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So, about them 2014 Braves ...

Frayed Knot Dec 07 2013 06:59 AM

I know it's not even Winter Meetings week yet - but the Braves are usually good for a bunch of aggressive and out-of-the-box off-season moves, and yet the biggest thing they've done so far is to announce that they are abandoning their city. Plus, all this comes in a year where it seems they need to make more moves than usual as since October they've: - lost Tim Hudson to the Giants - lost Brian McCann to the Yanx - benched their starting 2Bman for the playoffs because his hitting declined so much that his fielding became his strong suit, and when your name is Dan Uggla that's not a good thing - had last year's big FA signing, BJ Upton, fall into disaster territory in the 1st year of a 5 year deal, essentially making the two highest paid players on their roster (Uggla & Upton) their worst - and the system guys of Freeman, Heyward, Kimbrel, etc. are starting to reach those more expensive arbitration years And while I'm sure they'll have some aces up their sleeves: some 14th round draft pick out of the Atlanta suburbs will come out of nowhere next spring throwing to a sub-2.00 ERA for the first few months of the season; and somewhere in their system is some 19 y/o kid who they signed based on how he looked swinging his machete on a sugarcane field on the side of a Caribbean volcano somewhere who will mysteriously turn into a .300 hitter, but still, it's unlike them to be this eerily quiet while the rest of the transaction sheets are bursting into flames all around them.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Dec 07 2013 07:23 AM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

Yes I wondered if they might be punting until that new site gets built. Looks like they try Gattis as their catcher now?

metirish Dec 08 2013 06:49 PM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

I don't think I have ever seen a noncompetitive Braves team, interesting year for them.

Frayed Knot Dec 16 2013 10:15 AM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

Gavin Floyd signs an incentive-heavy deal to be part of the Braves rotation. But he's also coming off TJ surgery in May so almost certainly won't be available until the 2nd half of the season at best.

Lefty Specialist Dec 16 2013 01:40 PM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

I thought the Mat Gamel move was so big it basically finished them for the off-season.

seawolf17 Dec 16 2013 01:46 PM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

When you spin a Gamel, you get the whole pot, right? What else is there to do?

Frayed Knot Dec 19 2013 10:41 AM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

Brian McCann gets replaced by Ryan Doumit - acquired in a deal w/the Twins in exchange for a minor league pitcher. Doumit, a nine-year vet who turns 33 around opening day, is usually good for around 12-15 HRs/year (which means I expect him to hit 20 in April alone). I knew there was no way they were going to go into the 2014 season with Evan Gattis as their #1 catcher.

Lefty Specialist Dec 19 2013 02:23 PM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

Doumit's a horrible defensive catcher. And of this 148 starts last year, only 43 were behind the dish. He's more of an OF/DH type now. Don't see him as the #1 catcher, not by a long shot.

Frayed Knot Dec 19 2013 02:31 PM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

Lefty Specialist wrote: Doumit's a horrible defensive catcher ... Don't see him as the #1 catcher, not by a long shot. I was thinking that part of that is on account of being teamed with Mauer - but looking at it now it appears that he started even less after Mauer got hurt (in a NYM game). Still, it's hard to imagine someone a whole lot worse defensively than Gattis so who knows what the Cobb Braves have planned here. Sounds like it's time for Terry to get Granderson, Wright, Murphy, [crossout]Reyes[/crossout] oops, Young x2, Lagares, etc. up and running.

Frayed Knot Feb 16 2014 08:40 AM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

It looks like the traditionally cautious Braves are suddenly getting all aggressive with contracts for their young players. It was just a few weeks ago that they doled out the longest contract in team history with an 8 year deal for Freddie Freeman. And now this week they've gone for 6 years for pitcher Julio Teheran, and 4 for Craig Kimbrel

MFS62 Feb 16 2014 09:35 AM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

No matter how many pain-in-the-ass hitters they have had in recent years, their teams have always been based on good pitching. Locking up their good young pitchers on multi-year contracts is a good move. Later

Frayed Knot Feb 16 2014 10:35 AM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

Kimbrel certainly - although Teheran's contract surprised me a bit as his future still seems a bit up in the air. On the hitting side they went long-term for Freeman but not (yet anyway) for Heyward (he got a two-year deal for his arg years) because he's been much less consistent than Freeman.

