this

minor league stuff

By Dave in Arizona

July 30, 2008 3:22 AM | Link to this

Knowitall said: “I have an interesting idea.

What if all of the Atlanta Braves fans got together with something like the Green Bay Packers are owned by shareholders (the team’s fans and investors) and the corporate end of the Braves can go shove it.”

The Packers aren’t doing so well with Brett Favre right now. They’ve managed to turn Green Bay fans against each other like never before.

By BeachDreams

July 30, 2008 3:50 AM | Link to this

Congrats Frank - NICE JOB - You have passed your first big test. Casey is a good fit for rebuilding. 3 years to figure out if he is a corner stone before he becomes a FA. CAsey should hit about 300 - bonus dosen’t strike out - bonus And has a good glove And a pitching prospect to boot who cares if hes hurt maybe we can get a discount rom Andrews if you send him with Huddy. Thats not a shot. Pitchers today they all seem to have a surgery at one point or another well except for Maddux and Glav. But what pitcher today has their mindset of mechenics first let the ball do the work vrs your arm do the work - reasons for everything. Where were we. Okay Frank as soon as you finish that cigar and everybody has patted you on the back Its time to go back to work. And its gonna be tough my friend JS has left you a real mess to clean up.

By LA Boy

July 30, 2008 4:43 AM | Link to this

As an Angels fan, I would like to tell all the Braves fans, you got a hella of a first baseman. I am torn with this trade because Kotchman is well loved by Angel’s fans and a player that was brought up throught the Angel’s farm system. He has been around the Angel’s family since he was a kid as his father is a scout with the Angels minor league farm system for over a decade. Kotch, being just 25 and entering his second full season is really coming into his own. His offensive numbers will definitely get better. His defense, mirror or even might be a slight tad better than Tex. The best thing for the Braves is the fact that he is under contract until 2011 for the current annual salary of $1.45mil. The Angel are the ones taking the risk. But I hope both teams benefits in the long term with this trade!

By LAC

July 30, 2008 6:01 AM | Link to this

First Vick, Then Hossa, Then Childress, Now Tex… Why are we cursed in Atlanta ?

Why do we not have a fire to win ?

It is really crap to watch all our teams IMPLODE !!!!!!

By Billy

July 30, 2008 6:25 AM | Link to this

Might as well have gotten something for Tex. He wasn’t re-signing here.

By RA

July 30, 2008 6:35 AM | Link to this

I don’t know that I agree that the Childress negotiations were the worst mistakes of the summer. I mean, for the 32 million that it would have taken to keep him (and to ensure that the Hawks nightly rotation remains at six to seven players as opposed to nine or ten), the Hawks have already gotten a talented swing man a desperately needed big. So, before we dismiss Hawks ownership as the inepts that the almost certainly are, let’s at least try to manufacture a little benefit of doubt.

By Drew

July 30, 2008 6:46 AM | Link to this

The Braves suck but think about how much worse they would be with Andruw Jones on the team.

By justin

July 30, 2008 6:48 AM | Link to this

Name a team this decade that was able to become contenders because of one free agent signing? Fact of the matter is trades and player development is what rules the day. Even for the Yankee’s, when they were on top it was because they had the pieces to trade away in their farm system. Now all they have is money to put a band aid on a gushing wound. Free Agency is not the answer, and seldom is. Player development and smart trades are.

And by the way in his last 10 games Thorman was hitting well over .300, and has been for the better part of the past month. He’s also just as good with the glove as Kotchman. Not saying he’s the answer, just saying you should do some homework before ripping on a guy.

By ssiscribe

July 30, 2008 6:49 AM | Link to this

Mark, agree with you 100 percent. Braves had to get this done. Yes, it would’ve been nice to get a couple of major-league ready players and a top-notch prospect. But nobody’s giving that up for a two-month rental (though I think the Angels have perhaps the best shot at signing him long-term).

In my opinion, it’s a good deal for the Braves. Kotchman gives you a young first baseman with upside, who plays great defense and who is under contract through 2011. Marek throws hard and has experience as a starter and reliever.

And yeah, Owings and Frenchy both are struggling. The Braves now have the “luxury” of letting Jeffro work out his troubles here the final two months, while the Snakes are in a pennant race and can’t do that with Owings.

—30—

By Michael

July 30, 2008 7:02 AM | Link to this

I disagree with “this had to be done.”

What happened to Liberty Mutual’s commitment to Atlanta fans to not cap the salary, and give the Braves the tools they needed to field a winner? This feels more like AOL days all over again to me.

If the Braves front office refuses to deal with any player represented by Scott Boras (and no, I’m no fan of Boras) - then why bother bringing them onto the team in the first place?

No matter how this is painted by the team, or the media, this is a downgrade for the Braves. Tex should have been signed - at market value - if for no other reason than to show Atlanta fans that ownership is serious about fielding a winner. Tex was the ONLY legitimate first baseman this team has fielded in years.

To me, this just shows a “we give up” attitude that I haven’t seen from the Braves in many years, and it’s a huge letdown.

Wake up, Liberty - there’s a reason there were more people cheering for the Cardinals than the Braves last night - only one of the two teams on the field is doing everything it can to win, and it wasn’t the home town team. This is a sad day for Braves fans.

By Lamar

July 30, 2008 7:04 AM | Link to this

What bothers me is that why Scherholz (sp) tried to get the talent to win another World Series, he gave away too many of our young players to get these older players who continue to be injured. We should build from our minor leagues for the long haul — not from washed up veterans. It will take a long time to recover.

By George Jr

July 30, 2008 7:13 AM | Link to this

the thing i dont like is we should have kept texiera the rest of the year then tried too resign who knows maybe he would have taken the deal the braves offer him we really didnt even get a decent player i dont understand why we still have hampton is because were stuck with him can someone please explain

By George Jr

July 30, 2008 7:14 AM | Link to this

the thing i dont like is we should have kept texiera the rest of the year then tried too resign who knows maybe he would have taken the deal the braves offer him we really didnt even get a decent player i dont understand why we still have hampton is because were stuck with him can someone please explain

By George Jr

July 30, 2008 7:14 AM | Link to this

the thing i dont like is we should have kept texiera the rest of the year then tried too resign who knows maybe he would have taken the deal the braves offer him we really didnt even get a decent player i dont understand why we still have hampton is because were stuck with him can someone please explain

By George Jr

July 30, 2008 7:14 AM | Link to this

the thing i dont like is we should have kept texiera the rest of the year then tried too resign who knows maybe he would have taken the deal the braves offer him we really didnt even get a decent player i dont understand why we still have hampton is because were stuck with him can someone please explain

By 66braves

July 30, 2008 7:20 AM | Link to this

Hold on people! If you look closely at the young nucleus that they are putting together, it is a lot better than 1988,89, or 90 class, which led to all those division titles. The level of young pitchers coming through the ranks is a lot better than the pitchers in those years. And the young position players are better as well. Before tomorrow night, they will add a few more pieces.

No, this not what I wanted either but I do think it is worth being patient on. This is NOT the organization of the 70’s and 80’s, so the sky is NOT falling!

Mark, do you see Bobby hanging around during this time frame to build a new Brave front?

By proeye

July 30, 2008 7:30 AM | Link to this

Did John Schuerholz move out of his position as general manager early because he saw the writing on the wall? Seems awfully strange with the timing—the year before the Braves imploded. He sure kept his legacy and his chances for the Hall of Fame intact!

By Michael

July 30, 2008 7:34 AM | Link to this

My bad - I blamed Liberty Mutual, and not Liberty Media for this mess. Maybe it was wishful thinking - a company called Liberty Tires would be an upgrade in ownership!

By Mike

July 30, 2008 7:48 AM | Link to this

I have read many of these “comments”. Not all but many are laced with backstabbing, I told you so, wishes for misfortune and just plain stupid comments. There are so many I couldn’t even begin to respond. You guys make running a baseball club seem so easy but you wouldn’t know a double-play from a double-fault. The Braves don’t need those kind of fans. Take a hike.

By RK

July 30, 2008 7:50 AM | Link to this

Liberty Media better start coming up with Yankee like money (175 mill +) or their so called ‘investment” will end up costing them more than than they bought the Braves for… penneywise and pound foolish… This buying the Braves could REALLY backfire. Then maybe the Art Blank can bring some sports passion/honor back instead of just thinking about tax writeoffs…

By TIMEFORCHANGE

July 30, 2008 7:54 AM | Link to this

Its almost to the point where the Braves will find it hard to sign any free agent. These players want to win and Atlanta has been a so so team now for the last three.

If they want to win they have to get rid of the so so players and sign some talent. That takes money. Resigning a Glaive or Hampton is a big mistake. It was a mistake this year. Glavine did nothing for us. I was against this from the start of the talks. It never works to bring back players.

Kotchman at 1st is fine, but we need someone other then a left field platoon and Diaz is not the answer. We need a solid 2nd baseman. Johnson is just so so. We need a pen. To many arms out there that yea they have a decent ERA but the holds are terrible. They walk to to mound and let every single baserunner score. We need to resign Ohman and thats that. Im sick of the good ones getting away while we continue with what 200K will buy. Pen arms are essential to a good club.

Other then Jurrjens and Campilla, I just dont see any pitchers that are ready. Jo Jo is not and either is Morton. They need more minor league training and we absolutely need a hitting coach, something that Pendleton is not. Im sick of watching these no hitting clubs year after year. Learn a lesson here. Ditch the non-effective and clean house. It needs to be done and now. Maybe then players will want to sign with Atlanta. Right now I believe they are just laughing at us.

By Tommy

July 30, 2008 7:55 AM | Link to this

One thing I’m getting tired of reading is ‘when Ted Turner owned the team. . ‘

Turner bought the Braves in 1976. His first 4 years as owner, they finished last. He blew money on Andy Messersmith, Bruce Sutter, Claudell Washington, and many more over the hill free agents, the team lost draft picks for tampering when trying to sign Gary Matthews, and Turner made a joke of himself and the team by trying to manage.

Under Turner, from 1976 to 1990 the Braves had three winning seasons, and lost 90+ games nine times. It was when Cox and Schuerholz took over that things turned around. The Braves only improved when Turner finally had the good sense to stay out of the way and let other people spend his money.

The Braves are going through a down cycle. Free agency and the draft make it almost impossible to win year after year. Over times things balance out.

About $70 million bucks comes off the payroll at the end of the year. They’ll figure something out. The Braves may not win a pennant for a couple years, but they aren’t going back to the Russ Nixon Era, either.

By Braves Fan

July 30, 2008 7:57 AM | Link to this

Jeff Francoeur is still a kid. Kids make mistakes. He made a bad one when he objected harshly to his demotion to AA. He was my favorite Player. He still is, but I feel like a spurned Parent. Jeff should have made a statement that he was willing to go down to help the Team & himself. And then, took his demotion for what it was, a learning experience to make him a potiental All Star. I can assure you that he would have been viewed as a Hero in Atlanta. I wish he had been down for a couple of months. Jeff is young & the Braves have so many holes to fill, that they need to keep him. If Jeff has learned nothing from this, there is a problem though.

By Mitch

July 30, 2008 8:16 AM | Link to this

A well worded article, Mark. I think that Wren did the right thing with trading Tex. Frank got the best possible deal he could, and a player who could help us for several years.

What is even more frightening for the Braves is that if Hudson’s MRI shows the worst, he needs Tommy John surgery, and is gone for all or most of 2009, we really have no pitching. Your points about Smoltz and Glavine are valid. I believe John will try to come back, and Tommy may well play one more year, but if both of them do retire, and Hudson is out, this team has nothing on the mound besides Jair. It brings us back to the days of the late Rick Mahler, when we had one good pitcher in Mahler, 30 homer Dale Murphy, and nothing else.

The future for the Braves is not nearly as positive as Frank would have us believe. Maybe, after fifteen winning seasons out of sixteen, this team is going through Murphy’s Law, where everything that can go wrong, does.

It might well be that we have to take our lumps for a few years, and rebuild through the draft. Our other hope is to use the money saved by the Smoltz/Glavine/Hampton departures, to try and snare a free agent such as Sheets. I’m not sure that can happen, and whether a top notch pitcher would come to Atlanta, knowing the team was in a rebuilding period. After all, this isnt 1993, when Greg Maddux signed a five year deal, with a team that went to the World Series two years in a row.

In any case, this team has major question marks when it comes to the future. We are done for 2008, and our 2009 very much hinges on exams performed in Birmingham today. If Hudson needs TJ surgery, we can kiss 2009 goodbye as well.

