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Sunday, March 9, 2008
Roster moves … whither Thorman?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. _ Oh, man, that alarm came especially early this Daylight Savings Sunday morning at the blog satellite office some 10 miles west of Dark Star.
But we’re here at the ballpark, not quite bright-eyed but progressively approaching that state with each cup of coffee. The Braves are taking batting practice, the Cardinals are playing catch in the outfield, the sky is cloudless, gorgeous, the temperature rising quickly toward 60 (it was 45 when I bundled up and started the bike with the sun just beginning to rise this morning).
I think we can get motivated to watch some ball and write some stories about this team and how things are going to start picking up toward the end of this week and the weekend.
Oh, first I’ve gotta tell you about a scene when I came in this morning. I was walking along the warning track after coming from the parking lot through the opening in left field at Champion Stadium, and Mike Hampton was walking in front of me. Eddie Perez and Chino Cadahia were on the field, in uniform, getting ready to do some early work with the catchers.
The music is already going on the stadium P.A. system, and the song changes to Cameo’s “Word Up,” cranked at 8:10 a.m. on Sunday. Hampton is walking along and gives a little shoulder-shimmy of a dance for Eddie and Chino across the way. And then Eddie breaks into a hip-swinging, full-on boogie, baseball bat in hand.
It lasted about 5 seconds. It made me smile, even with a frozen face.
Anyway….
If you haven’t noticed, this is kind of a sluggish period in spring training, after the newness has worn off, after the first week of games played, and things sort of at status quo as guys kind of get through the blah period and teams start to think about what they need and what roster moves will be made first.
Braves have got back-to-back games against St. Louis today and Monday, and a couple of things to watch will be Peter Moylan’s scheduled appearance today, his first in a week since the sidearmer took a break to calm down a sore elbow.
Rafael Soriano will likely make his first appearance of spring Tuesday or Wednesday, the closer also coming back from a sore elbow, along with a stomach flu. You think his teammates will be watching him closely and maybe crossing fingers? I think so.
Of course, we’ve got the anticipated, Braves Nation-crosses-its-collective-fingers return of Mike Hamton on Wednesday, if he’s able to make the start (in case you’ve been out of the country a few days, Hampton strained his right groin in the second inning of his start Friday). Bobby Cox and Hampton said they believe he’ll be ready, but Cox also said if they have to push it back a couple of days they will.
Then we’ve got the first appearance of the spring for Chuck James on Thursday, as the left-hander tests his left shoulder in a game for the first time since he was diagnosed with a partial rotator-cuff tear after the 2007 season. No surgery was recommended, and James said he’s felt great throwing off the mound the past week, though it still seems almost certain he’ll open the season on the DL so he can rebuild arm strength at Richmond.
And finally, on Saturday we’ll bring John Smoltz out of his isolation unit, er, backfields workout regimen, to make his first Grapefruit League start. He’s spent the first weeks of spring training throwing in relative seclusion, either in the bullpen beyond right field, on a backfield, or on the main field only when the Braves (and us reporters) were over in Winter Haven for a road game.
Hey, let’s hope for his sake this experiment works. Because frankly, I think his teammates would probably have preferred to see Smoltz on the mound in games with them in the first half of the Grapefruit League season. But hey, who am I to judge? I’m sure if he clicks off a couple of good performances down here before they break camp, everything will be back to normal and this whole, unique regimen he’s followed, throwing in simulated-game conditions away from the team, will quickly be a mere foonote.
And if he pitches well right away, and has success with the sinker and off-speed pitches he went back there to work on, well, Smoltz will again look like he’s smarter than the rest of us for coming up with this plan.
Whither Thorman? Lot of folks commenting yesterday on rumors the Braves are trying to trade Scott Thorman this spring. Some wanting to know what I think.
Well, here’s the thing. As disappointing as Thorman was when given the job to lose last season (and he certainly lost it), the fact remains that the Braves don’t have another first baseman they’d feel real good about handing over the first-base position if Mark Teixeira required a stint on the DL.
