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Official 2010 Atlanta Braves thread

bluefieldRocks

By bluefieldRocks,
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Bluefield_Rules    46

Bluefield_Rules
Posted

Atlanta's problem is they put too much money into the wrong players. Guys like are Glaus, Cabrera, and McLouth are overpaid. Then they invest in players past their prime; hello Derek Lowe. Lowe is the most overpaid player on the roster at $15 million. The fact is something needs to change and it should start with trimming the fat.

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hokie07    11

hokie07
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Why is everyone freaking out?

 

1.) How many of you all seriously expected the Braves to contend for the NL East this season? The Phillies are one of baseball's most dominant teams and the division has been, and will be, their's for the taking once again this season. The Braves have been playing for the NL Wild Card for several seasons now, and until Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Roy Halladay, and the whole Phillies roster just wake up one morning and magically suck then the Braves, Mets, the Marlins, and yes even this "late" in the season, the Nationals are battling it out for second best.

 

2.) I'm as frustrated as anyone is right now with the offense, but to point fingers at one or two players doesn't do any justice because NOBODY is getting it done at the plate. With the exception of Prado (.406 BA), no one on the Braves roster is batting above a .275 right now. What does everyone expect? Timely hitting or not, a .228 team batting average isn't going to take you anywhere. Only the Indians, White Sox, and the Blue Jays are worse. The Braves are also second-to-last in total hits on the season, trailing only the Indians by a total of 4. I'm extremely pissed that Glaus has done everything this season but hit safely with the bases loaded, but in reality, he just one piece to batting puzzle.

 

3.) The Braves have played a total of 18 games this season and are 3 games out of first place in the division and 1.5 GB from second place. Lest we forget that there are 144 more games to be played this season. That leaves plenty of time to make a run at the... NL Wild Card.

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bluefieldRocks    14

bluefieldRocks
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Why is everyone freaking out?

 

1.) How many of you all seriously expected the Braves to contend for the NL East this season? The Phillies are one of baseball's most dominant teams and the division has been, and will be, their's for the taking once again this season. The Braves have been playing for the NL Wild Card for several seasons now, and until Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Roy Halladay, and the whole Phillies roster just wake up one morning and magically suck then the Braves, Mets, the Marlins, and yes even this "late" in the season, the Nationals are battling it out for second best.

 

2.) I'm as frustrated as anyone is right now with the offense, but to point fingers at one or two players doesn't do any justice because NOBODY is getting it done at the plate. With the exception of Prado (.406 BA), no one on the Braves roster is batting above a .275 right now. What does everyone expect? Timely hitting or not, a .228 team batting average isn't going to take you anywhere. Only the Indians, White Sox, and the Blue Jays are worse. The Braves are also second-to-last in total hits on the season, trailing only the Indians by a total of 4. I'm extremely pissed that Glaus has done everything this season but hit safely with the bases loaded, but in reality, he just one piece to batting puzzle.

 

3.) The Braves have played a total of 18 games this season and are 3 games out of first place in the division and 1.5 GB from second place. Lest we forget that there are 144 more games to be played this season. That leaves plenty of time to make a run at the... NL Wild Card.

 

 

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results

 

- Albert Einstien

 

 

Nothing is going to change between now and August. I love them, they've always been my favorite ball team, and i'll probably attend 2-3 games this season. But that doesnt change the fact they just arent getting it done. Just like my Dolphins in football and just like WVU in football.

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hokie07    11

hokie07
Posted
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results

 

- Albert Einstien

 

 

Nothing is going to change between now and August. I love them, they've always been my favorite ball team, and i'll probably attend 2-3 games this season. But that doesnt change the fact they just arent getting it done. Just like my Dolphins in football and just like WVU in football.

 

I agree with your claim about them not getting it done this season. They simply don't have the bats, IMO.

In fact, I'd make a hefty wager that they'll be watching the 2010 postseason from home.

 

I just can't stand the fact that all these "fans" are packing it in and giving up after a mere 11% of the total regular season has been played. There's still 89% of a season left to play. I believe I'll at least wait until the 100 game threshold before I count them completely out.

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Bluefield_Rules    46

Bluefield_Rules
Posted
I agree with your claim about them not getting it done this season. They simply don't have the bats, IMO.

In fact, I'd make a hefty wager that they'll be watching the 2010 postseason from home.

 

I just can't stand the fact that all these "fans" are packing it in and giving up after a mere 11% of the total regular season has been played. There's still 89% of a season left to play. I believe I'll at least wait until the 100 game threshold before I count them completely out.

 

Who has counted them out?

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vthokies4life    10

vthokies4life
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Atlanta's problem is they put too much money into the wrong players. Guys like are Glaus, Cabrera, and McLouth are overpaid. Then they invest in players past their prime; hello Derek Lowe. Lowe is the most overpaid player on the roster at $15 million. The fact is something needs to change and it should start with trimming the fat.

Research:

Glaus: Contract of $1.75 mil for this year.

Cabrera: Contract of $3.1 mil this year, eligible for arbitration next year.

McLouth: Contract of $5 mil this year (7th highest on the team), $7 mil next year (as of now, 5th highest), and a club option of $1.25 mil in 2012.