By Don

July 30, 2008 8:20 AM | Link to this

Good luck, Mark. Thanks for the professionalism while you were here. At least you’re going to an AL team where YOU CAN’T HURT US (disregarding interleague garbage) unless we meet in the Series at some point! :)

By gayle

July 30, 2008 8:22 AM | Link to this

Steve in Alabama and Lamar have it right - when you consistently get the same result from different players, you need to look elsewhere for a solution. When changing players nets the same result, you need to look elsewhere for the solution - the dugout perhaps?

Most of us here are Braves fans, but we feel deceived. We have been subject to the bluster and denial of ownersship and Booby who was quoted as recently as last Friday saying that this team were buyers not sellers.

Ownership has mortgaged the future for one more useless yellow flag (Division). They are smart men, they had to know the coveted red flag (World Series) was never ever going to happen with the teams they have fielded the last 5 years. But the division was good enough and as long as they did that, their year was a success.

The Tex trade was the latest - and possibly last for the forseeable future - import of a hired gun to put what was left of this team from the 90’s over the top. Remember Drew and Sheffield? Many here thought they would stay as well.

The happiest man in Atlanta yesterday was Tex and he did little to conceal his delight. He was never a real part of this team and his GT roots and wife from here were heralded as keys to getting him to stay when in reality they meant nothing.

The sins of the past have come home to roost - welcome to 1980’s Brave’s baseball. At least Booby wasn’t here for some of that!

By Aaron

July 30, 2008 8:28 AM | Link to this

Wow, how about that. I would have never in my wildest dreams, think that the lowly Braves would have actually have had the smarts to what is right. Get rid of the 2nd half performer in Teixeira, for a young proven player in Kotchman, who will be in Atlanta for at least for 3 and a half seasons. And hopefully more. And rumor has it that Scott Boras will be asking teams for a 10 year deal, worth $230 million dollars, at the end of season for Teixeira. As my cousin’s husband would say: “I think it’s craziness.”

By Dudeman

July 30, 2008 8:31 AM | Link to this

Let’s look at this club a bit..

Bobby Cox: Yes, there are many other managers who could have won with Maddux, Smoltz & Glavine, et al. But, there aren’t many who can win with what we’re fielding now either. My only comment on his status is he is only signed for one more year. While I wouldn’t trade Cox for anyone, if he is only going to do one year and retire, then better to start the managerial & coaching changes now, getting a staff together that will be in it for the long haul…like Cox & Mazzone and their staff were in 1990. Or, have the 2010 manager in waiting identified (in-house) and make sure we give Cox his due on his way out. He was just as much responsible for the run, if not more so, than the players were.

1B-Kotchman: He will be a mainstay for the next several years. Plenty of upside, he has power and is a good glove. I don’t think the Braves will miss Texiera as much as many believe.

2B-Johnson: A super-sub at best. No knock on what appears to be a great guy who always is giving his best, but he’s not a starting 2B. Error prone at times and one thing ground ball pitchers cannot afford is a weak infielder.

SS-Escobar: A major league SS. Great range and glovework and not bad at the plate either. He does need more experience, but Atlanta can win with him.

3B-Jones: A candidate for Cooperstown - he is to the Braves what Mickey Mantle was to the Yankees. He has a good glove still at 37 and his bat is still one of the most dangerous in all of baseball…but…you cannot count on him to play every day anymore. The past five years have been one DL stint after another. I wouldn’t trade Chipper, but his workload will get less and less every year. It is definitely time to look at acquiring his replacement, he’ll be 38 and just as brittle in 2009. If the Brvaes even contend in 2010, he’ll be 39 going on 40.

LF-Diaz: Jury still out on Matt. Can he really hit well enough to an everyday player? In Atlanta’s heyday, he’s a backup at best. I see him as a fourth outfielder…provided the Braves can find three better.

CF-Kotsay: Another great guy and hustler, always gives out every play. But he’s not an everyday outfielder anymore, his chronic bad back will ensure that. A DL stint or two waiting to happen. The Braves need a starting CF, period.

RF-Francouer: The fair-haired golden boy sure has fallen this year. Is it a bad year, or a sign that he willnever blossom past what he currently is - a good glove with no plate discipline? The guess here is that unless someone teaches him that there is more to hitting than swinging at everything, he’ll stay where he is. Few players (Yogi Berra being one) swung at everything and suceeded. You can’t go up to the plate with the bases loaded from three straight walks and not take pitches and force the opposing pitcher to throw strikes. The Braves may give him a little more rope only because they have too many other pressing needs. And - he has turned down prior contract offers. Does he really want to be in Atlanta? Like it or not, fair or not, he’s going to catch hell until he either learns plate disciple or leave via free agency/trade.

C-McCann: No problem here. Keep him signed and let him produce. A catcher is key to developing any new pitching staff.

P-Smoltz: Hall of Fame. But time to move on. Do it gracefully, give him a day at the park, but cut the ties. If he is kept, it shouldn’t be at the expense of keeping another young developing arm.

P-Glavine: Ditto, although I think he’ll see the handwriting and retire. But also give him a day at the park, he deserves it!

P-Hampton: Let’s face it, you have to give him a ton of credit for spending three years, trying to come back. He would have been paid anyway, but at least he made it back. He definitely earned my respect. Now, for the love of god, country and team, cut the ties before he sneezes and tears (fill in the injury here).

P-Hudson: If he really does need ligament transplant surgery, there’s a 12-month recovery…August 2009. Plus the usual “setbacks”. Can you say 2010? His contract is up after 2009 (assuming the 2010 option is not picked up).

P-Jurrijens: A future starter. Needs some more seasoning which he should get the reaminder of this year. A definite 2009 starter.

P-Reyes: Needs a lot more seasoning. A project.

P-Campillo: A bright spot this year and definite rotation candidate for 2009. Can he do it again?

One last note. Free agency is like a box of chocolates folks. I don’t subscribe to forking out $10 or $20 million for Sabathia and others. Take a moment and really look around baseball at all the pitchers sidelined for arm troubles (Smoltz, Hampton, Glavine, Hudson, Brad Penney, etc). One or even two top flight starters aren’t going to lead to anything. I would rather the Braves acquire young arms (a Jurrijens for example) that have many years ahead of them. Besides, the need a LF, CF, RF, 2B and eventually a 3B. Too many needs. With all the old contracts going away at the close of 2008, let’s spend wisely and not try to stay on top…Atlanta hasn’t been anywhere since 2005 and that was a miracle at best. It may take a few down years, but a strong foundation is hat led to 14 division titles. The foundation has crumbled. Timeto face reality and build the right way. Young talent, signed long term.

By NCBravesFan

July 30, 2008 8:34 AM | Link to this

Mark - great article and I could not agree more. Kotchman is a start, but the Braves need to do a lot more to get back in the thick of things.

I had the feeling for about the last couple of weeks that the Braves needed to be aggressive in changing the makeup of the team. That included exploring the possibility of trading Tim Hudson - he was easily the most valuable trade commodity the Braves had (and I think it is questionable whether the Braves could win with him in the rotation next year anyway).

But alas, the fickle Gods of baseball have seen fit to derail that train of thought. So the Braves are left to choose from one of three options … 1) sign some big free agents … 2) trade away the farm and hope the pitching comes around, or … 3) make modest changes and continue to be mediocre in 2009.

By Juan

July 30, 2008 8:35 AM | Link to this

My comment is that the Atlanta Braves organization needs to clean the house. Since the last pitching coach (The one that went to Baltimore I don’t remember his name)seems that all our pitching staff is injured. Who is responsible for the pitching staff Sam Mcdowell. So he should be fired. Also if you see Bobby Cox experience with the Braves he has been a regular season winer. So my point is that we need a major change. We need to fired our manager because he don’t have the ability and new techniques to win and our pitching coach because he is not doing his preseason job.

By Phil

July 30, 2008 8:35 AM | Link to this

Moron Bradley, are the Braves in first place yet?? Will they be “pulling away” in September?? You and Cox, the two biggest Morons I’ve ever seen.

By m thompson

July 30, 2008 8:43 AM | Link to this

hate to see tex go but kotchman will be very good. why not move kelly johnson to left he butchers 2nd base wren needs to get more guys that hit the ball not strikeout.if frenchy hit just 275 he would have about 100rbi right now.get rid of all the old guys let them play softball somewhere

By Forever Fan Jody

July 30, 2008 8:45 AM | Link to this

The idea that Braves fans need to just shut up and take it is ridiculous. Many of us were fans back in the 80’s when we stunk up the league. It’s not our fault the front office suddenly decided to put a winning team on the field in 1991. We became accustomed to winning for the next 14 years. Shame on us! How dare we get used to that feeling! How dare we expect it to continue!

Most of those who have written comments will always be Braves fans. We’re just upset and we have a right to be! I remember hearing before the Braves got Teixeira last year that the chances of keeping him long term were not good. If they knew that going in, then why give up so much talent to “rent” a player for a year? I mean, what was the point?

As for Bobby Cox, how many times does he have to see Boyer get knocked around to realize he’s ineffective? This loyalty thing has become ridiculous. Bobby has put his time in. It’s time for a fresh approach. In fact, if we’re now “rebuilding,” why not rebuild from top to bottom?

By Bernie

July 30, 2008 8:55 AM | Link to this

It seems that the Braves aren’t very committed to winning when they let the best player walk for pennies. Tex was the Braves. They could have used some of the money they paid Glavine which was 8 million I think and used it to keep Tex.Why don’t thhey get rid of the strike out king Francouer and let some one else play right field. Other teams take no name pitchers and beat the Braves. Why is the Braves so committed to signing pitchers? Go to their farm system and get their best ones and let them pitch and get experience. I also wonder about Cox.Maybe he needs to get a little on his players and let someone try to make a difference.

By 1eyedJack

July 30, 2008 8:57 AM | Link to this

The Braves slide began when Ted sold out to Time Warner. Liberty Media is another Time Warner, bottom line and profit oriented. The rise of the Braves will not begin until Liberty sells the team to an individual with deep pockets and a will to win. Corporate ownership in baseball without a hard salary cap doesn’t work well.

And wouldn’t Ben Sheets look good in a Braves Uni? Oh well, wishful thinking.

By Mark Bradley

July 30, 2008 8:58 AM | Link to this

To 66 braves: We were actually having that discussion last night in the press box. How much longer does Cox manage, especially if, as it appears, leaner times are at hand?

My guess: He’ll be back next year, but he’ll walk away afterward. Just my guess, mind you.

By Willy

July 30, 2008 8:59 AM | Link to this

It’s always amazing to me, that people think that the more they write the more intelligent it becomes. It would be nice that folks would just give their opinions on the Braves, rather than document each player.

By BlackberryCobbler

July 30, 2008 9:01 AM | Link to this

Mark

Tex says the Braves “negotiations” with him during Spring Training consisted of 1 phone call.

What do you make of that?

It sound to me like the Braves don’t take kindly to being turned down and don’t really negotiate. Could this mean Francouer could be next?

By will

July 30, 2008 9:04 AM | Link to this

THE BRAVES WILL ALWAYS BE IN 4TH PLACE OR 5TH AS LONG AS LIBERTY MEDIA OWNS THE BRAVES ,MR BLANK WANTED TO BUT THE BRAVES, IF HE HAD I GUARANTEE ,THE BRAVES WOULD HAVE QUALITY PLAYERS,DO ALL US A FAVOR AND LET ARTHUR BUY THE BRAVES,WE WILL CONTEND EVERY YEAR,BUT IT IS FUN KNOWING I CAN BET AGAINST THE BRAVES EVERY DAY AND WIN,THE ANGELS WIN THE WORLD SERIES,SO TEX WILL GET HIS RING ,HE WAS THE ONLY QUALITY PLAYER IN ATLANTA , BESDIDES SMOLTZ,MCAANN,THATS IT CHIPPER NEEDS TO RETIRE TO HIS DADS FERN FARM AND REALLY WORK MAYBE HE WONT GET HURT PICKING UP HANGING BASKETS THIS TEAM IS A JOKE.

By Phil

July 30, 2008 9:08 AM | Link to this

Liberty Media is not the problem. The Marlins are contending with one of the lowest payrolls in baseball. So quit using that excuse. We need to clean house in the coaching staff as well as the players. But Wren is a goofball and will stick with Cox another year. I agree with the other poster who said let’s get rid of Cox and start fresh next year.

By Mark Bradley

July 30, 2008 9:09 AM | Link to this

Blackberry Cobbler: I think it’s more a case of the Braves realizing full well who represents Teixeira — the same guy who represents J.D. Drew and Andruw Jones. There are only about four or five teams — the two New York teams, the two L.A. teams and Boston — willing to pay what Scott Boras asks, and the Braves aren’t one of them.