Edgy MD Feb 20 2014 08:16 AM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

The Braves are in extension mode, which I'm trying to interpret as a message to their core employees that we'll give you your security if you hunker down until the new stadium gets built. Last night brings us the news that manager Fredi Gonzalez and GM Frank Wren have been extended, and that comes on top of pre-arbitration lockup contracts being handed out to young building blocks like Julio Teheran, Jason Heyward, and Freddie Freeman. Andrelton Simmons, call your agent.

Frayed Knot Feb 20 2014 11:23 AM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

Edgy MD wrote: ... Andrelton Simmons, call your agent. BAM!! Seven year deal for Simmons. Not bad for a guy with less than a year and a half of MLB under his belt.

Edgy MD Feb 20 2014 11:31 AM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

GENIUS! ME! GENIUS! Simmons should throw one or two percent of that deal to me. He never would have called his agent if not for me. Seriously, though, is there any sort of precedent for this? Locking up so many guys so early? I like it. Now I want to see Murphy and Gee and Parnell tied up. (Not literally).

Frayed Knot Feb 20 2014 01:35 PM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

Edgy MD wrote: Seriously, though, is there any sort of precedent for this? Locking up so many guys so early? The Rays giving Evan Longoria a 6-year deal after he had been in the majors less than a week is the biggest example I can think of, but that's only one guy. Of course the key to doing so many at once is having so many guys on the same team who are so good while still so young. Freeman has just a bit over 3 years of ML service time under his belt while Heyward (only a two-year deal) already has four years, even though neither will turn 25 until late this upcoming season. Teheran, just turned 23, and Simmons (24) got the long-term deals with just one full season each so these are really the surprising ones. 'Old Man' Kimbrel turns 26 in May. The Braves problem has been getting their outside FAs (Uggla + older Upton) to contribute according to what they're paying them.

MFS62 Feb 20 2014 07:14 PM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

This is amazing when you consider that before free agency, guys were locked up by their signing team for their career, or until that team traded them. Noting the Longoria deal mentioned above, how soon should a team realistically wait to make that kind of commitment? Later

Frayed Knot Feb 20 2014 07:47 PM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

MFS62 wrote: This is amazing when you consider that before free agency, guys were locked up by their signing team for their career, or until that team traded them. Right, except that they were "locked up" on a one year at a time basis. The teams, in those cases, got all of the certainty of a long-term commitment with none of the risk. Noting the Longoria deal mentioned above, how soon should a team realistically wait to make that kind of commitment? It's an individual call. In the Longoria case it worked out well for both sides to the point where it was extended an additional six years before the first one was over. The Rangers, last year, made the "easier" call by giving Elvis Andrus an 8-year deal after he already had 3 seasons under his belt - but then an off year in 2013 puts that deal on shaky ground practically before it started. It's not like there's a right or wrong answer here.

Frayed Knot Mar 05 2014 07:08 AM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

Reading up a bit on the Braves and their young players: - They got a higher WAR out of their under-25s last season (18.2) than any other team, more in fact than the bottom 11 teams got combined - the next closest team was the Angels with 12 WAR from their under 25s, but 11 of that was from Trout alone - of the long-term deals the Braves just gave out, the oldest player they're on the hook for is Freddie Freeman who'll be 31 in the final year of his new eight-year contract That IS working, that's the way ya do it.

Frayed Knot Mar 11 2014 05:14 PM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

Braves rotation already in loads of potential trouble. - Kris Medlen, who left the game v the Mets last week, now has confirmed "ligament damage" in his pitching elbow, although they've yet to determine (or talk about) the extent of the problem. - Brandon Beachy is going to be missing at least one spring start with "arm tightness around the elbow and bicep soreness". He's already a veteran of two elbow surgeries (including TJ) is a candidate for starting the season on the DL - Mike Minor has also been dealing with injuries and could start the year on the DL

seawolf17 Mar 11 2014 06:17 PM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

Thankfully, they have a 38th-round draft pick out of suburban Atlanta who went 2-15, 6.88 in AA last season; he's going to win 14 games and beat us five times this season. DAMMIT BRAVES

Frayed Knot Mar 11 2014 06:51 PM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

seawolf17 wrote: Thankfully, they have a 38th-round draft pick out of suburban Atlanta who went 2-15, 6.88 in AA last season; he's going to win 14 games and beat us five times this season. See the tail end of the very first post in this thread for a similar sentiment.

