AJC > Sports > Braves > Blog > Archives > 2008 > March > 24
Monday, March 24, 2008
Braves trades are brewing
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Winter Haven, Fla. _ I’ve always told myself that one of these years I’d stop by Webb’s Goat’s Milk Fudge in Haines City on my drive over to a spring training game in Winter Haven.
I was wrong.
Unless it’s open when I drive past tonight on my way back, or I have some other uniminagable reason to ever drive to Winter Haven again after the Indians pull up stakes and head to Arizona next spring, then it looks as though I will not be sampling any goat’s milk fudge. At least not from Webb’s.
Anyway, let’s get to it. Smoltz’s shoulder or trade talk, which do you want first? OK, trade talk it is.
No, wait, first I need to tell you, Bobby Cox confirmed this morning that Tom Glavine would slip into the home-opener start March 31 if sore-shouldered John Smoltz is on the DL, which seems like a certainty at this point.
Smoltz didn’t throw today at Dark Star, but said he would do some light throwing tomorrow for sure. If the arm’s ready, he’ll pitch in a minor league game or simulated game this week. Folks, you all probably realize this, but it’s DL for sure, with him expected to come back and pitch in the seventh game of the season April 6.
The Braves would open with Tim Hudson pitching opening night Sunday at D.C., then Glavine on Monday at Turner Field. After the Tuesday off day, Cox said either Mike Hampton or Jair Jurrjens could pitch Game 3, with the other going, obviously, the next day. He hasn’t decided whether to split up the lefties with Smoltz out of the rotation.
With Smoltz in the rotation, Cox said he would have split up Glavine and Hampton. He didn’t give specifics, but I think it would have gone Hudson, Smoltz, Glavine, Jurrjens, Hampton.
Oh, yes, without announcing Jurrjens was in the rotation, Cox did announce it by saying Jurrjens could go in the third slot, or Hampton could. You have to read between the lines, put 2 and 2 together, etc, a lot on this beat. Not that anybody expected Jurrjens wouldn’t be in the rotation, which has seemed like a done deal since that game March 5 right here in Winter Haven, when he pitched three perfect innings against the Tribe in his second Grapefruit League start.
By the way, Pirates plan to start Ian Snell in the March 31 game at Turner, followed by Tom Gorzelany and Paul Maholm.
OK, now trade talk: When I asked GM Frank Wren 20 minutes ago whether he anticipated a trade, he gave me a refreshing, honest answer: “I do. I think we’ll make a deal or two,” he said. “I’m not sure of the magnitude yet.”
The Braves are looking to add a bench player with a more-proven bat than they have now, but I can’t give you any names yet. You know how these things go - it’s likely going to be an extra player from another team that has a surplus at a position, like the Braves have a surplus of relievers.
Nobody thought the Jorge Sosa-for-Nick Green a few years ago was much of an impact deal for the Braves at the time, but Sosa ended up being a pretty major piece for the Bravos, at least for a season.
You know the out-of-options Braves relievers, but just to remind they are Blaine Boyer, Chris Resop, Tyler Yates and lefty Royce Ring. Boyer and Resop have had very good camps, and Ring’s shown at least some progress using more breaking balls to help him against right-handed hitters.
Not saying Ring won’t get traded, especially since Braves expect to have lefty Mike Gonzalez back from Tommy John surgery the first week in June, Cox said again today.
But to me, Yates looks like a goner. Plenty of teams interested in a guy who had 75 appearances last season and had a 3.96 ERA in 56 appearances in 2006. I look for Yates to be traded this week.
Who else? Perhaps catcher Brayan Pena, who has plenty of interest from catcher-needy teams. He’s a switch-hitter who can play a few other positions and not embarrass himself there (the outfield corners and the infield corners).
I don’t expect the Braves to keep both him and backup 1B Scott Thorman, both out of options. They might not keep either, but I definitely don’t see a 25-man roster with both of them on it.
Braves might trade Thorman and not have strictly a backup 1B (which is what Thorman is, a backup 1B and pinch-hitter; he hasn’t played any OF this spring). In the event Mark Teixeira got hurt, they could use one of several guys - Mark Kotsay, Matt Diaz, Pena if he’s on the team, Infante when he gets back - to play a few innings or games at first base.
And if Teixeira has a DL-type injury? Well, the Braves would need to go get a guy anyway, since Thorman has done nothing to make them believe he’d be ready to be a productive every-day 1B, no more than he was last season when he had that job.
So the Braves would have to make a trade for a Nick Johnson or someone else if Tex got hurt. Keep in mind, he’s only had one significant injury in five seasons, and that was a quadriceps muscle strain last year that kept him out about four weeks. Other than that, Tex has been extremely durable.
Oh, and this is a free-agent contract year for the Scott Boras client. He’ll be playing 155-160 games as long as he stays healthy.
Braves seem like they want to keep Corky Miller as their backup catcher.
They like rookie catch-and-throw guy Clint Sammons a lot, but he’s young and probably needs to keep playing plenty at the minor league level, rather than once a week in the majors. Plus, he’s not much of a hitting threat off the bench - Corky at least can give you a little pop (double-digit homers in the minors in ’05 and ’06, and a grand slam this spring, plus some mighty displays in batting practice. Hey, I still get impressed by B.P. sometimes, I’ll admit it).
Stay tuned. Trade news could happen anytime this week. We’ll let you know soon as we hear any rumors.