By will

July 30, 2008 9:11 AM | Link to this

WHAT IS THE PROBLEM,ILL TELL YOU TAKE THE WHOLE TEAM,PUT THEM AT AAA, AND BRING AAA UP ILL BET THEY WIN MORE GAMES THAN THE SORRY ML TEAM DOES ,THE BRAVES HAVE MORE ON IR THAN ON THE ROSTER,ALL THESE PLAYERS NEED TO RETIRE HIRE MORE YOUNG GUNS LIKE BRANDON WEBB, GREINKE, BRING UP THE ANDERSON KID FROM HOUSTON , WHOS FASTER THAN THE WHOLE TEAM,

By Realist

July 30, 2008 9:20 AM | Link to this

I’m still puzzled as to why Mark Bradley and so many fans continue to think Escobar is a great “up-and-comer” while K. Johnson is no good. By every conceivable measure except for batting average, Kelly Johnson is a better hitter than Yunel Escobar. It’s not debatable.

OPS: Johnson .766, Escobar .729 BA: Johnson .264, Escobar .280 R: Johnson 55, Escobar 49 (despite batting higher in the order) RBI: Johnson 43, Escobar 39 SLG: Johnson .425, Escobar .377 2B: Johnson 25, Escobar 15 3B: Johnson 2, Escobar 1 HR: Johnson 9, Escobar 6

And for all the whining about Kelly’s defense, he is nearly identical to Escobar: Fielding percentage: Johnson .978, Escobar .979 Errors: Johnson 10, Escobar 9

They are very similar players. Clearly, Johnson is a better hitter. There is no denying it. Yet for some reason everyone wants to dump Kelly and give Escobar a bear hug. Personally, I’m in favor of upgrading over either one of them—or both—but if you think Escobar is good enough to build around, than you should think the same about Kelly.

By Wade

July 30, 2008 9:24 AM | Link to this

Maybe the difference we are seeing can be contributed to the overall attitude of management and the franchise. Several times last night on the Braves telecast I heard two phrases, “fits our program” and, “competitive”. The first phrase describes the Kotchman deal, which I agree, had to be done. However, why trade 5 prospects and not make a serious run at signing Texiera to a long-term deal? The second phrase, “competitive” is very troubling. As fans, should we expect our team to be “competitive” or should we expect our team to contend? This is the difference right now between the Braves of 2008 and the Braves of 1991 - 2000. Simply, management and ownership have decided that a payroll of 80 million dollars can win a champioship in Atlanta. I think we can see this analysis is simply not true. Yes, it has worked other places, but perhaps, maybe, the “farm” is not exactly as “rich” as we are made to believe. It’s time for an organization shift back to the mind set of “contender” and not “competitive”.

By will

July 30, 2008 9:25 AM | Link to this

ARIZONA WILL BE IN THE WS BECAUSE THEY HAVE YOUNG PLAYERS, GET IT I TOLD ALL YOU MORONS THE BRAVES SHOULD HAVE SIGNED GREG MADDOX IN THE OFFSEASON INSTEAD OF GLAVINE,THE WAY HE GOT KNOCKED AROUND AT THE END OF SEASON LAST THAT WAS NO JOKE,GET GREINKE,FROM KC,SIGN CC NEXT YEAR ,AND GET A SLUGGING LEFT FIELDER,WITH,JURRENS,AND CAMPILLO,AND ANOTHER STARTER LIKE IF SMOLTZ COMES BACK WILL PUT THE BRAVES IN THE PLAYOOFFS,NEXT YEAR,THE ANDERSON KID AT AAA IS THE CENTER FIELDER OF THE FUTURE,HE IS FASTER THAN A CHEETA.

By five knuckle shuffle

July 30, 2008 9:26 AM | Link to this

Wren jumped the gun on this deal…why not turn off the phone for 24 hours and make the teams who wanted Tex sweat into giving up another prospect?

Wren said it was the best deal…well he didn’t let the deadline approach enough to make these teams feel the pressure. He is bush league, just like he was in Baltimore. I couldn’t care less that he talked to all those teams for a month. The last 3 days are pivotal to squeezing a deal.

$20MM is now required to be spent on pitching, and another $10-$15MM on corner OF bats. I’d like to see if we could get something out of Dayton for Frenchy right now too…he’d overpay. I am ready to blow this whole thing up…

By Billy

July 30, 2008 9:32 AM | Link to this

In my opinion the whole downfall of the Braves started with the TV package. Braves used to be “America’s Team” when people all over the U.S. knew where to find their games on TV. Now it’s the Cubs. Living outside the Atlanta area you have to search to find their games and that’s only in the Southeast. Lack of fans is not only the fault of mediocre players, but the lack of national exposure. Ted! - Please come home.

By Jeremy

July 30, 2008 9:34 AM | Link to this

Please keep Jeff…i met him after the braves played the phils on saturday and he was one of the coolest guys i’ve ever met..him and mccann and tex were the only ones who signed while pricks like chipper and glavine said no to the braves fans…Jeff will eventually find his swing again hes young and has many years to improve as long as he doesnt turn out to be the bum that Andruw was

By will

July 30, 2008 9:35 AM | Link to this

THE BRAVES WILL FINISH IN LAST PLACE, UNTIL THEY DECIDE,TO SPEND MONEY,THIS TEAM NEEDS TO FIRE COX AND ALL AND START OVER,FIRE EVERYONE, GET NED VOST , OR GET OZZIE FROM WSOX TO MANAGE THIS TEAM,ITHINK NBOBBYS BAD KNEES HAS GONE TO HIS HEAD

By will

July 30, 2008 9:39 AM | Link to this

CHIPPER IS A PRICK,AND SO IS GLAVINE,

By will

July 30, 2008 9:40 AM | Link to this

CHIPPER IS A PRICK,AND SO IS GLAVINE,SORRY TEAM THEY WILL COME OFF THE DL WHEN THEY ARE 20 GAMES OUT,WOW WHAT TEAM PLAYERS

By will

July 30, 2008 9:40 AM | Link to this

CHIPPER IS A PRICK,AND SO IS GLAVINE,SORRY TEAM THEY WILL COME OFF THE DL WHEN THEY ARE 20 GAMES OUT,WOW WHAT TEAM PLAYERS

By Buster Blogger

July 30, 2008 9:44 AM | Link to this

So this means the Braves have two players others would covet? McCann and Escobar? And then it gets tricky. What a waste of talent - or were we led to believe there’s more talent here than there really is?

By Mark Bradley

July 30, 2008 9:50 AM | Link to this

Obviously a lot of teams would be interested in Jurrjens, but the Braves can’t trade him. Because, as of this moment, he looks like the 2009 Opening Day starting pitcher.

By DirtyDawg

July 30, 2008 9:55 AM | Link to this

God how I hate it when I’m right - sometimes. Last year this time I was whining about our making the deal with Texas and sure enough I was right. It’s bad enough to get snookered by the likes of St. Louis - J.D. Drew thing - but to get ‘had’ by Texas? That in itself should tell us something. So we salvaged a little out of the Teixeira trade with Kotchman, but this thing was doomed last July - those guys playing in the Ranger’s organization will one day make the deal look like Herschel to the Vikings.

Meanwhile we’ve got people here that look at Kelly Johnson and see a major league second baseman. Please folks, I like the kid’s bat too, but he has shown that he is incapable of playing the position at the ML level. Move him back to the outfield or trade him

I say lets just forget about next year…bring back Maddux, entice Glavin and Smoltz to give it one more year, hell, maybe even find Steve Avery, and make 2009 a ‘nostalgia’ thing. Give the fans another reason to come out to the games…living in the past, as it were.

And by the way, $175 mil ain’t Yankee money, $240 mil is Yankee money, $175 is Red Sox money.

By DOG THE MAN

July 30, 2008 9:57 AM | Link to this

Unless the Braves ownership quits being cheap and starts to be competitive in free agency like we used to we will remain a .500 baseball team. We got nothing for Tex and we have nothing in the Farm system to bring up and nuture. We are returning to the 70s in a big hurry.

By Realist

July 30, 2008 10:13 AM | Link to this

DirtyDawg, Check Johnson’s defensive statistics. You might be surprised.

As for being “had” by Texas… what’s Saltalamacchia doing these days? Matt Harrison? The Braves got the better end of the deal — Tex played great — it was EVERYTHING ELSE that went wrong with the organization that led them to have to dump Tex. Not Tex himself.

By Doug

July 30, 2008 10:26 AM | Link to this

now lets get rid of KJ and Ring.

By THE VOICE OF REASON

July 30, 2008 10:29 AM | Link to this

GOOD ONE WILL, YOU REALLY SHOW THE DEPTH OR YOUR KNOWLEDGE. ANY FACTS TO BACK UP WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT HERE, “CHIPPER IS A PRICK, AND SO IS GLAVINE” BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH. THE REALITY OF THE SITUATION IS THAT INJURIES RUINED THIS TEAM, GIVING AN OPINION LIKE A SCORNED WOMAN DOESN’T MAKE SENSE. HOW IS CHIPPER A PRICK? PLEASE EXPLAIN HOW IS HIS SOLE PURPOSE TO RUIN THIS TEAM? THIS IS THE TEAM THAT HAS STUCK BY HIM AND GIVEN HIM EVERYTHING AND THE TEAM THAT HE HIT OVER .400 FOR OVER TWO MONTHS. MAYBE THIS IS THE REACTION YOU WANT AND I TOOK TO BAIT, IF SO SHAME ON ME….OTHERWISE TRY TO STOP CRAPPING UP THE BLOG WITH THE SAME ENTRY 3 TIMES, LOSER.

By Jack G

July 30, 2008 10:29 AM | Link to this

Mattingly for manager.

By Frontman

July 30, 2008 10:30 AM | Link to this

Getting Kotchman is nice; howevuh… this team looks to be building around small ball. Without picking up a Manny Ramirez-type guy who is going to hit 40 HR, drive in 135, and bat cleanup, this team is doomed with Bobby Cox as manager. The guy STINKS at playing small ball. Pray for the good Lord to drop some power hitters on us before next season or we are done for.

By WillieB

July 30, 2008 10:36 AM | Link to this

This season brings back an old saying i haven’t seen in a while…

GO BRAVES!!!!…and take the Falcons with ya!!!!

By coach k

July 30, 2008 10:39 AM | Link to this

At first I was psst off losing 7 players now in this initial trade but after hearing Wren that they made Tex an above avg offer and he turned them down…. good by..Kotchman will be a good fit and there is alot of talent on this team, we just need a motivator and someone who will take some chances, avg and we will get them tomorrow attitude has got to go and someone needs to take pride in this team. You hit one of ours we hit 2 of yours, quit getting jour faces slapped around daily. Heres your lineup while chipper is out… 1 blanco LF 2 escobar SS 3 kotsay c 4 mccann Catcher where he should stay 5 infante 3rd 6 kotchman 1st 7 prado/kelly 2nd 8 brandon jones/frenchy 9 pitcher when chipper returns move infante to right

By Mark Bradley

July 30, 2008 10:44 AM | Link to this

I don’t believe the Braves are building around small ball by choice. They much prefer the home run. They just don’t have many guys capable of hitting them anymore. I would imagine they’ll seek to remedy this over the winter.

By fieldofdreams

July 30, 2008 10:49 AM | Link to this

Harken back to the old Oakland A’s; not the juiced Bash Brothers, but the Vietnam era group that captured consecutive crowns three years running? They won with wonderful pitching, deft defense, and light but heroic hitting. The new-wave Braves should model the early ‘70’s green and gold, starting from the mound. Runs can be elusive, but great pitching covers a multitude of sins. Whatever it takes to rebuild our pitching staff has to happen, and if that means sending Chipper to the American League - where he so clearly now belongs - then so be it. By salvaging a modicum of dignity from the Teixeira disaster, Wren shows Zen. Don’t stop now, Frank: says here Chipper fetches one or two quality pitchers, who along with Jurrgens, yields a firm foundation. The DH role adds years to Chippers horizon; pull the trigger before an injury renders him null and void.

By Lets' get to work

July 30, 2008 10:55 AM | Link to this

Time will tell whether this is a good deal or not but the Braves are not that far away from being a very good team next year ( and for years beyond) and they now have the wherewithall to go get the few missing pieces. The annual compensation collectively of Texiera, Glavine, Smoltz, Kotsay, Hampton and Ohmann ( sp?) is well in excess of $50M. You can buy a lot of talent for those kinds of dollars. How would you like a team that featured McCann catching, Chipper at 3rd, Escobar at ss, Johnson and Kotchman rounding out the infield. Holliday, Blanco ( or Anderson/ Schaefer/ Hernandez) in center and Francoeur ( or qualty trade ) in rf.. Back this with a rotation of Ben Sheets/ Sabathia, Hudson ( keep our fingers crossed on this one), Jurjens, Campy and Morton. Getting Sheets/ Sabbathia and Holliday shouldn’t cost more than $40M so we would have some significant $’s left over for some additional tweaking— maybe Ken Griffey jr in right as a free agent ( and then what could we get in return for Francoeur?). Imagine the possibilities.