Nymr83 Mar 11 2014 08:17 PM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

Whats the stadium story here? I thought i remember this park being less than 20 years old and they are jumping ship already???

Frayed Knot Mar 11 2014 08:40 PM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

The Braves, after intense research into the demographics of the state of Georgia, reached the stunning conclusion that the current location is in a bad neighborhood, has sucky traffic, and that the area outside the city in Cobb County is whiter and richer than inner-city Atlanta.

seawolf17 Mar 12 2014 06:57 AM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

Frayed Knot wrote: seawolf17 wrote: Thankfully, they have a 38th-round draft pick out of suburban Atlanta who went 2-15, 6.88 in AA last season; he's going to win 14 games and beat us five times this season. See the tail end of the very first post in this thread for a similar sentiment. Ha! Apologies for not RingM&PingL and stealing your joke.

Frayed Knot Mar 12 2014 07:02 AM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

Ha! Apologies for not RingM&PingL and stealing your joke. All it shows is when two different people, three months apart, independently reach the exact same joke/conclusion then the scenario must be pretty likely.

Ceetar Mar 12 2014 07:13 AM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

Frayed Knot wrote: Braves rotation already in loads of potential trouble. - Kris Medlen, who left the game v the Mets last week, now has confirmed "ligament damage" in his pitching elbow, although they've yet to determine (or talk about) the extent of the problem. - Brandon Beachy is going to be missing at least one spring start with "arm tightness around the elbow and bicep soreness". He's already a veteran of two elbow surgeries (including TJ) is a candidate for starting the season on the DL - Mike Minor has also been dealing with injuries and could start the year on the DL boom, Ervin Santana.

seawolf17 Mar 12 2014 07:15 AM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

Santana career vs Mets: 1-0. http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes ... 8040.shtml

Edgy MD Mar 12 2014 07:34 AM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

Benson Bunch-quality pitcher.

Frayed Knot Mar 12 2014 07:43 AM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

Edgy MD wrote: Benson Bunch-quality pitcher. Better than that at his best (of course I guess you could say the same about most of the Benson bunch ... including Benson) but now there are questions about how healthy HE is even though he's made 30-plus starts virtually every season. I know the Rangers were kicking the tires for a while but never pulled the trigger

Edgy MD Mar 12 2014 07:49 AM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

Oh, yeah, I mean to suggest just that. Same stage of his career, same questions about his health. A tantalizing ceiling. A terrifying floor. But generally good to punch in for 30 starts. He'd totally be holding a Bensonian contract if it weren't for the the effect on the marketplace of the new collective bargaining agreement.

Edgy MD Mar 12 2014 11:49 AM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

Frayed Knot wrote: The Braves, after intense research into the demographics of the state of Georgia, reached the stunning conclusion that the current location is in a bad neighborhood, has sucky traffic, and that the area outside the city in Cobb County is whiter and richer than inner-city Atlanta. The Mets used the same firm, and eventually shuttered Shea and opened Citi Field after a six-year longitudinal study led them to conclude that, over the last 45 or so years, the epicenter of their fan base had shifted 40 feet to the East.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Mar 12 2014 05:48 PM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

Edgy MD wrote: Oh, yeah, I mean to suggest just that. Same stage of his career, same questions about his health. A tantalizing ceiling. A terrifying floor. But generally good to punch in for 30 starts. He'd totally be holding a Bensonian contract if it weren't for the the effect on the marketplace of the new collective bargaining agreement. TOTAL Benson-Bunch-er. And thanks to the aforementioned CBA, he essentially took a risk playing on the one-year-deal last year, performed far better than expectations, and "cashed in" to the tune of a cost-of-living-type increase ($13M/1 yr to $14.1M/1 yr).

Frayed Knot Mar 24 2014 05:41 PM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

Freddie Garcia two-hit the Mets over six innings the other day - which apparently was proof enough to the Braves that he deserved his immediate release despite all the rotation trouble that team has been having this spring.

