Scorched Earth - The Rebuild of the Braves in Atlanta

The Cubs may have ‘Take me out to the ball-game’ during the 7th inning stretch and the Red Sox may play ‘Sweet Caroline’ In Atlanta they will be playing the Roof is on Fire and instead of the tomahawk Chop and the War Chant fans will be belting out “We don’t need no water let the mother#$%&*r burn, Burn mother#$%&*r burn!!”

It is interesting to listen to a lot of Braves followers and fans were all up in arms when all the trades began last season when the Braves moved Jason Heyward. Then after that Justin Upton was moved, then Evan Gattis and finally the apparent crushing blow when fan favorite Craig Kimbrel was moved on the day before the beginning of the season. Most everyone figured that this team was going to be a train wreck in 2015. I was not one of those people. I actually was not so pessimistic on how the on field product was going to be. A lot of power went out the door and the fireballer Kimbrel was gone but even so the players that were left were not bottom of the barrel. The 2014 season was a very frustrating one as a fan as it seemed like every game the team was trailing every game until at least the 7^th and if there was not a home run hit, the team was going to lose something to 2 or 3. The team struck out at near historic amount that season and that is just not a fun style to watch and clearly not a successful style to play. Like they say ‘good pitching will beat good hitting’ most of the time. The days of ‘Chicks digging the long ball’ seem to have passed. You need to be able to generate offense in other ways with a couple of legit power threats.

Fast forward to mid 2015, the team managed to be at or near the .500 mark with a much improved farm system. Now with that said the end of the season went off the tracks right after Jason Grilli was injured and then all the trades moved a lot of the players that were keeping the team afloat (Juan Uribe, Kelly Johnson, Jim Johnson and Alex Woods being the main ones).  Add to that Freddie Freeman’s wrist trouble, it was just too much to overcome. Fans began to get very vocal and unhappy. They reverted back to questioning the front office and whether the plan was worth the poor product on the field.

What it did was put the Braves in a position to truly position themselves to start from the ground and build almost from the real bottom of the barrel. They created payroll flexibility for the future and based on the dismal finish ‘earned’ a top 3 position in the 2016 draft. Also, not the worst thing in the world. They say that you can’t be a little bit pregnant and middle of the pack is the worst place to be. Not good enough to be good and not bad enough to get real cornerstone players.

Then the end of the season comes around and outta nowhere, the best defensive player in baseball today…maybe ever and yet another fan favorite in Andralton Simmons gets shipped to the Angles. Just like the feeling was when Kimbrel was traded fans were shocked and not pleased. Simmons was still young and signed and looked to be part of the core in the rebuild. The knee-jerk reaction to this is ‘what the hell’? but then, when you take a moment to think about it it does make sense. Move him now while his value is high and his range is still there. His offense has dropped of late but his glove is still elite. Moving him before his defensive prowess begins to decline flip him for a good package. They got back a solid stopgap shortstop in Erick Aybar and more prospect arms to added to the ever improving farm system. That brings us to the real deal, the Winter Meetings Blockbuster!

Nothing will help a fan base jump back to your side like a good trade. A trade that just about every ‘expert’ and team executive agree was a huge win for the Braves. When those people who know the game and are major decision makes agree that it was a steal what the Braves got in return for Shelby Miller (SS Dansby Swanson, OF Ender Inciarte and pitching prospect Aaron Blair) and comments like ‘incredible haul’ and ‘that is the worst trade I have ever seen’ has got to make both management and Braves fans alike fell much better about themselves and where thy are positioned now going forward during this rebuild. A lot of people are focusing on the 2 top prospects the Braves got in return but one could argue that Inciarte may be near as valuable as Miller is and to add anything above that is just icing on the cake.

Inciarte fills the right now need for a center fielder and helps field a much more complete MLB lineup for 2016 and going forward.

I will look at the prospects and farm system later but for now lets just look at the on field makeup as it stands right now. Now no one is going to claim that they are a potential playoff or wild card team but maybe they are not going to be the embarrassment that people thought they might be going into 2016. There is reason to believe that the lineup that they can roll out may be able to keep them from being a true bottom feeder and actually show some resemblance of a major league club.

If 1B Freddie Freeman can come back healthy from last years wrist injury he will be a good backbone of the lineup. Erick Aybar is a veteran SS and should prove to be a good placeholder for the short term, Nik Markakis is a great glove and if he can continue to get stronger from last years neck surgery his contributions should be felt. Having a good young CF like Inciarte fills a big hole while waiting for prospects to develop. The final big piece of the starting lineup is the duo, or tandem from catchers A.J. Pierzynski and Tyler Flowers. A.J. is coming off a revitalizing year and Tyler Flowers is a low risk high reward guy. Both should prove to have decent bats in the lineup wile offering great mentoring and development to a very young staff and having both veterans and strong defensive catchers that know how to call games and frame pitches should be a huge asset to the large crop of developing young arms. Where things may get interesting are some of the wild cards that are in Left, 3B and 2B. Hector Olivera season will be interesting to watch and if he is able to adjust and produce like the Braves hope he could be a welcome addition but no one knows how he is going to progress in his first full MLB season after coming over from the Dodgers. Then there is the revolving door that will be 2^nd and 3^rd . There are a slough of guys that will likely split time at both positions at any given time you could see Emilio Bonifacio, Gordon Beckham, Adonis Garcia, Daniel Castro and Jace Peterson at either of the 2 positions respectively. No one knows what any of these guys are going to do so maybe these guys may surprise and be moderately effective but nothing you can bank on just yet. Also there are the 2 ‘Mentors’ with the huge