By Apathetic Fan

July 30, 2008 11:03 AM | Link to this

The Braves are done until Liberty Media sells the team to an individual owner. I think the City of Atlanta should petition Mark Cuban to purchase the team. Look what he did for the Dallas Mavericks… remember how they were the laughing stock of the NBA… well now they laugh at all the others teams.

This, sadly, will never happen. Liberty Media will hold on to this team for 5-6 more years and then sell the Braves to another large corporation. These larege corporations will continue to slash the budget for the team, beacuse it is not a core business competency for the company (Liberty Media’s business is not baseball, its television, so they pump money into that, not baseball). Liberty Media has no experience in Sports and they don’t improve their stock value through the Braves, they improve Stock Value through television programming and Baseabll just doesn’t garner television ratings anymore, so what do you think Liberty Media will do with the budge next year? They are happy to see Tex traded away, they will be relieved to see Hampton gone, they are looking forward to the new “salary room” that will be available this winter. Everyone thinks the players who are leaving at the end of this year will provide salary room for the Braves, but Liberty Media will Slash the payroll considerbaly (Probably reduce it to 40 or 45 Million) and pump that new available money into their core business areas, not the baseball team! I don’t know why people don’t understand this (its just good business… improve stock value for the shareholders). That’s why Time Warner did such a bad job with the Braves. Liberty Media or any other corporation will continue to put pressure on Wren to sign has-beens for cheap money rather then All-Star Players. Think about it, the teams that are owned by Individual Owners, do very well (i.e. the Red Sox, Yankees, Angels).

Expect the Braves to be perennial 100+ game losers by 2010. By 2015, the team will be so bad, that Liberty Media, or whoever owns them, will sell them to the first bidder (expcet that to be a buyer from Portland, OR), and the team will move out of Atlanta. The same thing will happen with the Hawks. With the Falcons, there is one individual who may not know what he’s doing, but he is trying… remember It took Ted Turner many years before he created a winner… Im just waiting for Blank to take over as coach of the team one day!

By 2020, there will probably be only one Professional sports team in Altanta… the Atlanta Falcons. Baseball will need to realign so that the Portland Braves can be incorporated into the NL West moving Pittsburgh into the NL East. The Hawks will be sold to Seattle, because they can live too long without an NBA basketball team. I don’t know much about Hockey, but I do know that no one cares about the Thrashers in Atlanta, so expect them to be sold as well… maybe Calgary is looking to add another team from Altanta to their city.

It just seems that Sports and Atlanta don’t belong in the same sentence.

On a side note… If luck ever goes my way and I become filthy rich, I will purchase the braves and do anything and everything to bring a WS to Atlanta and keep it in Atlanta for as long as possible. Same with the Hawks!

By Deb Mavrick

July 30, 2008 11:06 AM | Link to this

I thought the Atlanta Baseball orginization had this great farm system that produced these great baby Braves?

Apparently it only produces baby fans…

By Frontman

July 30, 2008 11:07 AM | Link to this

Hey, Mark, I think you’re right in your last comment. So, where do we upgrade to find our power hitting dude(s)? To me the only option is LF in free agency, unless they make significant trades to replace players (most likely Kotsay or Francoeur). I reiterate, though, without a bunch of big boppers in the middle of the lineup, Bobby Cox doesn’t have a clue offensively; just witness this team’s performance this year. If 80% of their hits in games are singles, they will never score more than 3 runs. St. Louis won in part last night because they got guys on base and then applied pressure to a scrub catcher, scrub relief pitchers, and a scrub first baseman. What happened? The fielders caved. The Braves almost never apply pressure like that, and when they do, it’s more of a stupid individual decision by a player (Escobar, you know who you are) trying to make something happen rather than a conscious effort on the part of the manager.

By Keeping It Real

July 30, 2008 11:10 AM | Link to this

Signing Tex for a big salary for a season and a half was ridculous when you know that Scott Boras was going to stick it to the Braves once a new contract was on the table. Lets see, the Braves gave up four or five very promising young players under the assumption that they could win a pennant with a pitching staff on medicare with their arms in a sling. They only got two players back for the effort in less than a year. Was Salty that bad at first base? Is it just me, or did Braves management go through a brain disorder? How STUPID is this?

Now that Tex is gone, they should move Glavine, Hampton,Kotsay,and others and use the salary savings to pay Escobar, Johnson,Jurjjens and bring in some talent(speed and pitching) to support what they already have with Frenchy(if he is healthy) and McCann. Bring up the kids in the minors and put them on the field to see what they have. Stop playing old guys with inflated salaries based on previous performance. The Marlins keep turning over young rosters with different managers and winning with low attendance and revenues.

How much do they pay the GM for making bonehead moves like this? I thought baseball was a business. We need someone like Billy Bean at Oakland. He knows when to unload players and restock. Seems like the players and their agents are much better than Braves Management.

By Joshua Barlowe

July 30, 2008 11:20 AM | Link to this

Trade Lillibridge/Brandon Jones to Pitt for LF Jason Bay.

Trade Ohman/Kotsay for pitching prospect.

Move Blanco to CF. Sign CC Sabathia + #3 starter in the offseason with all the money that will come off the books from Smoltz, Hampton and Glavine.

Prepare for Jason Heyward and Jordan Schafer for next year or 2010.

By Stillahopeing

July 30, 2008 11:20 AM | Link to this

Picture this: Atlanta Braves owned by Atlanta Braves fans Ned Yost, manager of the team Jeff back to 2005 form

By P. Rose

July 30, 2008 11:20 AM | Link to this

BULL! You idiots make me SICK!! It was a bad trade. Why? Because WE SHOULDA SIGNED TEX. Can’t afford him? BULL! Ted would have signed him. Sure, the Yanks, Sox & Mets will bid. Fine. OUTBID THEM. We’ll have the dough. Smoltz, Glavine and Hampton will all be gone. Use that money. While you’re at it, sign another couple of studs with big bats. Get good players, dammit! Let’s WIN again! All you wussies, content with being mediocre, should join a 12-step support group or plant a garden or something. What, so we just cut our power at first base in half, and that’s supposed to make us feel good? BULL! Wake up, idiots! News flash: We just got worse! We got weaker!

Yesterday by Angels general manager Tony Reagins

Yesterday Mark Teixeira seemed so far away Now it looks as though he’s here to stay Oh I believe in yesterday

Suddenly The Braves ain’t half the team they used to be They’re so wussy now they sit to pee Oh I believe in yesterday

Why they have to blow I don’t know They wouldn’t say

They’re screwed Up the shaft ‘specially after yesterday

Yesterday Mark Teixeira seemed so far away Then Atlanta gave their balls away Oh I believe in yesterday

Mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm

By Mark

July 30, 2008 11:24 AM | Link to this

Everyone bemaons “the prospects we gave up to get him vs. how little we got back”…

We didn’t trade prospects to get Tex, we traded prospects for a World Championship. And if it had worked out that way and then this season had transpired just exactly as it has, everyone would say “Well, we got our money’s worth out of him”. He did his part, the rest of the team just didn’t respond…

If you have a chance to win now, you spend what it takes (money, prospects, players, etc.) and go for it, cause you never know if you will get back.

One championship in 14 years of first place finishes… The Angles did not aquire Tex to make the playoffs… they are 11 1/2 games ahead. They made the deal to WIN a World Series.

Can you remember the Braves makeing a deal like this during that 14 year run?

By james

July 30, 2008 11:49 AM | Link to this

I love the Braves as much as the next guy, but whoever thinks we can sign Sheets AND Sabathia is CRAZY. Do you have any idea hwo much $$$ that is going to cost? That will be at least 40 Million just for those 2. That doesn’t leave alot of room for getting quallity bullpen help, starting pitching, or bench players. Alot of you people are talking like we can just go out there and outbid everybody. Do you really think the Red Sox and Yankees aren’t going to spend every penny they can to get Tex, Sheets, Sabathia, Holliday, etc…Quit complaining abaout spending so much money. Had they given TEX 20 Million a year, then you could just keep the same crappy outfielders and bullpen, b/c they couldn’t afford anyone else. No 1st baseman is worth that much, not when the braves need OF help, Bullpen, and Starting Pitching. You have to look at the big picture, you can’t just sign everybody. This isn’t your “Fantasy Baseball” team where money doesn’t come into the eqation. That’s why it’s so hard to win, you have to get good talent without overpaying for it so you can get more good talent. By the way, Kotchman is no TEX, that’s for sure, but he’ll be solid. He rarely strikes out (something Tex does often) and he’s just as good at 1st base. He’s also locked up for 3 more years and he only costs about $2 million a year. So with that 18 Million left over that alot of you wanted to give TEX, they can go get some OF help and a few pitchers. I think it was a good trade.

By Realist

July 30, 2008 11:53 AM | Link to this

Um, yes… the acquisition of Fred McGriff?

By THE BEAR

July 30, 2008 11:57 AM | Link to this

When you look at this trade try to flash forward to the opening of spring training. Who will be better off then, the Angels or the Braves?

It is very possible the Angels will have an unproved minor leaguer at first base while the Braves will have a legitimate player at the position.

I think this was a very good trade. Now use that money to buy some more bats and another starter or two. And why not try to keep Ohman? He’s affordable and he gets people out.

And if Kotsay doesn’t have monster dollar signs in his eyes he could still produce in the outfield at a reasonable level. But he is not a big money guy anymore.

By Keeping It Real

July 30, 2008 12:04 PM | Link to this

Mark,

Your statement proves my point. Are you saying that the Braves gave up all the young prospects for Tex in order to win a world championship in 2008?

HOW UTTERLY DUMB AND STUPID FOR BRAVES MANAGEMENT TO BELIEVE THAT THEY COULD DO THIS WHEN THERE IS NO SPEED ON THE TEAM AND THE PITCHING STAFF IS LOADED WITH OLD ARMS THAT COULD ONLY GO SIX INNINGS AT THE BEST. DO YOU REAALY BELIEVE THAT TEX WAS THAT GOOD? HOW MANY OF THOSE ONE RUN GAMES WOULD HAVE BEEN WON IF THE BRAVES HAD GUYS THAT COULD STEAL A BASE AND COME AROUND. THATS HOW THEY WON 14 PENNANTS WITH SANDERS, NIXON, JUSTICE, GANT,GRISSOM,CHIPPER,TP,BLAUSER,LEMKE, ETAL.

TEX WAS BROUGHT IN TO IMPROVE ATTENDANCE AND INTEREST IN THE BRAVES. HE WAS A PERFECT JAWJA TECH ALUMNUS WITH APPEAL TO THE MASSES. WHEN FRENCHY BOMBED OUT AND CHIPPER PICKED UP THE SLACK, IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT TEX WOULD NOT BE SIGNED AT A RIDICULOUS SALARY. tHIS WAS MADE CLEAR WHEN THE BRAVES OFFERED HIM A CONTRACT BACK IN THE SPRING AND HE AND BORAS TURNED UP THEIR NOSES. HE IS GONE, SO BRING UP THE YOUNGSTERS AND GIVE THEM SOME EXPERIENCE IN THE SHOW.

By Jerry J

July 30, 2008 12:04 PM | Link to this

Ask any coach/manager and an honest one will tell you you have to have good players to win. Great managers can win with a few, average one can win with a lot. Cox is the later. Look at the Mets, fired the manager and turned it around. You can’t fire all the players. I say Fire Cox and send Francouer packing (even if you release him) to send a message that performance is required, not optional. Mark you know that in business excuses are not acceptable. Your boss sets your standards and you don’t get to come in and say “I didn’t quite make my deadline today but I will try harder tomorrow. ” Other people lose their jobs because their goals/standards are not met and Bobby Cox should be held to the same type of standard. Since the season is gone move Kelly J. to left field and bring Lilly back and let him finish the season at 2nd. The speed will help and maybe he can get his bat going. Maybe Kelly could relax a little with out the pressure of 2nd.

By Bravissimo

July 30, 2008 12:13 PM | Link to this

The “Braves way” of building from within worked very well as long as they had a very strong team at the top and an elite minor league system with Ted Turner and TBS to fund the necessary coaching/teaching and scounting staffs. I don’t see how that’s going to work with a train wreck of a team at the top and Liberty to foot the bill to maintain a strong minor league system.