Frayed Knot May 01 2014 06:53 AM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

Somebody finally got to Aaron Harang as the Marlins torched him for 9 runs last night (so we gained a half-game on 1st place whilst doing nothing but getting wet) Harang's outings to date this season: Runs allowed -- 0, 1, 1, 0, 1, 9 Hits allowed -- 2, 2, 5, 0, 6, 10 All outings were between 6 and 7 innings, until last night when he was yanked with 2 outs in the 5th

Frayed Knot May 02 2014 11:35 AM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

Atlanta yesterday added Chris Johnson to the multi-year contract club with a new three-year deal. This joins several other long-term signings they made during this past winter (discussed earlier in this thread) and leaves only Evan Gattis among their starting eight NOT signed past this year and he's just a 2nd year player and is therefore under team control for a while anyway. Gattis - under team control thru 2017 Freeman - signed thru 2021 Uggla - thru 2015 (on a tail end of a five-year deal) Simmons - thru 2020 Johnson - thru 2017 (w/option for '18) B Upton - thru 2017 J Upton - thru 2015 Heyward - thru 2015 IOW, get used to this lineup because, for better or worse, it looks as if they're prepared to live or die with that crew and that we're going to be seeing those faces for the foreseeable future. It's a different story on the pitching side where I believe only Teheran (2019 w/option for '20) & Kimbrel (2017 w/'18 option) are signed beyond this year, although several others are still under team control anyway although several of them are injured as well.

Edgy MD May 02 2014 11:53 AM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

Ervin "Benson Bunch" Santana: 3-0 / 2.41 through his first five starts. Striking out 36% more hitters than his previous career rate. Walking 32% fewer.

seawolf17 May 02 2014 12:24 PM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

Edgy MD wrote: Ervin "Benson Bunch" Santana: 3-0 / 2.41 through his first five starts. Striking out 36% more hitters than his previous career rate. Walking 32% fewer. Fuckin' Leo Mazzone.

Edgy MD May 02 2014 12:40 PM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

And Gaybashing Roger McDowell!

TransMonk May 05 2014 07:38 AM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

This is quite a slide they're on. I think a week ago they had a legitimate claim for being the best team in baseball through the first month. Hard to say that now.

Frayed Knot Sep 22 2014 11:24 AM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

Mets sweep of Atlanta has a bigger impact than usual as Braves fire GM Frank Wren. Former Cleveland/Texas head honcho John Hart comes out of the MLBN studio to run things at least on an interim basis. Looking back to the first post in this thread--wondering about what moves the usually aggressive Braves were going to do last winter--kind of brings this thread full circle.

seawolf17 Sep 22 2014 11:31 AM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

Ooh, I'm going to submit my resume, get the job, and then DESTROY THEM. "Are there more Uptons out there? We need to sign them. And let's get rid of these Kimbrel and Heyward characters."

bmfc1 Sep 22 2014 12:41 PM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

seawolf17 wrote: Ooh, I'm going to submit my resume, get the job, and then DESTROY THEM. Sounds like Glavine.

Edgy MD Sep 22 2014 01:18 PM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

Having trouble seeing what the point of firing Wren is, considering they made a big commitment under him to lock up all these guys with one-three years of experience, I'd've guessed that they were committed to seeing the plan unfold over several years. I mean, yeah, they've had a terrible September. Three lousy weeks. That should at worst get the hitting coach fired. And fire whoever taught BJ Upton to throw, but come on. I figured Wren would at least be around until Jonathan Schuerholz was ready for the job.

Edgy MD Sep 22 2014 10:00 PM Re: So, about them 2014 Braves ...

It strikes me that (1) this is Atlanta's first serious in-season brain change since 19-fuckin'-90, when they fired Russ Nixon mid-stream and re-hired Bobby Cox. John Schuerholz took over as GM that season as well, and like Cox, held the seat until his retirement, which was a smoothly orchestrated transition, rather than an overthrow, just like Gonzalez replacing Cox (2) The Mets jumping in and nailing down Sandy Alderson may have been somehow in response to the suddenly open seat in Atlanta. Pure speculation, of course, but it'll be interesting as well to see if any of Sandy's deputies get an interview.