Oh, and I don’t get a sense the Braves are interested in Reed Johnson. They’ve got enough outfield depth, and he makes good coin. Robert Fick also drew no response that would lead me to believe Braves have interest.
Wes Helms? That’s a possibility, if they can’t do better.
John Smoltz update: OK, how’s your level of consternation over the Bearded Icon’s shoulder injury? Braves had said he’d do some light throwing today or tomorrow, but he didn’t throw today. Smoltz said probably tomorrow.
Unless and until he can’t pitch in the seventh game of the season April 6, or unless someone with knowledge of the situation will tell me otherwise, either on or off the record, then I’m going to have to assume Smoltz and the Braves aren’t downplaying the injury and that it is, indeed, just soreness in the trap muscle between his shoulder and neck.
“I think he’s coming along fine,” Cox said today.
Don’t know how they’d gauge that, other than Smoltz saying his shoulder feels better just moving it around (he hasn’t thrown since Wednesday).
Smoltz has rested his shoulder since being scratched from his Friday start, which would have been just his second Grapefruit League game (he skipped his other turns in order to follow his unique, some might say radical, throwing program of simulate games to let him work on breaking pitches).
“It’s stuff you go through in spring occasionally,” Cox said of Smoltz’s shoulder. “We wanted to play it safe. He’s ready to go. He’s been throwing since January, so he’ll be able to stretch out to six or seven innings.”
I’m not saying it might not be something worse, just saying there’s no reason to speculate irresponsibly just yet. Look around baseball and see how many veteran pitchers, and some young pitchers, have sore elbows or shoulders in spring training. It happens. A lot. I just noticed Kevin Millwood didn’t debut until last week for a similar situation.
Kelly’s sore knee: Martin Prado is playing second base again today in place of Kelly Johnson, who has a slightly sore knee from playing so much on the hard fields down here. “I’m just resting Kelly,” Cox said. “He’s played a ton. Too much, really.”
Today’s lineup: 1. Mark Kotsay, CF; 2. Yunel Escobar, SS; 3. Chipper Jones, 3B; 4. Mark Teixeira, 1B; 5. Jeff Francoeur, RF; 6. Matt Diaz, LF; 7. Martin Prado, 2B; 8. Brayan Pena, DH; 9. Clint Sammons, C.
Buddy Carlyle toeing the slab for the Bravos, RH Jake Wesbrook for the Tribe.
Music warning: Don’t read the next two paragraphs if you’re not into music (I always feel compelled to warn folks who like to complain about any divergence from baseball talk). I had my second and final CD buying splurge of spring training over the weekeend, my annual trip to downtown Orlando and Park Ave. CD, an outstanding indie shop. Found some terrific stuff.
I got Paul Thorn’s A Long Way from Tupelo, which I listened to on the drive over this morning. The white-boy former professional boxer and bluesy singer-songwriter is outstanding, on the appropriate named Perpetual Obscurity label. I also got Mike Doughty’s Golden Delicious, The Gutter Twins’ Saturnalia, and Bauhaus’ first CD or original material since 1983, Go Away White. And for the funk lovers out there, I strongly suggest the splendidly late-60s/70s era Carolina Funk compilation from the First in Funk set. If you like James Brown, you’ll love this stuff. I got two others from the fairer sex, and both are great: Kathleen Edwards’ new Asking for Flowers and a CD by someone I’d never heard of but loved when I listened to on the headphones at the store, Nicole Atkins’ Neptune City. Enjoy. I do.
“TOM TRAUBERT’S BLUES” by Tom Waits
Wasted and wounded, it ain’t what the moon did, I’ve got what I paid for now
See you tomorrow, hey Frank, can I borrow a couple of bucks from you
To go waltzing Mathilda, waltzing Mathilda,
You’ll go waltzing Mathilda with me
I’m an innocent victim of a blinded alley
And I’m tired of all these soldiers here
No one speaks English, and everything’s broken, and my Stacys are soaking wet
To go waltzing Mathilda, waltzing Mathilda,
You’ll go waltzing Mathilda with me
Now the dogs are barking and the taxi cab’s parking
A lot they can do for me
I begged you to stab me, you tore my shirt open,
And I’m down on my knees tonight
Old Bushmill’s I staggered, you’d bury the dagger
In your silhouette window light go
To go waltzing Mathilda, waltzing Mathilda,
You’ll go waltzing Mathilda with me
Now I lost my Saint Christopher now that I’ve kissed her
And the one-armed bandit knows
And the maverick Chinamen, and the cold-blooded signs,
And the girls down by the strip-tease shows, go
Waltzing Mathilda, waltzing Mathilda,
You’ll go waltzing Mathilda with me
No, I don’t want your sympathy, the fugitives say
That the streets aren’t for dreaming now
And manslaughter dragnets and the ghosts that sell memories,
They want a piece of the action anyhow
Go waltzing Mathilda, waltzing Mathilda,
You’ll go waltzing Mathilda with me
And you can ask any sailor, and the keys from the jailor,
And the old men in wheelchairs know
And Mathilda’s the defendant, she killed about a hundred,
And she follows wherever you may go
Waltzing Mathilda, waltzing Mathilda,
You’ll go waltzing Mathilda with me
And it’s a battered old suitcase to a hotel someplace,
And a wound that will never heal
No prima donna, the perfume is on an
Old shirt that is stained with blood and whiskey
And goodnight to the street sweepers, the night watchmen flame keepers
And goodnight to Mathilda, too
Services »
