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Home > Terence Moore > Archives > 2008 > December > 17 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USBraves need to bring Furcal back
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s a no-brainer. The Braves need to bring back Rafael Furcal. If they don’t, they’ll need to bring in the paramedics - for themselves.
I mean, how much rejection during one offseason can what was a universally loved organization take? The answer: The Braves are at their limit, and you can’t blame their decision makers for any of it.
They’ve been victims of bad luck, awful timing and just crazy stuff.
There was that deal for Jake Peavy that was close, then not so much, then in the vicinity of happening, then gone. They had another standout pitcher, A.J. Burnett, pretty much with a tomahawk across his chest. That was before the New York Yankees used their pinstripes and dollar bills to yank him away.
The Braves did acquire Javier Vazquez, a master at throwing 200 innings or more each season, but they need more. They need another significant pitcher, and they need Furcal, their spark plug near the back end of their run to 14 consecutive trips to the playoffs through 2005.
Furcal spent his first six seasons in the major leagues with the Braves before bolting to Los Angeles as a free agent, and the Dodgers want him back. Thus the latest offseason stumbling block for the rebuilding Braves. After all, they’ve proven they can’t live without him.
Since Furcal left for the Dodgers, the Braves have lacked a leadoff hitter and a trip to the postseason.
Coincidence? Nope. It also hasn’t helped the Braves’ cause that their starting pitching has gone from Cy Maddux, Cy Smoltz and Cy Glavine to several aching question marks (Tim Hudson, John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, etc.). And, no, Furcal isn’t a true exclamation point after missing most of last season after back surgery in July.
Still, Furcal is worth the gamble. He hit .357 during the 36 games that he played, and here’s the big thing: He had an on-base percentage of .439.
The Braves’ 2008 leadoff hitters had an on-base percentage of .356.
Here’s another big thing: Gregor Blanco led the Braves in stolen bases last season with 13 in 430 at bats. Furcal had eight stolen bases in 143 at bats.
Case closed.
Permalink | Comments (36) | Categories: Braves/MLB
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By Rick Long
December 17, 2008 11:46 AM | Link to this
Mr. Moore:
You and I don’t often agree, but you hit the nail square on the head with this piece.
By Well Duh
December 17, 2008 11:52 AM | Link to this
The Braves would not pay the guy three years ago. Now they are begging him to come back. Ownership has allowed the current situation with the Braves. Johnny Sureholtz was bad in his last years and the current GM is nothing to write home about. Heck, he even screwed up the crummy Orioles. Until ownership gets SERIOUS about winning, the Braves are a middle of the pack team at best. No division titles, no playoffs, less TV coverage now that TBS has become the sitcom channel. Until the Braves get serious about winning, I will not get serious about spending my money at Turner Field. There is more to summer than coming downtown Atlanta and drilling my pocketbook for $200 bucks to see them make errors and lose.
By spotts
December 17, 2008 12:16 PM | Link to this
I agree we need Furcal. Either to strengthen the lineup or to indirectly trigger a trade for a top pitcher.
But the Braves’ leadoff OBP wasn’t that bad last year (thanks in large part to Kelly’s walks). Furcal’s career OBP is .352.
By mick embry
December 17, 2008 12:17 PM | Link to this
the braves fans, also need to know that we’ve secured……. furcal. or peavy, lowe, halladay, even ankiel. anybody , who can help us feel like maybe, just maybe, we can keep up w/ the phillies, and mets. everyday we’re expecting some kind of moves and the only moves we’ve experienced is …. getting burned by that dag-gone ’ hot-stove’.
By braves4ever
December 17, 2008 12:18 PM | Link to this
Terence, Yes its a good move and we need a least 2 more to be a great team next year.Keep up the pressure to get us a great pitcher and possibly a HR hitter.That will make buying a ticket worth it!
By Eston
December 17, 2008 12:19 PM | Link to this
Good point Terence, we have not had a true leadoff hitter since Fooky left
By johnnyd333
December 17, 2008 12:20 PM | Link to this
Terrance, I could not agree more. If the bravos lose out on another weird free agent mishap then i think Wren will be inclined to overpay for a lesser free agent. This has been the most frustrating off season since I have been a braves fan and we NEED to bring in Furcal to get this team something it desperately needs.
By steve budnik
December 17, 2008 12:22 PM | Link to this
Terence:
Case opened back up. We have a guy named Yunel Escobar with a much bigger up side than Rafie. Bad idea giving up anything of significance to get Rafie back.
By alex
December 17, 2008 12:22 PM | Link to this
If you say so Terrance. Don’t forget that Furcal’s lifetime on-base is around .350. And he had Mark Kotsay-type back surgery.