I know, heaven forbid I even mention it, but folks, anyone can get hurt. As durable as Teixeira has been in his five seasons, he did spend five weeks on the DL last season with a strained quadriceps muscle in his left leg. So what if he does something like that again, who’s gonna play first bas?
Now, understand I’m not saying the Braves haven’t discussed trading Thorman, and I’m not saying it won’t happen this spring. But unless they get someone else who can play first base in that would-be trade or another deal this spring, I don’t see how they could do it and feel real comfortable going into the season.
Backup catcher Javy Lopez isn’t even a lock to make the team, period, so you can’t say he’s the backup first baseman. Besides, if he’s the backup catcher you’re not going to have him fill in for 15 days at first base. And he’s probably too old to play every day for that long anyway.
Matt Diaz? Mark Kotsay? Yes, they’ve played or worked out at first base in the past, but the Braves aren’t thinking of using one of them as their primary backup first baseman, of that I’m sure. Either of them, or Lopez, or even Brayan Pena — who’s looked better behind the plate this year, but still seems more likely to be traded than make this team — could play the position for a day or two in a bind, but the Braves don’t want some out-of-position guy filling in at an important position like 1B for any significant period.
Omar Infante can play 1B, but they didn’t get him to fill in at 1B for two weeks in a bind. He’s here to be the primary backup at a variety of other positions. Besides, he’s going to open the season on the DL for at least a couple of weeks anyway.
The minors? The Braves don’t have anyone on the farm who’s ready to come up and play 1B.
So again, I come back to thinking that the Braves could trade Thorman this spring, but I don’t think they’ll do it unless they have another first baseman coming back in that deal or in another deal finalized before they make that one.
Tex will probably play 155 or more games this season, maybe 160. So there’s a chance you will almost never need a backup first baseman. But Tex could also strain a hamstring or get hit by a pitch or have any number of other things happen to him between now and October. And if he goes on the DL, the Braves have to have someone they feel confident can fill in for more than a few innings or a few days.
Scott Thorman was fortunate to be out of options last year, assuring he stayed in the majors. And he might be fortunate the Braves don’t have another viable first-base option this year behind Teixeira.
Because to me, it seems they have to either keep him and hope he can give them a good power bat off the bench or at 1B when called upon, or they have to trade for another player who can handle first base for a significant stretch of games, if necessary.
Roster moves: The Braves’ brass and coaching staff is going to meet Tuesday to discuss the roster, and the first cuts could come after that, though that isn’t certain.
Expect a round of cuts after the Braves get back from the two-game March 9-10 trip to Jupiter to play the Cardinals.
This Wednesday is the last day for teams to release players with non-guaranteed one-year contracts in order to owe them only 30 days termination pay, but that date isn’t expected to have any impact on the Braves.
Teams have until March 26 to release players with one-year contracts and owe them 45 days termination pay. After that they are owed their full salaries.
These rules don’t apply to players on minor league contracts, i.e. non-roster free-agent invitees, who can be released at any time. The Braves have several of those kind of guys, including Javy Lopez and Joe Borchard.
”BARBEQUE” by Robert Earl Keen
Oooh when I was a little boy
Only one or two
The first thing I did enjoy
Was a plate of barbeque
CHORUS:
Barbeque sliced beef and bread
Ribs and sausage and a cold Big Red
Barbeque makes old ones feel young
Barbeque makes everybody someone
If you’re feelin’ puny and you don’t know what to do
Treat yourself to some meat eat some barbeque
Now there was a girl I knew
She treated me so mean
I offered her my barbeque
She licked my platter clean
CHORUS
Don’t give me no broccoli
Or any Swiss fondue
Baby if you want to rock me
Give me good ole barbeque
CHORUS
Don’t send me to heaven
It ain’t where I should go
Cause the Devil’s got a charcoal pit
And a good fire down below
CHORUS
Let your feet hit the street
Find a good place to eat
Get some barbeque