 

Hardly a big money or time investment between those three. Definitely 3 players that aren't "overpaid". The way I read your statements is that you want to be able to adjust contracts based on performance. I agree with you. That would be awesome. That's just not the way it works.

 

(source: http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/2005/01/atlanta-braves_15.html click on the 2010 link. it takes you to a google spreadsheet of all the contract info.)

 

Now for Derek Lowe. When we picked him up, he was coming off a season where he went 14-11 with a 3.24 ERA. Also an important stat, he had 6.27 strike outs per 9 innings, which isn't earth shattering, but solid. You also have to take into account the other pitchers that were coming out that year. Pitchers like Burnett (who we pursued, but he wasn't interested) and C.C. Sabbathia. Those were probably the pitchers more desirable at the time than Lowe, but obviously they were given contracts that the Braves aren't able/interested in giving. Remember. At that time, we were equally, if not more desperate to bring in an elite player than we are now. So, compared to other elite pitchers at the time, we got a good pitcher coming off a good season for a good price for a fair amount of time.

 

I say all this about contracts because it could be worse. We could have been forced to sign Lowe to a time greater than 4 years for an amount of money much greater than $15 mil a season. Looking at his contract, the way he had played before, and where he was in his career, I can definitely say that he is not "overpaid". He signed the contract for the money he deserved at a time in his career when he deserved it. Now if he can just regain his former self, that would help mightily.

 

(sources: http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=199&position=P ; http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/2005/01/atlanta-braves_15.html ; http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/news/hot_stove/y2008/free_agent_tracker.jsp?null&section=8&sortbystat=POSITION)

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BigD4VT    11

BigD4VT
Posted
Research:

Glaus: Contract of $1.75 mil for this year.

Cabrera: Contract of $3.1 mil this year, eligible for arbitration next year.

McLouth: Contract of $5 mil this year (7th highest on the team), $7 mil next year (as of now, 5th highest), and a club option of $1.25 mil in 2012.

 

Hardly a big money or time investment between those three. Definitely 3 players that aren't "overpaid". The way I read your statements is that you want to be able to adjust contracts based on performance. I agree with you. That would be awesome. That's just not the way it works.

 

(source: http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/2005/01/atlanta-braves_15.html click on the 2010 link. it takes you to a google spreadsheet of all the contract info.)

 

Now for Derek Lowe. When we picked him up, he was coming off a season where he went 14-11 with a 3.24 ERA. Also an important stat, he had 6.27 strike outs per 9 innings, which isn't earth shattering, but solid. You also have to take into account the other pitchers that were coming out that year. Pitchers like Burnett (who we pursued, but he wasn't interested) and C.C. Sabbathia. Those were probably the pitchers more desirable at the time than Lowe, but obviously they were given contracts that the Braves aren't able/interested in giving. Remember. At that time, we were equally, if not more desperate to bring in an elite player than we are now. So, compared to other elite pitchers at the time, we got a good pitcher coming off a good season for a good price for a fair amount of time.

 

I say all this about contracts because it could be worse. We could have been forced to sign Lowe to a time greater than 4 years for an amount of money much greater than $15 mil a season. Looking at his contract, the way he had played before, and where he was in his career, I can definitely say that he is not "overpaid". He signed the contract for the money he deserved at a time in his career when he deserved it. Now if he can just regain his former self, that would help mightily.

 

(sources: http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=199&position=P ; http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/2005/01/atlanta-braves_15.html ; http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/news/hot_stove/y2008/free_agent_tracker.jsp?null&section=8&sortbystat=POSITION)

I actually think Lowe is overpaid. The Braves signed him out of desperation after losing out on the two guys you mentioned. They wanted to make sure they signed him so they overpaid. They tried to right that wrong by trading him over the winter but no team was willing to take his contract.

 

I'm not big on free agent signings for a mid-market team like Atlanta. They need to build from within. It's okay to sign a role player here and there, or someone to fill a hole, but when you sign a Type-A free agent like Lowe, in addition to the big contract you have to pay him, you also lose a 1st or 2nd round draft pick and that weakens your farm system.

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BigD4VT    11

BigD4VT
Posted
So glad we let Johnson walk away and spent that money on big-timers like Glaus and Cabrera...:rolleyes:

Kelly Johnson is having a fluke April. He's hit 10+ home runs twice in his career (12, 16) and he's a career .265 hitter. There was no reason for the Braves to re-sign him with the emergence of Martin Prado.

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Bluefield_Rules    46

Bluefield_Rules
Posted
Kelly Johnson is having a fluke April. He's hit 10+ home runs twice in his career (12, 16) and he's a career .265 hitter. There was no reason for the Braves to re-sign him with the emergence of Martin Prado.

 

Are you getting paid by the Braves? It sure sounds like it. Johnson could have potentially played several other positions including first base. Glaus is having a HORRIBLE year and it's no fluke.

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hokie07    11

hokie07
Posted

Heyward with HR #6 on the season. 4-2 Braves in the Top of the 4th.

4 runs plus whatever we can get in the remaining innings MIGHT be enough run support to finally win a game again.

Hanson's ERA is only at 2.14 at this point in the season.

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