AJC > Sports > Columnists > Archives > 2007 > July > 31
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Bittersweet decision to trade ‘Salty’ away
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Furman Bisher
Hilton Head Island, S.C. — News is a bit slow arriving at this destination of relaxation, and when it hit this time, it was like a sock in the chops. Not unexpected, oh, no. But just another one of those you hoped would never come off. Not that Mark Teixeira’s not a nice quality to insert in the Braves lineup, but once more the cost was excessive in the eyes of this old salt.
For all these seasons in the farm system, Jarrod Saltalamacchia had been nurtured and primed for his place on the home team. Hottest catching prospect in the minors, so I’ve read. It happened earlier than expected this season and not in a way fair to his future. There was no room at catcher, and first base was not his natural position, but he came, he answered the call at both positions and you expected to see that alphabetical spread across the back of a Braves uniform for time to come.
He goes, Teixeira comes, and in the minds of Braves biographers, it is no less than a repetition of the deal that brought Fred McGriff to the team and a string of successful seasons followed. That was in 1993, but McGriff was just a temporary cog in the machine. No doubt about Teixeira’s numbers. He brings clout to the offense. He’s also a familiar face, a third baseman at Georgia Tech, converted to first baseman by the Rangers, who haven’t been blazing any trails.
What bothers me is this, the many times the Braves have forfeited a bright future for the immediacy. Check out some of these: Jermaine Dye went to Kansas City for Michael Tucker and Keith Lockhart, and has been an American League All-Star with the White Sox; Adam Wainwright went to the Cardinals for J.D. Drew, when the Braves knew Drew would be here only a year, and both Wainwright and Dye have been leading figures on the World Series stage; Jason Schmidt was traded for a short-time left-hander; Kevin Millwood was traded for Johnny Estrada, who was traded for Oscar Villarreal — in other words, Millwood for Villarreal; Mark DeRosa was left to roam and now is a key Cub in Chicago; Adam LaRoche was traded for Mike Gonzalez, now a surgery victim, and final results won’t be in on that deal for a good while.
These are just a few, the key ones. Oh, I didn’t like the hasty riddance of Macay McBride, in exchange for another left-hander since discarded. It disturbs old crocks who have a feeling that living for today at the expense of forfeiting the future — forfeiting golden prospects incubated in the farm system with loving care for an immediate fix at some position, with the notion that there’s another one of those pennants to be mounted over the left-field bleachers — causes serious dyspepsia.
John Schuerholz has hit the jackpot with some of his slick trades, signings and raids on the free-agent market. Edgar Renteria, for one. He got lucky with Matt Diaz, Peter Moylan and Buddy Carlyle. He asks blessings upon his regional scouts who came up with Jeff Francoeur, Brian McCann and Chuck James. He startled us all when he signed McCann to a bullish contract before free agency was a threat. Rare is the GM who mines the ore of his home field so well.
He and Bobby Cox live and die by the bullpen. Bob Wickman has been erratic. The sight of Tyler Yates coming through the outfield gate is nerve-racking. Yes, Scott Thorman has fallen short, so short that 48-year-old, going on 49, Julio Franco was called on. Teixeira is supposed to heal that wound, and should, though he’ll be looking at a different grade of pitching in this league. And the new left-hander, Ron Mahay, a stranger to most of us, is supposed to be the missing link in the bullpen.
Nothing, though, is quite so agitating to the fan who has seen young Salty hauled in prematurely, still fill a double role well, then get shipped off to the wild, wild west at his tender age. I’m sorry, but that’s the inner voice of this old man speaking out.
Permalink | Comments (112) | Categories: Furman Bisher
To be in the presence of Cooperstown guys
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
Since the inductions on Sunday of Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. into baseball’s Hall of Fame, I’ve been thinking about something. Bobby Cox and John Smoltz already have the bills of their caps in Cooperstown. Chipper Jones is in the vicinity. Plus, if Andruw Jones returns to the land of the living as a hitter, he is a fungo or three down the road.
Count them. That’s four Braves with a chance at bronzed immortality. Only the New York Yankees of Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Joe Torre can boast of such a thing.
Do folks realize that? Maybe, but probably not. The choppers and the chanters have taken those mostly responsible for the Braves’ consistent goodness through the years for granted. Then again, there are many in the Braves clubhouse who secretly pinch themselves when in the midst of Cox, Smoltz and the two Jones.
For instance: Nothing against Ron Washington or anything. It’s just that when Jarrod Saltalamacchia walks into the Texas Rangers’ clubhouse for the first time after his trade from the Braves, he won’t tingle the same way over his new manager as he did with his last one. There was Saltalamacchia’s first spring training in 2006, when he was startled by a friendly voice and a cheery face in the Braves clubhouse in Orlando.