The way that Braves GM John Coppolella wheels and deals it is unlikely that this is how things will look on day 1 but for now the 8 positions doesn’t appear to be as dismal as some people may have may think. There will no doubt be more movement and tweaking as the days and weeks go by.

Blue Jays GM Flies The Coop

In my last blog I talked about the issues that were going to need to be attended to by the Toronto Blue Jays. Most of that revolved around the pitching rotation and the free agents and trades that may be required to fill out the depth of this roster in hopes of putting the 2016 season over the top. When talking about the free agents I obviously did not put enough emphasis in getting now former GM Alex Anthopoulos locked up.

The day after I posted my blog I awoke to the news that AA had informed Rogers that he was declining the 5 year deal that was offered to him. That was, I don’t want to say a disappointment but it came as a shock and then the ensuing speculation on the reason for that he was not re-upping in Toronto was rampant.

As of now we don’t know why he chose to leave.  It seems like it was likely a philosophical difference with incoming President and CEO Mark Shariro. I guess until he signs on with another club we won’t fully understand what his mindset was, and even then, knowing how AA operates it still won’t be clear as he has a great talent in not directly answering questions posed to him. He seemed to, for the most part be honest but at the same time be able to be vague and evasive depending on the questions.

So the AA era is over but he has left a very good on field with team friendly contracts and not a lot of  ‘bad money’ on the books going forward. The one good thing for both Mark Shapiro and interim GM Tony La Cava is the flexibility the club has. That is also where the concern from the fans and media come from. There a re a lot of questions on what direction the new management/ front office are going to decide to do. As of Saturday Free Agents are available to start signing. Now it is not like hockey and day 1 a ton of players get locked up but this team are going to have to hit the ground running and derive a plan on how to best fill out the roster and re-build a pitching staff that is full of question marks. The team has already exercised options on Edwin, Bautista and R.A Dickey. Now they need to turn their attention to what they plan on doing with Marco Estrada, do they qualify or not and should or should they not look to get him signed to a multi year deal. Then there is the decision on the young arms from this past year Hutchinson, Osuzna and Sanchez.

It will be interesting to see over the next few months how things shake down.

What Free Agents do they target, what positions are the focal points and then what trades are available and does a big right handed bat get moved for either a young established controllable arm or a left handed power hitter to fill that roster spot or position on the field.  

Stay tuned during the Hot Stove season to see a rundown and instant evaluation of moves as they are made here at abitofeverythingsports.blogspot.com 

Baseball's Winter Wonderland

Although still early, the Winter Meetings wrapping up in San Diego, there has already been some big Domino’s that have fallen. The Oakland A’s have been one of the busiest teams in terms of  trades. They have already made a blockbuster move with Toronto involving their 3^rd baseman Josh Donaldson and another with The White sox involving starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija.. They have also made some Free Agent moves in picking up Billy Butler formerly of the KC Royals.

The Atlanta Braves have been fairly active as well in their pursuit to revamp a roster that is need of a face-lift and also in need of some added depth both at the major league and minor league level. The Braves have already done one Blockbuster deal when they Jason Heyward and Jordan Walden.to the Cardinals for Shelby Miller and Tyrell Jenkins. They also moved Tommy La Stella for Arodys Vizcaino and International Free Agent money. The Braves also dipped into the free agent market already with the signing of relief pitcher Jim Johnson and right fielder Nick Markakis.

It looks like new GM John Hart is not done his transformation of the Braves just yet. There is the looming issue of both Uptons (B.J. and Justin) and Evan Gattis. Justin and Evan are the most likely to be dealt but if Hart can mange somehow to ‘mind trick’ another GM into taking BJ and his contract off his hands (like JP did for the Jays with Vernon Wells and Alex Rios) he would probably be praised by Braves nation. It will be interesting to see what Hart is able to do regarding these players. Justin Upton would likely fetch the best package in return, it is just a matter of what Hart is looking for and what other GM’s are willing to part with. It is no secret that the Braves are looking for young controllable arms as well as shore up a currently depleted farm system starved for high end talent.