By used cars

July 30, 2008 12:39 PM | Link to this

All of you guys crying that we should have signed Tex….you can’t tie up that kind of money in a first baseman, there’s too many out there..This wasn’t a money dump….I think Wren figured that Kotchman and Marek was better than a late first rounder and a sandwich pick…Tex put up great numbers, but I personally will not miss that confused look that he had on all those called third strikes in clutch situations…At least Frenchy went down swinging…A big-time cleanup hitter has got to expand the zone a little with runners in scoring situations, the mortal sign is a backwards K….Rather than give Tex 15m, we can now find a permanent solution in left and add a couple of starting pitchers…Would sure like Bay in this lineup, it is leaning a lot to the left….A bench of Infante, Sammons, Kotsay, Prado, Lillibridge and Cannizares/Thorman would be nice next year…Let’s get started on that by letting Norton, Corky and Gotay find some other employment…

By turk1080

July 30, 2008 12:41 PM | Link to this

lets go get sheets or sabathia now!! there should be about 50 million available right??

By TexasHoldem

July 30, 2008 12:44 PM | Link to this

The Tex trade was the dumbest, stupidest, most ignorant trade Ive ever witnessed the Braves make since the Brett Butler and Brook Jacoby trade for Len Barker over two decades ago. For those of you out there who may be unaware of Tex’s ability relative to the rest of the major league players, in my humble opinion, I think that Tex is the third best player in the league, behind Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols. A-Rod and Pujols are the ONLY TWO players who are better than Tex and then comes Tex and everybody else. Now that the Braves have gotten rid of a perennial all-star, they have a replacement of someone who is basically a nobody. Its unfortunate how the Braves are quickly sinking in quicksand, after watching the Phillies completely light up the scoreboard against the Braves; then to see as an encore to watch the Cardinals literally do the same thing by completely obliterating the Braves and pounding the Braves into submission. It appears to me that the Braves are getting trashed every night and I do beleive its time to fire Bobby Cox because the team is simply not playing inspired baseball under Bobby any more. Hey, heres a good idea, fire Bobby Cox and replace him with embattled former Mets head coach Willie Randolph. Maybe Willie can light a fire underneath the Braves to get them going in the right direction.

By Bullofthewoods

July 30, 2008 1:06 PM | Link to this

What do you do with a house with a rotten roof, crumbling foundation, stolen wiring, rotten plumbing, sagging doors, rotten floors, etc.?????? answer, tear the darn thing down and rebuild. Looking back at when the house was pretty and beautiful is a waste of time. Do the deed, destroy, make plans, geterdone. Same with the braves………..

By used cars

July 30, 2008 1:13 PM | Link to this

Tex may have that ability in your mind Texasholdem, but it’s apparent that few others have that opinion of him…If you were watching the Braves this year I thnk that he proved he wasn’t a big-time difference maker…You would take Tex over, Hanley Ramirez, Ryan Howard, Josh Hamilton, Brian McCann, a number of pitchers and then everybody else including Tex…He’s good but there isn’t but one 1b in the league I would pay the money he’s looking for and that’s Pujols…As far as Randolph firing up this team, we do need someone to stir things up, but wasn’t that what got him canned in Gotham…His inability to inspire his troops…Lets go get a rh bat and some starting pitching…

By Pro and the Joe

July 30, 2008 1:19 PM | Link to this

It was a good deal to make. For the options that were (supposedly) presented for Tex. Wren did what he could. He filled a hole for the next few years with a player with a huge upside swinging the bat. His D is already solid as Tex. Visit our site and discuss…

http://proandthejoe.blogspot.com

By BravesRDun

July 30, 2008 1:20 PM | Link to this

The Braves are done until Liberty Media sells the team to an individual owner. I think the City of Atlanta should petition Mark Cuban to purchase the team. Look what he did for the Dallas Mavericks… remember how they were the laughing stock of the NBA… well now they laugh at all the others teams.

This, sadly, will never happen. Liberty Media will hold on to this team for 5-6 more years and then sell the Braves to another large corporation. These larege corporations will continue to slash the budget for the team, beacuse it is not a core business competency for the company (Liberty Media’s business is not baseball, its television, so they pump money into that, not baseball). Liberty Media has no experience in Sports and they don’t improve their stock value through the Braves, they improve Stock Value through television programming and Baseabll just doesn’t garner television ratings anymore, so what do you think Liberty Media will do with the budge next year? They are happy to see Tex traded away, they will be relieved to see Hampton gone, they are looking forward to the new “salary room” that will be available this winter. Everyone thinks the players who are leaving at the end of this year will provide salary room for the Braves, but Liberty Media will Slash the payroll considerbaly (Probably reduce it to 40 or 45 Million) and pump that new available money into their core business areas, not the baseball team! I don’t know why people don’t understand this (its just good business… improve stock value for the shareholders). That’s why Time Warner did such a bad job with the Braves. Liberty Media or any other corporation will continue to put pressure on Wren to sign has-beens for cheap money rather then All-Star Players. Think about it, the teams that are owned by Individual Owners, do very well (i.e. the Red Sox, Yankees, Angels).

Expect the Braves to be perennial 100+ game losers by 2010. By 2015, the team will be so bad, that Liberty Media, or whoever owns them, will sell them to the first bidder (expcet that to be a buyer from Portland, OR), and the team will move out of Atlanta. The same thing will happen with the Hawks. With the Falcons, there is one individual who may not know what he’s doing, but he is trying… remember It took Ted Turner many years before he created a winner… Im just waiting for Blank to take over as coach of the team one day!

By 2020, there will probably be only one Professional sports team in Altanta… the Atlanta Falcons. Baseball will need to realign so that the Portland Braves can be incorporated into the NL West moving Pittsburgh into the NL East. The Hawks will be sold to Seattle, because they can live too long without an NBA basketball team. I don’t know much about Hockey, but I do know that no one cares about the Thrashers in Atlanta, so expect them to be sold as well… maybe Calgary is looking to add another team from Altanta to their city.

It just seems that Sports and Atlanta don’t belong in the same sentence.

On a side note… If luck ever goes my way and I become filthy rich, I will purchase the braves and do anything and everything to bring a WS to Atlanta and keep it in Atlanta for as long as possible. Same with the Hawks!

By RB

July 30, 2008 1:31 PM | Link to this

Even at “pennies on the dollar” it is time to get rid of Frenchy … even to AAA if necessary but get him off the roster (and keep him in AAA for more than 2-3 days!)

By erik

July 30, 2008 1:40 PM | Link to this

Mark you are advocating making some FA signings but I am just not sure there are many players for us out there unless a few options are not exercised. As far as a corner outfielder there is Milton Bradley who is having a career year and has never come close to this kind of production in his 9 years and would probably want to be paid according to his performance this year. Burrell provides power but very poor defense. Abreu is not the hitter he was with the phillies. Dunn is not someone you can count on to drive in the tying run with a runner on second and two out.(.238 hitter despite a .383 OBP) The only suitable bat I see available is Vlad who has club option for next year. When it come to pitchers available the usuall names of CC and Sheets get bounced around but CC will cost an arm and a leg while Sheets needs a dependable arm and leg.(only pitched over 160 innings 3 times in his 8 year career. There are other available names though; Jon Garland(4.30 ERA) Converted closer Ryan Dempster, aging Derek Lowe and my person choice Jon Lackey. Garland is at best a 3 while we need a 1 or 2. Dempster has a very low ERA and could fill our needs but I am not convinced he will be able to repeat his performance as a starting piture next year. Lowe is a solid 2-3 starter but he is getting up thier in age. Lackey at 29 is by far the safest bet of any of pitchers available unfortunately he has a 9 million dollar option that the Angels would be morons to turn down. So really our fates this offseason ironically lay in the hands of the team we just traded with.

A lineup of

Blanco-CF Escober-SS Chipper-3b Vlad- LF/RF McCann-C Kotchman-1b KJ-2b Frenchy-RF/LF

Would give us something the braves have not had in a long time…a dependable Clean up hitter who hits for average and power(career .322 hitter) It also gives us power and offensive pop thoughtout our lineup. However in order to let Vlad walk I think they would have to sign a bat to replace him…hmmm…know anyone that fits the bill? perhaps a powerhitting first baseman recently aqcuired.
If the braves decide to sign FAs this would be the year because we will most likely finish in the bottom 15 teams which means our first round pick is protected even if we sign a class A free agent. I just hope the braves dont overspend on a player who has health, age, or performance concerns.

Mark who would you wnat to see the braves sign? by my estimation they should have 30-40mill to spend. That number includes players leaving as well as raises for Frenchy, Soriano, McCann, and Chipper(assuming the work out an extension for 16-17 a year instead of the 11mill option for next year)

What are your thoguhts?

By Mark Bradley

July 30, 2008 1:43 PM | Link to this

I’d disagree with that, RB. Since the Braves have already written off the season, isn’t this the time to see if Francoeur can hit himself out of his funk? At the major-league level?

By Michael

July 30, 2008 1:43 PM | Link to this

i dont understand why everyone is trashing this trade. we were not going to resign him. tex wants 10 years 230 mill. theres no way we pay that. in addition, kotchman is a great player who will only become better. he has the lowest strikeout rate of all first baseman and is hittinfor a higher average than teixeira. the power will come as he gets older and hes just as good of a fielder. some people are saying that kotchamn will eventually be a power hitter and he’s under contract through the 2011 season. he also doesnt have boras as an agent so we will be able to resign him.

on a seperate note to all of you saying that we dont have any good prospects, try again. jason heyward. i wouldnt be surprised if this guy makes the team next year. he is having a historic season in the minors and is still only 18. hes projected to be a 40 hr guy and steal 20 bases. he is the future of the braves.

By welikebaseball2

July 30, 2008 1:56 PM | Link to this

REALIST,

While you’re throwing out stats to bill K. Johnson as a better hitter than Escobar, you conveniently left out the fact that Escobar has significantly fewer strikeouts (49) than K. Johnson (71)…by the way, that’s with more at bats. In all your stats flashing, you don’t seem to realize that offensive stats don’t necessarily reflect consistency or the lack thereof. Escobar is not only more consistent at the plate but a game-changer on defense. Speaking of defense, those defensive stats don’t show the tough plays that Escobar has made look easy.

By welikebaseball2

July 30, 2008 2:04 PM | Link to this

MARK BRADLEY, considering the Braves penny pinching & free agency shunning, who would you guess they’d bring in as the “big bat?” You might have already said, forgive me if I overlooked it. I know there are a lot of players WE would like to see them go after, but who do you think they’d LIKELY go after?

By Mark Bradley

July 30, 2008 2:05 PM | Link to this

Erik, you raise the salient point: Anybody you sign in free agency is going to be overpriced, so the question becomes this: Wwo among FAs is apt to be the least overpriced? (If that makes sense.)

The list of impending FAs isn’t very promising, especially among power hitters. Can’t sign Jason Giambi or Jim Thome because there’s nowhere for them to play in the field. (Casey Kotchman is now the first baseman.) Can’t sign Adam Dunn because he’s an all-or-nothing hitter. Can’t sign Milton Bradley because he’s Milton Bradley.

I would suggest the most appealing name is Bobby Abreu, and even he comes with two large caveats: He’s more a line-drive hitter than a home-run guy, and he’s 35.

By nuclearlank

July 30, 2008 2:06 PM | Link to this

The Braves tried to win by the longball this year and it hasn’t worked. I say we build a team around speed for 09. Look at what Tampa Bay has done. They have the most stolen bases of all teams. (I saw a Rays game about a month or so ago and saw a runner steal third and was baffled…) I would love to see the Braves stealing more bases and manufacturing runs. That being said, I don’t think we need 3 new outfielders…

Blanco is only 24 years old and will only progress. He’s hitting .271 and is a constant threat to bunt single. He should be our leadoff hitter and should be given a green light to steal everytime he reaches first and sometimes when he gets on second. He leads the team in stolen bases.

Try out Anderson the rest of the season and see if his speed can contribute. If so, maybe we can start him next season. If not, look for another speedster for the outfield.

I feel Frenchy should get another year or two to show what he is going to do. He’s not a base stealer, but he could drive in a lot of runs if he can get out of this funk.

In the infield…

At 1B, Kotchman will put up similar numbers to Tex. In the long run, I think the Braves made a good trade here. Tex was great, but wasn’t a difference maker and strikes out almost 3 times as often as Kotchman. Kotchman’s ability to put the bat on the ball will help the Braves greatly when they have runners on base.

At SS/2B, Johnson and Escobar put up similar numbers offensively. Defensively, they can make outstanding plays at times and struggle with routine outs. Johnson is 9/11 on stolen base attempts, second on the team. Keep this duo.

At 3B, Chipper can stay as long as he wants. He is getting older, but is still great defensively and the biggest threat on offense when he is healthy. However, have someone to back him up when he gets injured and take over when Chipper retires.

