Notes on 755 Hank Aaron Dr

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

What now? 2008 Edition

As the first trading deadline approaches, it's clear to everyone (even the Braves front office) that the Braves are sellers, not buyers. But the question should now be: How much to sell?

Obviously, Mark Teixeira and Will Ohman should be traded. They're both free agents at the end of the year. Teixeira, with Boras as his agent, will almost certainly not sign any new contract until he hits free agency, so if the Braves really want him in 2009, they can bid on his services after the season.

But what about the rest of the team? Who should be untouchable?

There are only a few players that I would put in that category. Not that all the rest should be traded, but if a good offer is made for any of them, it should be considered. So who's untouchable? And why?

First, Chipper Jones. In all honesty, he might be a good one to trade. He's aging, has injury problems that could probably be helped by DHing a lot, and makes a lot of money. But he's a 10 and 5 man, so he'd have to agree to any trade, and seems very unlikely to do so. Unless he asks to be traded, he's here until his contract ends.

Next, Brian McCann. If he's not the best catcher in MLB, he's certainly in the discussion. And, let's be honest, there's certainly no one in the system to replace him, even a bit. Corky Miller? Clint Sammons? Pass.

Jair Jurrjens. He's already proven he can pitch in the majors, which puts him ahead of all the other young starters the Braves have around. Not only that, he looks like a potential ace. He shouldn't go anywhere.

And that's about it. I'd probably keep Escobar before Kelly Johnson, just because it's easier to find someone to play 2B. None of the outfielders are untouchable - in fact, I probably should have put Kotsay in the group with Tex and Ohman.

The fact is, the Braves have very few star quality players right now. On the other hand, they do have a lot of good young players. So, they should make moves based on 2009 just as much as 2010 or 2011.

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Thursday, July 10, 2008

Mike Hampton

Now, on to one of the things I like about the Braves.

Surprise. Mike Hampton is one of those good things.

I think that you just have to admire a guy who has worked so hard to try and keep playing, despite repeated setbacks. The sheer tenacity required to go through never-ending rehab. The doggedness required to ignore the fact that your body is refusing to keep things together well enough to play baseball.

I'm a big fan of Mike Hampton. He could have sat at home, collected $14 million a year for the past three years, and no one really would have cared much. Instead, he's essentially become the butt of a lot of jokes, all while working hard to try and keep doing something that he obviously loves.

But don't take any of the above to mean that I believe that he'll ever be an effective major league player again. Honestly, I don't expect him to ever pitch in the majors again.

Fortunately, the Braves front office appears to have come to the same conclusion, as they built their 2008 roster in such a way as to make Hampton a luxury rather than a necessity. If he surprises everyone and pitches the second half of 2008, it will be nice. But if he doesn't, the Braves do have a decent rotation.

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Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Greg Norton

I'm supposed to be writing about the things I like about the Braves. But I have to get this one off of my chest first.

Greg Norton is, to me, the worst thing about the 2008 Braves.

It's not that he's a useless player. As a corner utilityman, he's perfectly fine. The problem is this:

.251 .336 .423 93
.296 .374 .520 130

Those are his 162-game averages, and his career high (which was 2006).

And here's Brayan Pena's numbers in eight minor league seasons:

.314 .360 .404

To be fair, here's his major league numbers:

.228 .252 .315 47

That's only a 162-game average; he's never been given a chance to establish a career high.

Greg Norton turns 36 years old this weekend. He's not even likely to match his career averages. Brayan Pena is 26 years old. He might hit like he has through the minors. Norton is certainly no better in the field than Pena - and Pena can catch.

But the Braves decided to give Pena away, and still owe the Mariners something for Greg Norton. And he's played almost every day since the Braves acquired him - putting up this line:
.206 .306 .340 74

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