The Braves were looking at a possible power replacing outfielder in Cuban, Yasmani Tomas but he chose to sign with Arizona so the Braves elected to take a look at Dian Toscano, a lesser known Cuban that sounds like more of a contact hitter then a big power threat like the most recent Cubans who have come over of late. It is looking like one of John Hart’s objectives is to move the identity of the team to a more contact oriented lineup. Power is a great thing and can prove to be imposing but if you are striking out more often then not it can’t help but hurt the teams ability to manufacture runs. Good pitching can stifle big power and when that is not there you need to be able to put the ball in play and that is something the Braves struggled with down the stretch last season The team has also obtained the services of former A’s infielder Alberto Callaspo as a 2^nd base option.

The Braves are still thin on a starting rotation that has only 4 members thus far. Depending on what other trades or other moves are made, pitching will be a major point of focus for the team. When you think of The Braves, people still tend to remember the good ol’ days of Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz being the backbone of the team. With the quality of arms that are in the NL East already the Braves will need to bolster their arms and offence if they hope to compete.

All eyes will still be on Atlanta and GM John Hart as there are still a number of moving pieces that need to be resolved, either via Free Agency or by trade. And the waiting game continues... 

I Got A Fever! And The Only Cure Is More Olympics

I watched Beijing and I got hooked and bought into the whole Summer Olympic experience. I watched all I could and enjoyed most of it. Sure I am not going to watch the 3m springboard or the 200m backstroke again until the London Olympics but for those 2 weeks I was in. The same looks to be holding true for the Winter Olympic in Vancouver. I knew that they had me when I watched the entire ski jumping completion including the qualifying. After the announcer explained how they generated the speed and power to launch themselves down the hill, I began to try to break it down myself to see if I could tell if it was a good jump or not (I will admit that I am still no further ahead but that isn’t going to stop me). Luge-cool.....alpine-sure why not....speed skating - close so it is compelling...snowboarding- gnarly. The only thing so far that just isn’t holding water is cross country skiing. They don’t even race. There is a staggered start and they race the clock and then just sit back and hope that their cardio brethren doesn’t match their time. Then at the end to drop like they were hit by a sniper. Yeah, your tired, you sold out and left it all on the course...we get it, so does just about every other athlete in their sport. Marathon runners manage to stay on their feet you’d think that these guys could do the same.

The only down side is just what a Cluster F%#@ the first few days of the games have been. When you start off with a tragic storey like the death of a Luger even before the Opening Ceremony that casts a pretty somber shadow over the games. Then you go to the Opening Ceremony itself it was not as big a success as it could have been. All in all the show was great but there were a few exceptions. The singing of O Canada was sung by a girl with a great voice but she butchered the anthem. She tried to over "Pop" it like she was at the Grammy’s or something. Bryan Adams? Really? Where was Rush? The giant falic symbols were interesting and got some snickers from our brothers to the south. Couple that with the hydraulics not working and only 4 of the 5 sides of the Olympic Indoor Flame structure coming out of the floor.
The Electric "Green" Zamboni that kept dropping hot water on the ice at the long track oval causing countless delays (It didn’t help that the racers kept kicking chunks of ice up). Thankfully a gas one is on the way from Calgary.

Then you have to look at all the events out at Whistler where events are being postponed on a daily basis. Practices, qualifying and finals are being put on hold due to rain, fog, warm weather, snow...pretty much whatever happens it is bad for the hills. Some Snowboard competitions have been postponed as well and spectator tickets have had to be refunded.

Yep That is right people, pack your winter jacket and head to Canada’s warmest city!! Good for golf in February maybe not the best for Nordic events.
Either way I will watch the filler material and catch whatever events come up first.

Go Canada Eh! I’m OOOUT!

Building Towards October

Phase 1 complete. The Atlanta Braves have shed $7M from the payroll after closer Rafael Soriano surprised the team by accepting salary arbitration. The Braves expected to let him go and pick up an early draft pick for him but instead had to find a trading partner. Tampa Bay Rays needed a closer and got one for a very reasonable price. The Rays only had to give up 26yr old Jesse Chavez. Hopefully with his addition and the recent signings of closer Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito that will help round out a bullpen that needed to be more consistent.

Hopefully that will free up GM Frank Wren and allow him to focus on other possible trades, most likely a starting pitcher for hopefully a decent and consistent bat. That can come in the form of a first baseman and/or one of the corner outfield positions. Those are the 3 positions that require the most immediate attention and upgrade.

The starting rotation was one of the best in baseball last year (surprise, surprise the Braves had a good rotation). It looks like they will have to give up some of that depth in attempts to either gain a player or free up some money to be able to go sign one from the free agent market. Right now it looks like it will have to be Derek Lowe or Javier Vazquez that have the most value but Lowe’s contract may be a bit tougher to move. It would have been great if one of the young prospects were a little closer to cracking the lineup and that would give more options to Wren but it looks like there are a few more holes to plug. Hopefully during the winter meetings that are going on that there is some ground work for possible deals being made.

I want to get back to the days that My Braves were rattling off 14 Division titles and not seeing the Phillies representing the NL East year after year. They had their run, now it is time for the market to self correct and go back to the way it should be.