McCann… Just let him play before the bottom of the 15th in the all-star game next year…

Use the extra money to pick up some pitching, our position players are great. If we pick up anyone, let it be a fast outfielder.

09 lineup.

LF/CF Gregor Blanco LF/CF Fast Guy 3B Chipper Jones C Brian McCann 1B Casey Kotchman RF Jeff Francoeur SS Yunel Escobar 2B Kelly Johnson P Hopefully Canbunt

By nuclearlank

July 30, 2008 2:08 PM | Link to this

The Braves tried to win by the longball this year and it hasn’t worked. I say we build a team around speed for 09. Look at what Tampa Bay has done. They have the most stolen bases of all teams. (I saw a Rays game about a month or so ago and saw a runner steal third and was baffled…) I would love to see the Braves stealing more bases and manufacturing runs. That being said, I don’t think we need 3 new outfielders…

Blanco is only 24 years old and will only progress. He’s hitting .271 and is a constant threat to bunt single. He should be our leadoff hitter and should be given a green light to steal everytime he reaches first and sometimes when he gets on second. He leads the team in stolen bases.

Try out Anderson the rest of the season and see if his speed can contribute. If so, maybe we can start him next season. If not, look for another speedster for the outfield.

I feel Frenchy should get another year or two to show what he is going to do. He’s not a base stealer, but he could drive in a lot of runs if he can get out of this funk.

In the infield…

At 1B, Kotchman will put up similar numbers to Tex. In the long run, I think the Braves made a good trade here. Tex was great, but wasn’t a difference maker and strikes out almost 3 times as often as Kotchman. Kotchman’s ability to put the bat on the ball will help the Braves greatly when they have runners on base.

At SS/2B, Johnson and Escobar put up similar numbers offensively. Defensively, they can make outstanding plays at times and struggle with routine outs. Johnson is 9/11 on stolen base attempts, second on the team. Keep this duo.

At 3B, Chipper can stay as long as he wants. He is getting older, but is still great defensively and the biggest threat on offense when he is healthy. However, have someone to back him up when he gets injured and take over when Chipper retires.

McCann… Just let him play before the bottom of the 15th in the all-star game next year…

Use the extra money to pick up some pitching, our position players are great. If we pick up anyone, let it be a fast outfielder.

09 lineup.

LF/CF Gregor Blanco LF/CF Fast Guy 3B Chipper Jones C Brian McCann 1B Casey Kotchman RF Jeff Francoeur SS Yunel Escobar 2B Kelly Johnson P Hopefully Canbunt

By hank755

July 30, 2008 2:10 PM | Link to this

I agree with a lot of what you are saying Mark but when you mention Chipper, Mac, & Escobar as the only bright apots of the organization without mention of Jair Jurrjens is unacceptable. You do realize he is 10-5 with a 3.02 ERA. Come on dude do your homework!

By Mark Bradley

July 30, 2008 2:18 PM | Link to this

Hank755: I was referring to the everyday eight — meaning the eight position players. Obviously Jurrjens is a big-time talent, but he’s a pitcher.

By Einstein

July 30, 2008 2:24 PM | Link to this

Thank you Mr. Schuerholtz…you have succeeded in making us the Atlanta Royals or is that the Kansas City Braves. Saw a bumper sticker that read “Bobby Cox will retire when they pry his cold, dead fingers off his $3M paycheck”. And, as I have been quoted, the thinking that got us here won’t be the thinking that gets us out of here. Let’s see how Wren responds.

By Dr. R

July 30, 2008 2:49 PM | Link to this

And you bandwagon football fans won’t appreciate Cox until he’s gone and some Russ Nixon clone is running the team into the ground. Same happened with Dan Reeves; couldn’t wait to get rid of him until you saw what came after. The grass is always greener, especially when that grass is between the hedges and that’s the only sport you truly know. I wonder, have any of you supposed fans actually watched a game sober? You ought to try it sometime; you might learn something.

By Dr. R

July 30, 2008 2:57 PM | Link to this

Hey Mark, what you do think the chances are the Braves might go the speed and pitching route and give up on adding a slugger? For one thing, big bats are expensive. For another, they’re hard to come by unless you grow your own. Unless Brandon Jones or the kid they drafted last year develop, I can see a team of slap-and-run rabbits in their future. Then again, that’s never been Bobby’s preferred style, so maybe not. I bet we see some of the kids up pretty soon to get an idea of which of them can play. Expect a lot of Jones ABs at some point.

By Jerry J

July 30, 2008 2:58 PM | Link to this

Remember when Native Americans wanted the name of the Braves changed. Well now is a great time to change it cause they ain’t Brave no more.

By erik

July 30, 2008 3:02 PM | Link to this

Mark its funny you threw Giambi’s name in the hat because I was advocating signing him in the offseason and trading Tex for a package of young prospects centering around one of the following; Lars Anderson, Jarrod Parker, or Wade Davis. However they trade is done and there is no sense in griping about it. Your suggestion of Abreu is interesting because he wont demand the price tag others will but I still think he will be overpaid. He has failed to hit over twenty homeruns the past two seasons and is projected to do the same this year(keep in mind he plays at Yankee Stadium known for giving up homers to lefties because of the short distance). He also has hit well under his career .299 avg durring those year as well. Abreu is fading and he still would probably command around 15 million for 3 years. I don’t see him as a wise investment.

As far as a bat goes I see the braves trading for one or Signing Vlad if he slips through the Angels front office.

And the Angels are going to have to let some people walk because K-Rod, Garland, Vlad, Lackey, and Tex will all have to be resigned next year. Alot of people are saying that the angels wont even attempt to sign Tex but I am not so sure there arent too many 1B options out there for the angels to consider if Tex leaves

Anyway Mark assuming FA signings dont work out for finding a Bat what trade scenarios can you envision? Obviously Jason Bay is an option if he doesnt go to the marlins first. Anyone else? Carlos Lee? Matt Holliday? Marcus Thames? God Forbid Manny?

By Kevin

July 30, 2008 3:21 PM | Link to this

The Braves need to be the Braves of old. In order to bring the franchise back to the dominance of the 90s, ownership will need to spend money. Look what the Yankees and Red Sox are doing. They have huge payrolls and they win. Pitching is key as well as big bats…I pray that the Braves will get those questions fixed during the off season and waiver wires

By Dr. R

July 30, 2008 3:37 PM | Link to this

That’s a good point. Spending money doesn’t guarantee success; there are a few teams, like the Twins, who win with a smaller payroll. But the Braves’ run of success pretty much ended when the team went on the sales block and the payroll started to drop. You may not need to go overpay for free agents, but you need to keep the talent you have and not go cheap in acquiring more. I’m also a bit worried that the farm system isn’t bearing as much fruit. Some of these kids — Chuck James, Thorman, JoJoReyes, etc. — ain’t panning out yet.

By joshua

July 30, 2008 3:39 PM | Link to this

As someone who lives out in LA I think in the long run Kotchman will probably be a better player than salty. The braves need to go after starting pitching and I know this is going to sound crazy but they should give Hampton like a 2mil 1 year deal for next year.

By murphey

July 30, 2008 3:40 PM | Link to this

We need to trade Chipper. He will never produce again like this year. He has some value especially to teams that are in the race. This will inturn free up enough money to turn around and sign Texiera for the next 5-6 years. By the way since Texiera is right handed, you think he could play 3rd? Anyway you could also get some pitching with the Chipper trade. Check on Smoltzie and Glavine and let them know that they will forever be in the bullpen. Glavine a lefty set up man and smoltzie the closer we so desperately need. Man I need a job someone hire me to get these braves rolling next year.

By Bobbymahlon

July 30, 2008 3:42 PM | Link to this

When we talk about our needs to me what we need is a good right handed hitting left fielder. We have too many left handers in the lineup and that is why we so many left handed pitchers. We also need two good starting pitchers and if we get that I think we than can compete with anybody. Another problem that could be solved very easy would be for Frenchy to return to his 2006 and 2007 form.

By used cars

July 30, 2008 3:46 PM | Link to this

Why don’t we trade ohman for micah owings…maybe we can get owings straightened out on the mound, if not put that big stick in leftfield

By rainer scheer

July 30, 2008 3:51 PM | Link to this

As an Angels fan, I can tell the people of Atlanta that you got yourselves a real gamer in Casey Kotchman, who is only going to get better and better. Though the Angels got quality in return, I am aghast that they traded Kotchman. He doesn’t have a lot of speed, but he’s as good a first baseman as you’ll ever want to see, and probably by next year he’ll hit close to 300 with 18-20 home runs and 80-90 RBIs, and he’ll do that for the next 10 years.

By HIllbilly Deluxe

July 30, 2008 3:51 PM | Link to this

Yeah Arthur Blank could buy the Braves given that he’s done so well with the Falcons and all. The Braves started to do well when Ted hired JS and got out of the way.

By Rob

July 30, 2008 3:56 PM | Link to this

Are you kidding me? “They found a first baseman for 2009 and beyond…” What was Tex? Why not sign him to a long-term deal and build the team around our best player????? You want to trade someone, trade Frenchy!!!! He doesn’t help the team at ALL!!!!!!!

By Mike

July 30, 2008 4:06 PM | Link to this

The current ownership of the Braves must remain in place for three years because of tax reasons…since this is the second year, look for them to be ready to dump the Braves after next season…Are you listening Arthur?

By Eli

July 30, 2008 4:20 PM | Link to this

The true test of Braves management is right under their nose …. Omar Infante. He’s earning $1.4 mil this year and is a free agent. The closest player to Infante is Mark De Rosa … comparable offensive numbers and defensive versatility. De Rosa’s contract with the Cubs??? $4.5 mil!!!! The Braves have to cough up the money to keep Infante. If not, they are sending a clear message. Forget winning until new ownership arrives.

By Bobbymahlon

July 30, 2008 4:23 PM | Link to this

We should not sign Bobby Abreu because he is 35 years old and a left handed hitter of which we have too many. When you try to compare Kelly to Esco in fielding there is no comparison. Kelly plays second where he can bobble a ball and still get the runner out where you can’t do that at short. Also if he had to make the long throws Esco has to make he would make twice the number of errors Esco has. Have you seen the highlight reel on the plays Esco has made this year. Some coaches and managers are saying he is one of the best players they have ever seen at shortstop.

By Glep

July 30, 2008 4:49 PM | Link to this

Geezzz. The Yanks just traded for Pudge.. They got Nady the other day. Dear Mr Wren. That’s how you fix needs in your roster. You go out and get some help.

By Colin

July 30, 2008 4:53 PM | Link to this

Untouchables: Chip, Brian, Escobar

Everyone else: have your bags packed!

French needs to go now…

Ohman is as good as gone..

.Kotsay i could take him or leave him didnt matter.

For the people who want Bay, why dont we get Holliday um idk maybe cuz he has played in the World Series (something the Braves havent in a while, and wont do for a while) and hits the ball consistently..he doesnt just walk into them like well 1-8 this year for the braves.

Pitching: only positive Jair he is real good,

Hampton well lets hope doesn’t decide to talk a walk around the block tonight because he will end up back on the DL for the rest of his life and we will have another gap till laugh at this season

Smoltz and Glavine retire now go into the hall together the only positive braves fans may have for a while.

Campillio who knows with him…

And now most importantly the topic of all your discussions FA

Well CC would be nice, Lackey (no-no till 9th) would be nice, Sheets maybe depending on health…

This is who we will get: NO ONE LIBERTY MEDIA WILL NOT SPEND MONEY ON THE BRAVES!

By justin

July 30, 2008 5:04 PM | Link to this

I keep seeing all these people talk about Anderson, but what good does it do to have Anderson and Blanco in the outfield? While we need speed, we also need some power from the right side. Looking at it now, that guy is either Frenchy or Escobar. Look at this power numbers and you see how laughable this is.

I think you have to keep Kelly and Esco in the middle of the infield, like Frank said last night, it’s solid. What we need is a right handed bat with some thump. We have good speed on this team, we just don’t always use it. Blanco and Kelly both should have more stolen bases. No need for them not too. The best right handed outfielders we could get it looks like are either Vlad through free agency probably or maybe Bay, either through free agency or trade. We have the pieces in the minors in the outfield to make this trade(Andreson, Blanco, Schaffer, B.Jones) and I think it could benefit both teams down the road. Either way you look at it though, we need some body who can hit lefties.

