Posts tagged ‘John Smoltz’

Derek Lowe in an apperance in Atlanta.

With the departure of John Smoltz things have seemed to pick up lately with other free agent pitchers. The Braves met with free agent pitcher Derek Lowe formally of the Dodgers. Lowe is probably the top pitcher on the still on the market now. The Braves did not seem to show much interest in Lowe at first, but things changed as the Mets made an offer and the Braves lost Smoltz to the RedSox. Lowe would provide an “ace” type pitcher that is severely needed in the starting rotation. Lowe can provide both quality starts, and many innings pitched throughout the year. He is most noted for his durability over his career. Even with an addition of Lowe the Braves still have a need for more quality starting. In another deal, the Braves are reported as being close to signing free agent pitcher Kenshen Kawakami from Japan.

Kawakami is a largely scouted pitcher in Japan that has the MLB equivalent of a Cy Young award. He brings many good potential qualities to an MLB club. He is still young at only 33, and a few players in MLB baseball have ever faced him. He features a fast ball that tops out around 90 mph, and a great curveball. He also has a typical deceptive motion as much of the Japanese pitchers feature. There are some negatives to this deal however, in Japan pitchers work on a 6 or even 7 day rotation compared to 5 or sometimes even 4 in MLB. Along with this, communication is always an issue with foreign players. I don’t know how much English he knows, but I am willing to bet catcher Brian McCann does not know much. Kawakami is supposed to meet with the Braves over the weekend in Atlanta and pending a physical could be signed as early as next week. Let’s hope these deals get done and the Braves can then turn their focus on acquiring a power hitting left fielder. Jereme will have a full rumor mill update on the next available show.

Video Highlights of Kenshen Kawakami Pitching in Japan

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John Smoltz departs from the Braves after over 20 seasons

Pat:

I think Jereme said it best last week in the show when he mentioned how much baseball has changed and how he missed the way things used to be. With the news that John Smoltz will be headed north to Boston, I couldn’t help but to think what it now takes for a player to play an entire career with the same team. Yes I realize he was part of the Tigers organization to start with, but Smoltz is and will always be a Brave in my eyes. I have read several reports stating that Atlanta’s offer was nowhere in the same ballpark as the Redsox. I have to believe that Smoltz was keeping the Braves informed of potential clubs interest and probably gave the Braves a chance to match or come close. This is just another big disappointment in what has been a very hard off-season for Braves fans. Frank Wren will now turn his attention to signing Derek Lowe. Although the move would still be positive for the Braves, it really doesn’t seem to matter as much now!!!

Jereme:

This Morning when I woke up it was hard to believe that the long time Braves Pitcher John Smoltz was no longer with us. Now I am not going to lie, I am a little bitter. I mean the way this off-season has gone its hard for even the most loyal Braves fan to not have some bitterness in them. I am torn on who to really blame. Is it fair to blame Smoltz, or the front office of the Braves? Who is to blame will come out later this week as the Braves say they offered him an incentive based deal and Smoltz says that there are large gaps in the offer. The one thing that I can say with a Definite is that Atlanta Braves fans have lost a true contender. One that was passionate about the game, and treated the fans to 200 wins, 3000 strikeouts, and several key wins (both in the regular season and post season). To say Smoltz will be missed is an understatement, but as a fan of the game and the player I wish Smoltz all the luck this season.

Bert:

It looks as though the Atlanta sports landscape will never again be the same. After twenty plus years with the Braves John Smoltz will be leaving. One of the staples in Atlanta will never wear the tomahawk across his chest. Not like when two other greats of the mound, Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux John was more than an every five day player. If you ever had a chance to see this guy pitch whether it is from the first inning on or in the bottom of the ninth you saw a warrior on the rubber. His departure is a shocking but truth shaking moment for the Braves faithful as we all see the lack of enthusiasm of the front office. I guess you can say the Braves got beat out on two wonderful pitchers for a combined six million dollars. And this is a team that right before the season was over said that they was going to have sufficient funds to build a competing team in 09. From a huge fan base that Atlanta had in the postseason runs in the 1990s to the dwindling few that is still there now we will all miss the great starter and of course the ninth inning when we all stood up to the sound of thunderstruck.

Video Blog: CSS’S Chris Dimino on Smoltz Leaving Atlanta

The voters have finalized their votes and the numbers are in. These are the 2007 Bravescast Awards & 2008 Predictions:

We will start off with 2007. Hitter of the Year goes to Chipper Jones. Pitcher of the Year goes to John Smoltz. Surprise player of the year goes to Yunel Escobar. The 2007 Bravescast Atlanta Braves MVP goes to Chipper Jones.

We also analyzed who we thought would win these awards in 2008 and here is what we came up with:

Predicted Pitcher of the Year: Tim Hudson. Hitter of the Year will be Jeff Francoeur. Surprise Player for ‘08 is Josh Anderson. The 2008 Atlanta Braves MVP will be Mark Teixeira.

A special thanks to the “Braves Insider” Grant McAuley for his assistance in our latest show. Check out his work at www.mlb.com or the Braves radio network sites. We will be recording live audio from fanfest this weekend Jan 12th and 13th.

Bert’s Trivia

Last Weeks Question:

Q: Who was the World Series MVP in 2002?
A: Paul Molitor

This Weeks Question:

Who stole the most total bases in the decade of the 1990’s?

To answer the question or for more information on the show e-mail us at hosts@bravescast.com or call our voicemail line at 678-608-2721