I’m still on the fence about this one.
By FACTS PLEASE
December 17, 2008 12:27 PM | Link to this
I dont know why the braves hold Blanco with such high regard. Maybe its because thats all we have. Has to be because he cant hit major league pitching consistantly and hes not that great at defense either.
The Braves need to bring up their talent thats plain and simple. Hanson is ready and has nothing left to prove in the minors, Schaffer is ready, he had a great spring training last year and looked very ready and theres a couple more ready to come up too. We should have kept Flowers and put him in left field. Such a shame that a bat like his will be used against us. Sometimes I think they are waisting money. Sign Smoltz now and get on with it.
Smoltz Jurrjens Hanson Vazquez Morton/Reyes/Campilla/Parr. Let them fight it out.
By GTSteve
December 17, 2008 12:28 PM | Link to this
I am with you on this one T
By Chuck James was solid until the 6th!! (Formerly Steve-O)
December 17, 2008 12:38 PM | Link to this
Agreed.
By Kevin
December 17, 2008 12:39 PM | Link to this
Didn’t we already sign him yesterday? I think this article is a day late.
By Matt Yoder
December 17, 2008 12:43 PM | Link to this
You are right on the money Mr.Moore!!! Imagine a lineup with the 1st 4 batters being…#1Furcal / #2 Blanco / #3 Chipper / #4 McCann. = A pitchers worst nightmare!!!! GO BRAVES ;-)
By ErinM
December 17, 2008 12:43 PM | Link to this
Their is no doubt the Braves need Furcal. But if we get him lets put Escobar and Johnson on the blocks. Lets see some on the deals we could get and trade off one on them. Not to mentioned we still have Prado in the wings ready as well. Their is still hope for the organization althoght alot looks down. We could go after a Sheets, a Garland and or a Penny for depth instead of using Escobar for just Peavy. Either way we could still be winners in the off season.
By Bo
December 17, 2008 12:44 PM | Link to this
Total BS…We don’t need Furcal.
By oldmike
December 17, 2008 12:46 PM | Link to this
Well we certainly aren’t going back to the time when we were winning each year. And that hurts us with the prospective f/agents. Losing Burnett hurt but if and when he breaks down it won’t matter to us, just the Yanks. Maybe the Bravos need to go back to rebuilding from the ground up. Put Hansen and the other “untouchable” arms in the system in the rotation, limit their innings and see what happens. Use some of the blue chip position players too. Remember, Mike Schmidt struck out a zillion times in his first season, hit under .200 as well. He’s in the Hall. Any comments Terence?
By Jerry
December 17, 2008 12:48 PM | Link to this
It would be interesting to see if Peavy really would have said no to the Bravos trade when the time came. I am glad that Burnett went to the Yankees.
Do not trade Yunel. He!! put his hindend out in left field.
We have the same questions about our outfield as we did last year only now our predicament is worse because of the Francouer fiasco last year. So we don’t know what to expect from Frenchy and we still have no centerfielder. Blanco is not the answer and Schafer still has question marks. Can he hit big league pitching.
We need Frenchy to hit .280-.290 with 25-30 homers and 100 RBIs.
We’re good at firstbase, shortstop whether its Yunel or Furcal, 2nd if its Yunel or Furcal and 3rd while Hoss will hopefully give us 130 games. Catcher we’re solid unless he gets hurt and our bullpen seems adequate.
Yunel is our answer for when Chipper decides to retire or move to the American League.
DO NOT TRADE YUNEL!!!!!
Sign Smoltz for a million with an 11 million dollar incentive contract.
Smoltz, Vasquez, JJ, and one additional starter with Hanson to prove himself in spring training to take the 5th spot. He can’t do any worse than JoJo, Charlie or Parr. With JoJo, if he doesn’t get it this year he needs to go on somewhere else.
Halliday and Rios are to good to be true and KC will want Yunel. If anything go ahead and stop now, with the idea of bringing Anderson, Blanco and Schafer along.
Watch out this spring if Cox will give Gorky Hernandez a chance he will shione.
By Bravado
December 17, 2008 12:48 PM | Link to this
Terence,
Let be the 1st to say…… You Suck!
By Larry Barry
December 17, 2008 12:59 PM | Link to this
Breaking news has Furcal about to sign with the Dodgers.
The Braves crack beat writer Dave O’Brien is wrong again…come to think of it, when is the last time he was right about anything?
Hey Dave, I thought Rafy loved playing for Bobby Cox and regarded him as a father figure.
I guess he’s about to tell Daddy he is running away from home again.