By Sam

July 30, 2008 5:05 PM | Link to this

I’m sorry, but all this talk about Adam Dunn being an unsuitable acquisition is insane. Batting average is such an overrated statistic. The dude has an OPS of .931, good for 10th best in the league (and ahead of Teixeira, I might add). He has 30 (!!!) home runs already and leads the league in walks. This will be the 5th straight season that he hits 40+ homers. Sure he strikes a lot, but he is an on-base machine. Compare him to Kotchman, who never strikes out, and you’ll find that Dunn’s career OPS is almost 100 points better than Kotchman’s best single season OPS. So how can you tout the Kotchman trade and balk at signing a guy who has PROVEN to be a much, much better hitter year after year? I just hope the Braves front office evaluates players a bit better than some around here.

By Bucko

July 30, 2008 5:20 PM | Link to this

Trade Francoeur, I don’t care what we get in return. Get rid of him. Teixeira: honest to goodness, I don’t care how good Kotchman supposedly is, couldn’t we have gotten four or five top prospects as well instead of this nobody Marek? Jeez, Wren, you look like Chris Wallace.

By wait and see

July 30, 2008 5:29 PM | Link to this

For those who are saying the Braves should’ve done whatever it takes to re-sign Tex, why? We would’ve spent at least everything we save at the end of this season by getting rid of Hampton and maybe some of what we would’ve saved from Glavine’s contract, and we have the exact same lineup and the same or less pitching than we had last season. Kotchman is a good fielding 1B who hits for avg, doesn’t K, and has potential to develop more power. The fact that Tex is gone doesn’t mean the Braves aren’t going to spend money; it just means they didn’t think they should spend that kind of money to end up the same or a little worse off than a team that’s currently fourth in the division and seems to find ways to lose games. There’s still plenty of time to get a slugging LF and a top of the rotation pitcher. Let’s wait until the team starts taking shape sometime this winter before we declare this a return to 90+ loss seasons.

For those who can’t understand why the organization loves Bobby or why players would want to come play for him, it’s because of the way he’s behind his players and defends his players. Yes, he’s one of the more questionable in-game managers out there, especially when it comes to handling a pitching staff, but players want to play for him.

Also, several people have shot holes in Mark’s listing Abreu as a FA to go after, but no one’s done the same for the suggestion of Mussina, so let me do that. He hasn’t pitched 200 innings in the past 4 years and he’ll need to pitch over 5 innings the rest of his starts to have a chance of making it this year. His ERA over that period of time has been around 4.25. He’s having a good year this year with an ERA around 3.5, but I’d rather spend $20M to get Sheets or Sabathia than $10M+ to get another over-40 pitcher who’s career is on the decline.

By jed

July 30, 2008 5:31 PM | Link to this

cc or sheets and a big bat in FA market. and i’d give francouer another go next season, but if he shows no improvement, i’d find a platoon that works and send him to richmond for the rest of the season. also address what to do with KJ. you could move him to LF and give lillibridge a shot at 2b. (KJ’S no natural 2b.)

By Timato

July 30, 2008 5:33 PM | Link to this

Let’s face it, folks. No one could have predicted that the Braves would get hit this hard by the injury bug this year. Sure, injuries happen, especially when you field a team with aging stars like Smoltz, Glavine, and Chipper, but come on. The only position players who haven’t had injury problems have been Kelly Johnson and Frenchy, and they’re not exactly lighting things up. I’m disappointed that Tex is gone, too, but there was no way we were going to sign him, so Mark Bradley is right. At least we got a decent first baseman in return, albeit not as much as we had hoped for. It’s going to be tough to watch the Braves for the next few years, but unless you want to spend $200M in payroll every year like the Yankees, you can’t make the playoffs every year. Atlanta is not NY, and thank goodness for that. Maybe we can get back to enjoying the game again, albeit in a less-than-full Turner Field situation. Perhaps it will mean that management can hold the line on ticket prices…then again, that’s probably a pipe dream.

By jed

July 30, 2008 5:34 PM | Link to this

cc or sheets and a big bat in FA market. and i’d give francouer another go next season, but if he shows no improvement, i’d find a platoon that works and send him to richmond for the rest of the season. also address what to do with KJ. you could move him to LF and give lillibridge a shot at 2b. (KJ’S no natural 2b.)

By wait and see

July 30, 2008 5:49 PM | Link to this

Oh, and a couple of points for the people who said they felt betrayed by the Braves because they said we were buyers before they traded Tex.

First, I never heard anyone in the Braves organization say that we are definitely buyers. They generally said we could be either buyers or sellers, and it could depend on how things went in the series against Philly and maybe even this series against St Louis.

Second, after losing 2 of 3 to Philly and the first game to St Louis, we weren’t gaining ground like we needed to. Losing McCann for a few games to a concussion and Chipper going on the DL left a lineup that’s had trouble scoring runs without much firepower other than Tex. And Hampton’s difficult first start in 3 years and Huddy going to the DL has left our starting rotation with basically just Campillo and Jurrjens as guys that can be counted on for much of anything.

Wren did the smart thing in trading Tex. I don’t know for sure what else was on the table, so I can’t say for sure if he got the best possible deal for him or not. What I do know is we weren’t going to get a ton back for him when he’s only got a couple months left before he’s due a huge payday, everyone in baseball knew we needed to get rid of him and there were only a few teams that wanted a 1B.

By Stephen

July 30, 2008 5:59 PM | Link to this

Quite frankly, I don’t think Tex is, will be, or ever has been a real difference maker for this team. If you subtract Tex and add Kotchman… I think the results would be pretty much identical at this point. Tex hasn’t been the problem… and he hasn’t been the solution.

By lin

July 30, 2008 6:59 PM | Link to this

got tired reading the same old stuff so i may as well write same old stuff as everyone. frenchy needs go back to training camp. you keep him you got another andruw jones. does what he wants will not listen. look jones now doing real awful i hear with ld. took braves long enough get rid of him. lets not this be a repeat. trade him with some good young guns. hampton needs go end season. he will have more problems. tom g and john s need retire. hudson be out now rest season he be back hopefully next season. kj we could use a better 2nd basemen. chipper well he getting older more problems will keep repeating so best find another 3rd base and let him sit and hit from bench. power right there. left field well that i do not figure out nor do i shortstop so we got a very slim chance even for next yr. unless we build money and stop going after the last offers and try for beginning trades and buys. closer well goz as i call him is great he had bad night last nite but that is normal. but if smoltz wants back then into bullpen he goes not a starter anymore or he be out few weeks later again. i still say bobby needs go he been here long enough need give someone else a chance in fact get rid all them coaches and start whole new family

By jerry

July 30, 2008 7:15 PM | Link to this

The fundamental error in the Teixeira trade was trading r prospects for a 1.5 year rental when the braves chances of making the playoffs were slim and the chances of making the World Series were near zero. Had they kept those prospects they would have been in a good position to trade for someone like Dan Haren who was on extended contract, making only $4 million, was young and giving signs he would sign for an extended period at a below market rate in return for a guaranteed contract. He would have been the young relatively cheap ace this club needs to build a nucleus around. Since serviceable first baseman are available every year through free agency or trade (remember the below average first basemen we had before McGriff and still we won pennants) and ace pitching is an absolute necessity, the Braves now have neither much left in the farm system nor an ace.

By 66 braves

July 30, 2008 7:18 PM | Link to this

Uh friends, is now the time we trade chipper? I mean look, what could we get for him? And how much rebuilding can he really stomach? Don’t you think he would much rather spend his last few years on a team that is guarenteed to be in the play offs?

By richbrave

July 30, 2008 7:20 PM | Link to this

MARK BRADLEY:

From all appearances, we will both soon be using the term “feckless” to the Braves instead of AAA’s IRON PIGS. BTW, that term has beeen officially transferred to the RICHMOND BRAVES and should be used in that context for the forseeable future.

By Mark Bradley

July 30, 2008 7:25 PM | Link to this

Jason Bay is obviously a trade option for just about every contending team at the moment, but the Pirates apparently want to keep him. As far as the Braves making a big move for him over the winter … what exactly would they have to give up? Jurrjens? Escobar?

And I don’t see the Braves becoming a slap-and-run style of team as long as Cox is their manager and Wren their GM. That’s just not the preferred style of play in this organization. (I’m not sure it is in any organization. Baseball men tend to like home runs.)

By Mark Bradley

July 30, 2008 7:42 PM | Link to this

That’s a great question about Chipper. Obviously he wants to stay here and to play for Bobby Cox — think of that, playing a whole career for not just one team but one manager — but what happens if Cox steps aside and the Braves keep finishing below .500?

By Bill Donohoo

July 30, 2008 9:21 PM | Link to this

You may have a good laugh about moving McCann to another position but his bat is too valuable to continue to loose to injuries. I would rather have a 250 hitting catcher and have McCann be healthy and productive. He is a good athlete and is just too valuable to continue to subject him to the toughest position in baseball.

By Someone get a Stretcher!

July 30, 2008 10:56 PM | Link to this

What in the world is going on with our pitchers. Since Leo left, it has been one Tommy John surgery after another. This team is in the saddest shape ever as far as staying healthy is concerned. Sorry, but I just refuse to believe this trainwreck is a bunch of freak, unrelated events. Doesn’t matter who we raise/trade/or accquire if we can’t keep them healthy!

By dime store team

July 30, 2008 11:08 PM | Link to this

Thats the “braves way” they bring up a good prospect from minors or get one from another team they make a good player out of him and then they trade him for a crapy player who is has had a slump for most of the season then they send him back too richmond try too make a good player out of him he comes back hits 350 then trade him by july its a never ending story im sick of it that is why most is turned away from MLB and NFL and they go too nascar there guy there “player” will be there after a long days work now you dont know who ()U&)) is going too be there from one half seaon too the next YEA ITS JUST BUSINESS ITS SUCKS . A FORMER BRAVES FAN!!!!

By 66 Braves

July 30, 2008 11:13 PM | Link to this

Maybe the conversation needs to be two sided; what do the braves need and what does chipper want? Chipper is definitely entering the twilight years in his career. He has one world series ring. Is it enough? And is he the one trophy the braves are willing to hold on to from the glory years because outside of TP, in a year or so, he is it. He is the Dale Murphy of our era.

Basically, if I remember correctly, Murph was all that was left for any kind of bargaining chips. That is not the case with the state of this organization now. And if you look at Shultzys column tonight, we also have some money as well to spend in the off season, and I mean some serious jack if he is correct.

So dealing Chipper is not absolutely necessary, but Mark, do you think that a conversation will ensue between the powers that be to give Chipper an option out? Or would he be more valuable as a role model to the young guys coming up, a link from the past to the present, and maybe as someone to build the franchise around? Does that have the value of say three or four blue chip prospects and maybe a starter?

By mark

July 31, 2008 7:13 AM | Link to this

I think outside of McCAnn Tex due to the ageing of Chipper was a vital part of the Braves and certainly the failure of Francour .Now with Tex gone its a total rebuild time , Braves have lost all their arms and now Jurggens is their ace at 22..They will need to bring in a few high quality arms in the off season and please keep Will he is worth 3 million.Some of the promomising players have gotten some good experience this year Blanco for one could be a true lead off Center Fielder. Im not sure we will ever see Fran cour that we all dreamed of Pitchers know he will swing at anything…they know nd Im not so sure Frenchy can overcome this.However he does have a great arm in the outfield,Its a shame what has happen to him poor coaching…..

By Andrew

July 31, 2008 10:56 AM | Link to this

Obviously the atrocity of the past couple of months has blinded a few people and brought in the negativity. Honestly, let’s look at what the Braves had during April. SP: Hudson, Smoltz, Glavine, Jurrjens, Hampton. CP: Soriano. In the field: McCann, Tex, Johnson, Escobar, Chipper, Frenchy, Kotsay, Diaz. From that perspective, things didn’t look bad at all. Especially considering that Gonzalez was expected back. Then it all started going down with no fault to no one. Injuries: Smoltz, Glavine, Hampton, Soriano, Chipper, McCann, Diaz, Escobar, Kotsay, etc… Also, they are getting about 1/3 of the player that they assummed they would be getting from Francouer. The few brightspots have been Campillo, Blanco’s recent surge, McCann, Chipper, and Jurrjens. The Braves have had a horrible year, but none of this could not have been predicted at the season’s beginning. It is ridiculous to blame Bobby or Wren for the way things have panned out. Bobby doesn’t ground out or strike out with bases loaded (how many players have they LOB?) Wren doesn’t have psychic abilities to tell that Smoltz Hudson and Glavine would be injured… While retooling must be done, there’s no way to be so freaking negative about how things were handled. Rebuilding takes time, give it a chance.

