Posts tagged ‘Braves’

Griffey Picks the Seatle over Atlanta

It has been said on this podcast over and over how the media and especially the newspaper here in Atlanta is not the best.  Well here is a shocker as if you didn’t know Griffey is headed back to Seattle and not the Braves.  Why you ask?  I don’t know but here is a good guess, the AJC!

We sports fans here in Atlanta only have one option to read about things happening with our sports teams.  Anyone who knows knows not to put all of your eggs in one basket while trying to run down a hill or something like that.  Well a couple of writers here proclaimed Jr. was a Brave days before the man even signed a contract!  So you are telling me veteran writes for a city paper gets paid on assumptions?  Sign me up, no wait just give me a pay check. 

This is not the first time the Atlanta media has got ahead of the actual news.  Remember a few short months ago Escobar was gone and we had an ace to head up our rotation.  We talked about that for months until it was confirmed he was headed to the Cubbies just before he was actually staying in San Diego.  But what went wrong with the Kid? 

I don’t get paid to do this so I will not try and mess this up just write down what might have swayed his decision.  A couple days ago he was coming here.  He really wanted to play for arguably the best manager in the game today and he lives in Orlando.  His daughter is playing basketball in Atlanta and his son plays football in Florida just an hour or so from the busiest airport in the country.  So what gives?  After all of his years in the game he still has a heart and he actually cares about the fans.  The fans in the wrong city maybe but he cares.  Sorry Seattle.

Maybe he is still a shy kid and when he saw in big bold letters in the AJC about is days as a Brave before anything was settled unnerved him.  Can you blame him?  Just think as the pressure a Major league player has when he signs with a team; just multiply that because he is on your team before he is on your team.

Frank Wren caught all kind of grief because big name players slipped through his hands and then he went on a spree and got players for this team.  A reprieve maybe but this is not on Frankie.  To me this goes on the media and the writers on their assumptions.  I know these guys get paid to break big stories but if you have to go to the player’s best friend’s neighbor to get it well you should be doing blogs and podcasts not getting paid.  It is called a rumor for a reason.  If you put all the rumors in the paper well you would have to leave out the comics and the obituaries.

Where does MLB and the Braves stand in today economy?

Will the economy affect your attendance to games this year? The Braves and MLB are hoping not. To answer my own question, I may have to settle for staying home for a few more games then in previous years. Like some many of you, I have had cut backs at my jobs and won’t have the same extra money to spend as in recent years. This week’s show will cover how to save some cash at the ballpark and also what I want to get into today, Braves contracts and options for the next few seasons.

I would like to start by saying a good portion of my information has came from a great site Cot’s Baseball Contracts. An absolutely great site! Check it out. The Braves have made some great pitching moves to lock in a solid rotation for the next few years. Lowe just signed a 4 years deal, Kawakamia is signed for 3, Vazquez for 2, and Hudson has an option through next year. The Braves also own the services of Jair Jurrjens till at least 2012. The heart of the Braves pitching staff will remain in tact for the next few years. In addition the players just mentioned, the Braves still have young upcoming pitchers like Tommy Hanson, James Parr, Charlie Morton and Jo-Jo Reyes. All these players are expected to hold down jobs in the Major Leagues at some point in time. Although the starting pitching looks great, there are some concerns after this year in the bullpen. Braves relievers Mike Gonzalez, and Rafael Soriano can file for free agency after this season. Gonzalez just signed a 3.45 million dollar contract to avoid arbitration.  Some other pieces to the pen such as Peter Moylan and Jorge Campillo do not have the required MLB service to file for free agency for the next 2 seasons. In a whole Braves’ GM frank Wren should have a solid base for pitching for year to come.

When it comes to position players after 09 the one question that come to mind is, will the Braves resign Chipper Jones? Many would say they would be crazy not to, but we just seen what happened with the Smoltz situation. I think the Braves may offer a year or 2 extension because Chipper’s batting stats have actually gotten better with his age. Chipper also seems to be a better defender at 3^rd base then in his younger days. The only question is about his health. He would be a perfect fit with an AL team when if he ever choices to become a DH somewhere. I hope Chipper can remain healthy and stay a Brave till retirement. As for the rest of the position players things are looking good. McCann signed that 6 year deal to keep him a Braves till 2012 with an option for 2013. Along the infield Kotchman, Johnson and Escobar are all locked up with the Braves due to their lack of MLB service. The Braves may elect to offer some arbitration over the next few years but Atlanta is good at settling contracts before it gets to that. In the outfield things get complicated. Jeff Francoeur turned down a contract offer and elected to peruse arbitration. This means a 3^rd party will determine his pay for this year.   He still has 2 more years before he can file for full free agency. It will be interesting to see if the Braves offer him a long term deal after this season to avoid arbitration again. Finishing out the outfield the Braves have a real young core of Gregor Blanco, Josh Anderson, and Brandon Jones. Blanco has the most experience with 1 full year of service.

The Braves continue to save money year by year by producing some of the best minor league talent around.

Throughout this bad economy, the Braves have been in a position where they only seek a hand full of free agents compared to teams like the Yankees who only have a few of their own minor league players. I believe this will keep the Braves extremely competitive throughout the rest of the decade and beyond. The Braves may not have ever be interested in the top free agents over the years like Manny, A-Rod, or any of those other guys, but they really don’t have a need to spend that kind of money . One of the coolest things I can say about being a Braves fans is that I seen McCann, Francouer, and many others when they were in the minors increasing their skills. Where autographs are free and you can hold a conversation with the players. Times are tough, hopefully we can all get out to some games this year and support our Braves!

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