By the real Old Gold
December 17, 2008 1:00 PM | Link to this
I think if it means trading Escobar then it’s not worth it. But we could use some life on lead off. We should have kept Tex, and Escobar is a franchise player.
By nique
December 17, 2008 1:04 PM | Link to this
Why do the Braves need to spend money on Furcal when they already have two middle infielders that cost much less and put up comparable if not better numbers?
By ReggieATL
December 17, 2008 1:08 PM | Link to this
Terrence, we only need Furcal so we can ship Escobar for a starting pitcher. In isolation, i.e. if we were just looking for a SS, this would be a fruitless signing since we are loaded at SS. “Since Furcal left for the Dodgers, the Braves have lacked a leadoff hitter and a trip to the postseason. Coincidence?” Seriously? It’s statements like that that make me wonder how you get get paid for your opinion. The lack of power in the outfield, the lack of effective relief pitching, an aging and depleted rotation, this is whey we didn’t make the post-season. Come on, the list goes on and on. Furcal’s good, but THE REASON we didn’t get to the postseason????
By Kendawg
December 17, 2008 1:15 PM | Link to this
The only reason the Braves need Furcal is they need a pitcher in the worst way. If they can trade Escobar for a decent pitcher, maybe they can finish third behind the Phillies and the Mets. Otherwise, it’s likely to be a fourth or last place finish.
By BRETT
December 17, 2008 1:25 PM | Link to this
SIGN RAFFY & PUT HIM AT SHORT!! MOVE ESCOBAR TO 2ND UNTIL CHIPPER GETS HURT-THEN MOVED HIM TO 3RD!!!!!!
By Supes
December 17, 2008 1:28 PM | Link to this
This is a gamble, but one that the Braves have to take. Simple as that.
If it works, as in Raffy stays healthy, hits .275 or better, gets on base at a close to .400 clip, and steals 30 bases or more…if it works it’s great.
If the bad back injury prohibits him for playing lets say 5-6 weeks stretch like it did for Mark Kotsay, not good.
By TURTSNAP
December 17, 2008 1:29 PM | Link to this
Kevin, no the deal isn’t final yet. The Dodgers are throwing money his way to keep him.
Talk about an ultimate slap in the face, if he goes back to LA, we will look bad.
By Bill Hall
December 17, 2008 1:35 PM | Link to this
Why would anyone play Blanco over Josh Anderson,especially hit him #2.Play Anderson until Schafferis ready.
By BT
December 17, 2008 1:36 PM | Link to this
No we absolutely don’t!
By Najeh Davenpoop
December 17, 2008 1:46 PM | Link to this
There are all kinds of risks in paying an injury-prone 31-year-old who relies on speed $10 million per year, but I think at this point the positives outweigh the negatives. Escobar is a nice player but he’s not the game changer in the leadoff spot that Furcal is. I’d be totally cool with signing Furcal and dealing Escobar in a package for Peavy.
By Chillymutt
December 17, 2008 1:46 PM | Link to this
Getting Furcal allows so much flexibility - we really do need him. Was surprised when I didn’t hear the Braves in the mix earlier.
By Pierre
December 17, 2008 2:02 PM | Link to this
If Furcal goes to the Dodgers as it is being reported, then the Braves ought to never negotitate again with Paul Kinser, the agent for Furcal. He told the Braves they had a deal and then pulled the old bait and switch.
By bo stephens
December 17, 2008 2:07 PM | Link to this
There are few shortstops anywhere worth more than $5-6 mil year and Furcal ain’t one of them. Take Adam Dunn with 10-12 mil or Burrell or some slugger that can plate some runs-or a Peavy like pitcher. Best thing the Braves have done yet-passed on A.J. after one good year!
By hugh
December 17, 2008 2:15 PM | Link to this
I have persuaded at least 87 friends NOT to renew their season tickets. Wren has NO clout with Liberty Media—and the Braves are sinking faster than the Titanic.We can’t even sign Ankiel—let alone Burrell,Burnett or Lowe. Abandon all hope—-the Braves will not exist until there is a local owner who cares. Last place is a certainty—-Oh, did I mention—the Braves are horrendously boring with all the 3rd rate players.
By Howie
December 17, 2008 2:24 PM | Link to this
Even if we signed Furcal his back’s a big ? …We don’t have enough power at 1st… Chipper is as likely as not to spend multiple trips on the DL….Starting pitching is very very shaky and very shaky even if we sign another starter….Television coverage was awful last year…Well, at least we have Skip and Pete to listen to…UhOh, what? they’re both GONE?? Woe is me…a lifelong Braves fan….
By Chris
December 17, 2008 2:24 PM | Link to this
I agree with Mr. Moore. The Braves need a number of things, but switch hitting speedster would help.