By Irene

July 31, 2008 11:34 AM | Link to this

I think they made a BIG mistake by trading Tex. He said he would like to have signed a long-term contract with the Braves but they only made 1 phone call. Wren said on the Braves game Tuesday night he would like to have kept Tex, but it didn’ work out. He must not have wanted him too bad, just making one offer. He didn’t try to negotiate very much with him. I wish Tex all the best with the Angels & where ever he goes next. He had become one of my top favorites. I hope they still keep Smoltzie, Glavine, Hampton, Kotsay, Gonzalez, bring back Leo, Maddux, Millwood,get some relief pitching & someone to help Gonzalez with the closing. I hope all you Tex bashers are very happy: TEX IS GONE. You will be wishing he was here later on. I for one, am sorry he is gone. I guess all you BRAVES bashers want now to let the others go, too. Why not just trade the whole team away then rename that team as Braves. Then this team won’t be the Braves any more? Wouldn’t that work for you?

By Irene

July 31, 2008 11:35 AM | Link to this

I think they made a BIG mistake by trading Tex. He said he would like to have signed a long-term contract with the Braves but they only made 1 phone call. Wren said on the Braves game Tuesday night he would like to have kept Tex, but it didn’ work out. He must not have wanted him too bad, just making one offer. He didn’t try to negotiate very much with him. I wish Tex all the best with the Angels & where ever he goes next. He had become one of my top favorites. I hope they still keep Smoltzie, Glavine, Hampton, Kotsay, Gonzalez, bring back Leo, Maddux, Millwood,get some relief pitching & someone to help Gonzalez with the closing. I hope all you Tex bashers are very happy: TEX IS GONE. You will be wishing he was here later on. I for one, am sorry he is gone. I guess all you BRAVES bashers want now to let the others go, too. Why not just trade the whole team away then rename that team as Braves. Then this team won’t be the Braves any more? Wouldn’t that work for you?

By Irene

July 31, 2008 11:35 AM | Link to this

I think they made a BIG mistake by trading Tex. He said he would like to have signed a long-term contract with the Braves but they only made 1 phone call. Wren said on the Braves game Tuesday night he would like to have kept Tex, but it didn’ work out. He must not have wanted him too bad, just making one offer. He didn’t try to negotiate very much with him. I wish Tex all the best with the Angels & where ever he goes next. He had become one of my top favorites. I hope they still keep Smoltzie, Glavine, Hampton, Kotsay, Gonzalez, bring back Leo, Maddux, Millwood,get some relief pitching & someone to help Gonzalez with the closing. I hope all you Tex bashers are very happy: TEX IS GONE. You will be wishing he was here later on. I for one, am sorry he is gone. I guess all you BRAVES bashers want now to let the others go, too. Why not just trade the whole team away then rename that team as Braves. Then this team won’t be the Braves any more? Wouldn’t that work for you?

By james

July 31, 2008 11:58 AM | Link to this

IRENE, you’d like to keep all of these people. WHY? If you keep them, you pretty much have the same team as this year, which is terrible. Also, TEX’s agent is Scott Boras. Wren offered him a contract that would’ve made him one of the top 10 paid players in MLB, and he didn’t take it. So Wren decided he was going in another direction. I think it would’ve been a terrible mistake NOT to trade him. No 1st baseman is worth 20 Million, not when you need starting pitching, bullpen help, and 2 outfielders. Yeah, let’s resign TEX, and leave no $ for anyone else, and we can just have a repeat of this year. Also, Keep Kotsay? He’s missed almost half the year and with a back problem that even HE said will never get better. I think you’re thinking with your heart, not your head.

By Andrew

July 31, 2008 1:32 PM | Link to this

I agree with you James… Boras will always get top dollar (and then some) for his guys so he gets a nice cut. Teixiera will more than likely go to one of the 5 top salary teams because those are the only teams that can afford him (unless someone wants to break the bank). As for Kotsay, he was brought in as a transition veteran, and he should be treated as so. Why not ship him out for a prospect or two. Unloading his salary, along with hamptoms, and possibly Glavine’s as well, will give funds for a reloading of a big free agent or two over the off season. At the very least, the Braves should concentrate on young talent. I mean look at the benefits of that mentality with Jair Jurrjens…

By PatWilson

July 31, 2008 4:14 PM | Link to this

The Braves pushed the panick button and traded away Tex. Too bad. Tex was the one bat in the lineup that would have GUARANTEED the Braves coming back to win the division. Now its a hopeless situation for the Braves to even be as much as a wild card participant. I guess the Braves undervalued Tex, the same way the Hawks organization undervalued Josh Childress. Its really a shame that the Braves must go down the stretch without Tex, the one gargantuan bat that would have made a difference between feast or famine. I believe losing Tex is analagous to the Boston Red Sox losing Babe Ruth years ago. The curse of the Bambino for the Red Sox organization was not squelched until recently when Boston won two world titles. Now the Braves must go through the CURSE OF LOSING TEX until they get a big time bat to replace Tex. The Braves should have gone after either Griffey Junior or Manny Ramierez than to just stand pat with nothing. Well, hopefully when the Braves miss the playoffs again, hopefully management will do something about it.

By PaulWinchester

July 31, 2008 5:07 PM | Link to this

Ok, the Braves have lost Tex and by virtue of that, they now need a bat that can deliver 37 hr, 137 rbis and hit .300. Oh, how ironic it is that the Braves just dumped the guy who can deliver that, Mark Texiera. That shows just how foolish that trade was. TEX IS A PERENIAL MVP CANDIDATE and I mean how often do you see teams DUMP mvp type players. The answer to that is almost never, unles you are the ridiculous Atlanta Braves. As I mentioned yesterday, getting rid of Tex is analagous to the Cardinals trying to get rid of Albert Puhols, arguably the best player in the league; or the Yankees trying to deal Alex Rodriguez, arguably the best player in the league. MY POINT IS GETTING RID OF OR UNLOADING TEX MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE WHATSOEVER. Now if you want to acquire one of the top three players in the game, you would go after A-Rod, Pujols or Tex, and we just had Tex on our payroll just a few days ago before we blindly and foolishly let him go for basically Joe Bag-Of-Donuts. Its really sad to think about it and very disheartening to our playoff hopes!

By james

July 31, 2008 5:09 PM | Link to this

PATWILSON: I think all three of those ideas are bad decisions. Manny, Griffey and TEX are all at least 20 million dollar a year players. Can they carry a team with no pitching or bullpen and injured starters? Well, TEX proved that he couldn’t. That’s why he’s been traded for 2 years in a row. Manny and Griffey are pushing 40. Are any of these guys worth 20 million that could be spent on pitching and Outfielders that can hit? ABSOLUTLEY NOT!!! Also, TEX leaving is comparable to Ruth being traded? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I like TEX, he’s solid and a GT boy. But you can’t even mention him in the same sentence as Babe Ruth. I think alot of you are overvaluing TEX. Yeah, he put up good numbers, but the Braves were still 5 games under .500 when he was traded. They were 5 games over .500 last year when they got him and missed the playoffs anyway. Just b/c someone puts up big numbers, doesn’t mean they are good situational hitters. Tex will hit 40 HR’s and drive in 100. However, he also strikes out alot (failing to move runners over) and hits into too many double plays. I think alot of fans are being unrealistic in thinking what TEX brings to a team. HE’s a really good player, but HE’S NOT WORTH $20 MILLION. GET OVER IT.

By james

July 31, 2008 5:53 PM | Link to this

Also, TEX said “I wanted to finish my career here”. Well, if that was true, he’d have taken that “fat” offer that Wren offered to him in spring training. He wouldn’t have kept saying “I just want to play and let the contract stuff take care of itself”. That’s basically him saying all the right things to the media without saying “give me more money” or I’m walking. If he wanted to stay , he’d have signed a contract already. His agent is Boras, and he’ll talk TEX into taking the biggest offer possible. Wait until this summer when some team pays some monster contract to TEX, then he’ll say “this is where I wanted to be all along”. And for those of you who say ATL should have forked over the cash. Do you know what $20 Million dollars will buy? Well, wait until this offseason and you’ll find out that it’s alot more than a 1st baseman that only hits when the team is down by 5 runs and the pressure is off.

By SOUTHERN BOY

July 31, 2008 6:07 PM | Link to this

Blame the MAIN “MAN”… Terry McGuirk, who is SO INCOMPETENT, he couldn’t even tie his own shoes. He is the man behind ALL of this. Not Cox, not Wren, but McGuirk! “Liberty’s Boy” is now hiding in the shadows. How convenient he slides out of the president’s job when the tough gets going! He needs to get GONE! Remember his track record… hiding and doing nothing FOR YEARS!

By Amazed

August 1, 2008 3:14 AM | Link to this

The Rays are in first place. How many years did they languish in the basement? The Mariners had a nice year last year. They are putrid now. The Rockies. The Yankees. The Brewers. None of these teams’ positions in the standings are similar to one year ago. Things can change for a franchise very quickly. They have for the Braves. You all could be Pirates fans. Then you could cry all you want. Shh. Be quiet and I’ll tell you a secret. The reason Frank Wren traded Mark Teixiera is so they would not have to pay his exorbitant salary this year. And so they would not have to dicker with Scott Boras, who will be asking for 20 million per year for his client next season. The Braves just did what three-quarters of the league does every year: unload a big salary to make room on the payroll for players next year. Braves fans are spoiled. They are now seeing what it’s like for most of league every year. Before you sound the death knell for the Braves organization, call for Wren’s head, and demand that Bobby Cox sleep with the fishes, give time for the plan to work. It’s only halfway done. Incidentally, I am a Braves fan.

By TexasHoldem

August 1, 2008 2:40 PM | Link to this

Im still brooding over the Tex trade. I just cant fathom how foolish the Braves were to let Tex go for basically a nobody, literally a Joe Bag-Of-Donuts. To prove how silly the Tex trade was ask yourself a relevant question. How many guys in the major leagues are you sure will deliver 40 hrs, 120+ rbis and hit .300. I can name only four guys who I AM ABSOLUTE POSITIVE WILL COME UP WITH THOSE NUMBERS: 1) Alex Rodriguez; 2) Albert Pujols; 3) Mark Texiera and 4) Manny Ramierez. Those are the only four guys I know of year in and year out you can literally take that to the bank that they will produce those numbers. You used to say that about Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds but those guys arent playing anymore. Those are the only four guys who I am sure can and will produce those numbers: 1) A-Rod; 2) Albert Pujols; 3) Manny Ramierez and 4) Mark Texiera. That proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that Texiera is worth $20 million dollars per season. Case closed, end of story.

By johnny

August 1, 2008 7:40 PM | Link to this

14 years of winning and the 1st sigh of bad times,you wanta break up the team,fire bobby and bring back the 100 losses a year.no thanks i don’t agree with every move bobby makes,but more often than not he’s right.play the year out bring up youngsters in sept.get our injured healthy for next year!

By Braves fan

August 2, 2008 6:27 PM | Link to this

I copied and pasted this exert from an ESPN article in regards to Teixeira’s jubalation about going to the Angels (while still in the Braves clubhouse). Note to Frank Wren, please do not trade for anymore players that don’t give a p** about staying here and use the “it’s up to my agent” when asked about wanting to stay with their club.

(Inside the clubhouse, it was awkward. An hour before the game, with teammates in earshot, Teixeira gushed to reporters that the Angels were “the best team in baseball.” While also being complimentary of his former teammates, it had a strange ring. Braves coaches recognized the situation and ushered Braves players into other areas of the clubhouse.)

By James

August 3, 2008 12:48 AM | Link to this

Here is my hope for the Braves lineup for next year:

Josh Anderson CF Yunel Escobar SS Chipper Jones 3B Pat Burrell LF Casey Kotchman 1B Brian McCann C Jeff Francouer RF Orlando Hudson 2B Pitching Staff 1. C.C. Sabathia 2. Jair Jurrgeins 3. Derek Lowe 4. JoJo Reyes 5. Jorge Campillo

Bullpen: CP: Mike Gonzalez SU: Peter Moylan/ Rafael Soriano Rest: Blaine Boyer, Will Ohman, Jeff Bennett, Phil Stockman

Bench: Martin Prado If Kelly Johnson IF Paul Lo Duca C (would be a good backup, especially if we still want Clint Sammons to play everyday at Richmond) Brandon Jones OF Gregor Blanco OF (like him but like Anderson’s speed for full time outfield)

I like it because we put the most of our payroll next year toward pitching and add some key players (Hudson, Burrell, Anderson) to help our defense and add some key players to the bench (Johnson could be dangerous coming off the bench and Lo Duca would give us a legit backup catcher at the plate.)

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August 12, 2008 6:18 AM | Link to this

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By ламинат

August 13, 2008 6:26 AM | Link to this

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By jch

September 1, 2008 9:39 AM | Link to this

What a BONE-HEAD MOve Trading Mark Tex. ? There is NO way the Boneheads will find Anyone Close to having the Power Tex. has SHOWN…No Way - No Where !!! Stupid as Hell Move !!!!!