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As of Thursday, Feb. 12, this little blog has relocated to a new home on AJC.com. It’s the same newspaper, the same Web site and the same writer (feel free to groan) — there’s just a new URL.
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Home > Mark Bradley > Archives > 2008 > December > 18
Thursday, December 18, 2008
No Raffy? Be happy!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
You know the old saying: Sometimes the best deals are the ones you thought you’d made but didn’t make because somebody weaseled out at the end.
OK, so that’s not exactly how it goes. In this case it should. The Braves didn’t get Rafael Furcal, the little man with the iffy birth certificate, and Frank Wren is miffed. He should be happy. Furcal’s weirdo waffling stopped the Braves from making a dog’s breakfast - that’s a British expression for “a real mess” - of an already peculiar offseason.
Let’s not wonder overmuch about why Furcal did what he did (or didn’t do). Let’s note instead that the Braves, who already have a pretty fair shortstop, were about to lavish $30 million on one who’s five years older. Presumably this was preparatory to another trade - Yunel Escobar in a package for Jake Peavy - but I’m not ready to give up on Escobar. And I saw enough of Furcal on his first Atlanta tour to believe he hasn’t become what he should have.
He stole 40 bases and had an on-base percentage of .384 as a rookie. Not until 2005 - perhaps not coincidentally, his contract year - did he steal so many again. Not until 2008 - perhaps not coincidentally, another contract year, this one truncated by injury - did he reach base at a higher rate.
So here’s what Furcal is: A little man of 31 (or so we believe) who has had a bad back and who has made the All-Star team once (that in 2003). For all the questions about his temper and his attitude, there’s a chance Escobar will wind up being a better player than Furcal. Heck, he already has a higher career OBP.
I know many among you are getting antsy for something - anything! - to happen, but I would again advise patience. The feeling here is that Wren’s worst move to date wasn’t backing away from Peavy or missing on A.J. Burnett or being burned by Furcal’s caprice; the one I don’t understand was giving away Tyler Flowers for Javier Vazquez.
The Braves didn’t become a fourth-place team because one thing went wrong. They’re where they are because nearly everything fell apart. They’ll only get back to where they once were by building from the ground up. They shouldn’t get in the habit of swapping young for old. They shouldn’t be pursuing anyone who isn’t a big-time starting pitcher or a run-producing outfielder.
Last I checked, Furcal is neither.
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