“Hey, Salty. How are you?” shouted that voice, with that face causing Saltalamacchia’s eyes to grow. It was Cox, owner of 15 consecutive division titles at that point, along with five pennants and a world championship. Cox did all of that with veteran teams, young teams, healthy rosters, crippled rosters, superstars, marginal stars and no stars.
“So when he greeted me like that for the first time, wow, I didn’t know what to say,” said Saltalamacchia, grinning. “I was just speechless, you know?”
Chuck James knows. This is just his second season in the major leagues as a promising starter. Not only that, he is an Atlanta native, and he was signed by a Braves team that he idolized as a youth, and his locker is next to Chipper Jones. “I remember the first time I saw him,” said James, shaking his head, while recalling that time in 2004 when Jones briefly joined James’ minor league team in Rome to recover from an injury.
James laughed, saying, “I mean, everybody just sat there and watched him get dressed, because it was like, wow. That’s Chipper Jones. Now my locker is right beside him, so it’s just awesome.”
Added James, with another wide grin, “I also remember my first rookie ball in 2003, and John Smoltz came up to me and asked me if I had thrown already. The only thing that came out of my mouth was ‘Ah, ah, ah,’ something like that. We went out to throw, and it seemed like every movement he made, he would just lob the ball to me, and I felt like it was a good, crisp 95 mph. It was like, ‘This is John Smoltz.’ “
This is John Smoltz, the only pitcher ever with 200 victories and 150 saves. This also is Andruw Jones with 362 home runs at only 30 years old to complement his nine Gold Gloves, five trips to the All-Star game and average of 150 games played during each of his previous 10 seasons. This is Chipper Jones, too, with more home runs as a switch-hitter than anybody not named Mickey Mantle or Eddie Murray.
Can Chipper Jones sense the pounding hearts of teammates when they are in his presence? “If you portray yourself as untouchable, people might be afraid to talk you a little bit, but one thing that John [Smoltz] and I do as vocal leaders on the club is that we make it known from day one that we’re approachable,” Jones said. “Talk to us about anything, because chances are, we’ve been through it.”
Even going gaga in private over potential Hall of Famers? “Oh, man,” said Jones, pausing. He kept thinking before sounding even more like a Cooperstown guy, “I don’t think so.”
Permalink | Comments (14) | Categories: Braves / MLB, Terence Moore
Walsh was a true wizard
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
THE TUESDAY COUNTDOWN
10: Some coaches today think they’re innovators. They have no idea. Bill Walsh was so far ahead of the curve in every way, and I’m not talking about just the “West Coast” offense.
9: Walsh was the first to realize you didn’t have to beat up guys in practice. Drills were focused more on details than banging. He knew better than most when to cut a player (to the surprise of everyone, including the player) and when to bring one in, even if at the tail end of a career (Jack Reynolds). He spent more time than most on the start of the game (scripting the first 15 plays) and the end (two-minute offense). He excelled at knowing how to motivate players in ways other than yelling. And it follows, he excelled at mind games. Finally, many African-American coaches in the game today, including Marvin Lewis and Ty Willingham, can thank Walsh for starting a minority-coaching program in the 1980s.
8: On a personal note: I worked in the Bay Area and covered the 49ers. I can tell you that it often was an aggravating endeavor because Walsh made it so. (He also was ahead of the curve in mind games with the media.) But it was sort of a fun aggravation.
7: I once asked Walsh about signing Tom Cousineau for his strike-replacement team. Walsh said, “That’s not true.” I said, “Bill, his jersey is already hanging in a locker.” Walsh said, “We changed our mind.” Of course, the next day Cousineau was on the practice field. I once asked Walsh before a Super Bowl about his impending retirement. He said, “I haven’t decided yet.” I said, “Bill, I’ve got two sources who say you told them you’ve made the decision.” He said, “They were mistaken.” Of course, they weren’t, and he retired.
6: At the time, I considered Walsh a pain. Now I can say it was a privilege to cover him, to know him and to be misdirected by him.
5: So when was the last time we could say, “The Braves have the best lineup I in the National League”? And when is Free Lithium Night at Shea Stadium?
4: According to the “Summary of Facts” for Tony Taylor’s dog-fighting guilty plea, “At one point, the defendants obtained shirts and headbands representing and promoting their affiliation with ‘Bad Newz Kennels.’” The big problem with that is the shirts and headbands did not carry the Nike logo. Thus Vick lost his endorsement deal. I think.
3: Nice hard-hitting interview by V-103. Wonder if Michael Vick left the money on the nightstand when it was over.
2: Richard Lapchick released his “Racial and Gender Report Card” for the WNBA Tuesday. The report concluded that the league needs more men players.
1: Matt Schaub, more myth than reality right now, may or may not come back to haunt the Falcons. But it won’t be this season. One online sportsbook lists Houston as 100-1 to win the Super Bowl. The Falcons, with Joey Harrington, are 40-1.
Permalink | Comments (49) | Categories: Jeff Schultz, Quick Hit
