[BlackcatAlum]

The Atlanta Braves have offered former Yankee, Johnny Damon a 1-year deal.

As a Braves fan that has lost interest over the past few years with not much success; I am pretty excited about this opportunity.

[Westside]

I hope this doesn't happen.

[Strikeout King]

I hope this doesn't happen.

y is that??

[EKUAlum05]

Anyone who has followed my posts over the years will know that I don't claim to be an "insider" or have many "inside sources". But, I do have a very good connection with someone fairly high up with the Braves.

What he said was that they are not very confident that Damon will accept their offer. Basically Atlanta didn't expect him to be so cheap and decided that he would be a bargain for what they offered. Damon's home in Florida is very close to Braves Spring Training and he has openly said he wouldn't mind playing in Atlanta.

Atlanta accomplished what they had hoped to in the off-season (I personally was a little disappointed FWIW) and had some leftover reserve money that they were planning to carry into the regular season in case of injury or trade. Damon was out there so they threw a number at him. They expect Detroit to top their offer and possibly for a bidding war between the Rays and Tigers to occur. Atlanta will not be part of a bidding war.

[EKUAlum05]

On a Braves sidenote...if someone can guess the three characters in my avatar you earn a hypothetical cookie. (HINT: One isn't historically associated very closely to Atlanta, the other two are)

[TidesHoss32]

The Tigers sent him an offer too..I look for him to stay in the AL..

[Stardust]

I agree, I can see Damon staying in the American league. The DH roll at times turned into a very valuable roll for the Yankees. I think Damon sees that as an opportunity to extend his career.

[Westside]

y is that??

Because I'm not a Braves fan. I hope he signs with Detroit.

[Truth]

When the Braves were owned by Turner, with his big pocketbook, and winning divisions with three Hall of Fame starters, most players would take lesser offers to play in Atlanta. Those days are long gone. The Braves have made a few decent trades in recent years but have made two of the worst and most destructive trades in history- Drew and Teixeira (with the latter being a top tenner).

Why would Damon accept the Braves offer and turn down a better offer from Detroit? The Braves are no longer a primetime team.

[EKUAlum05]

The Braves do have one of the top pitching rotations returning...but last year proved that no matter how good your pitching is it does not matter if you can't score. Vasquez would have won the Cy Young if he played for a team that could have gave him run support last season.

[Truth]

I agree that the Braves have a good starting rotation. As a fan of the Braves with a good knowledge of the team, I'm sure you wouldn't remotely compare the present starters with Avery, Glavine, Smoltz, and Maddux. The latter three are sure Hall of Famers and Avery may have had better stuff than any of them. You have to go back to the Baltimore foursome of twenty game winners- Palmer, McNally, Cueller, and Dobson to find a comparable performance by a starting staff and only Palmer of that group is an inductee.

Wainwright, a prime example of the stupidity of the Drew trade, should have won the Cy Young Award last year. The voters were too enthralled by the oddball Lincecum and many votes were split between Carpenter and Wainwright.

[EKUAlum05]

I agree that the Braves have a good starting rotation. As a fan of the Braves with a good knowledge of the team, I'm sure you wouldn't remotely compare the present starters with Avery, Glavine, Smoltz, and Maddux. The latter three are sure Hall of Famers and Avery may have had better stuff than any of them. You have to go back to the Baltimore foursome of twenty game winners- Palmer, McNally, Cueller, and Dobson to find a comparable performance by a starting staff and only Palmer of that group is an inductee.

Wainwright, a prime example of the stupidity of the Drew trade, should have won the Cy Young Award last year. The voters were too enthralled by the oddball Lincecum and many votes were split between Carpenter and Wainwright.

Let's put it this way... we may never see a rotation ever compare to those Braves rotations of old. With the evolution of free agency, and so many teams focused on the "now" and not developing their farm systems, that Braves rotation may serve as the greatest of all-time. Sadly, they only had one title to show for it.

Suffice to say Atlanta easily has one of the Top 4 starting rotations in baseball, but they are nowhere close to where the rotation from the early 90's stood.

Atlanta's entire season rests on 3 things and one variable:
1) Production from Troy Glaus. I don't really like the decision to let Laroche go, he was the team's sparkplug to get back into playoff contention last year. Glaus was brought in to hit homeruns...but he is a huge question mark with surgery in his background and tons of injuries.

2) Chipper's Health- When Chipper plays he gets the job done. When Chipper is hurt Atlanta suffers. End of story.

3) Outfielder Output- Martin Prado was amazing last year, but can you really expect a repeat performance? McLouth had a down year and seemed to never be 100%, can he bounce back and be a 20+ HR, .300 hitter, and get 25+ SB's? I am not a Milk Man fan and didn't think he was worth Vasquez... he has to be a .280 hitter with 20+ HR's and 70+ RBI's to be worth the trade IMO.


..... and the variable:

Jason Hayward. He is the Brave's future slugger and many think he will find his way into the lineup. The ultimate fear is he gets chewed up and exploited like Jordan Schaffer last year. If he can make the transition he could be the difference between a contender for the Wild Card and a potential NL Champion.


My guess: Braves finish 2nd in the East and battle for the Wild Card with the Giants, Rockies, and Cubs.

[BlackcatAlum]

I agree with everything that's been said in this thread.

I do think we need another big bat in the lineup with Chipper. Not necessarily someone to come in and hit 30-40 home runs a season, just someone who can keep a good batting average and someone who can knock in 100+ RBI's.

[EKUAlum05]

I agree with everything that's been said in this thread.

I do think we need another big bat in the lineup with Chipper. Not necessarily someone to come in and hit 30-40 home runs a season, just someone who can keep a good batting average and someone who can knock in 100+ RBI's.

When Chipper is healthy you know he will do the job and get his 20 HR and 80 RBI.

McCann will do his part and bat around .300 and drive in a ton of runs with a ton of doubles.

Escobar will be up and down, but you know when it is said and done he will be a .280 to .300 hitter with 20+ HR and 80+ RBI.

In the 2nd Half of last season LaRoche was on fire and provided the other big bat the Braves needed..as a result they made a hard charge and nearly made the playoffs.

Without LaRoche's production the Braves have to make it up somewhere. I don't see Cabrera doing the job... hopefully Glaus lives up to expectations.

[Harry Rex Vonner]

I had the pleasure of watching Heyward a number of times at both Rome and at Myrtle Beach. He has great potential. Still, we must remember that he won't be 21 until August.

The trade of Vasquez was a throwaway forced by the fact that the Braves couldn't trade Lowe. The signing of Lowe to an obscene contract was another blunder by the front office. No one else was fool enough to take on that contract. I agree with Truth as to the two most boneheaded trades- Wainwright, Marquis, Andrus, Harrison, Saltalamacchia, Feliz, and Jones were far, far too much to give up to obtain two rental players neither of whom made much difference in their short stays in Atlanta. The negative effects of those trades will be felt for at least a decade. The Braves line was that Teixeira would sign with the Braves and take a "hometown discount". The morons seemed to forget that Teixeira's home area is Baltimore and his agent is Scott Boros. Attending Georgia Tech did not make Atlanta his home. However, no objective person would remotely accuse the front office in Atlanta of being competent.

As for Chipper Jones, it is a shame he is not more like the Braves's greatest third baseman- Eddie Mathews. Mathews played through injuries and Jones should do the same.

[Panther Thunder]

On a Braves sidenote...if someone can guess the three characters in my avatar you earn a hypothetical cookie. (HINT: One isn't historically associated very closely to Atlanta, the other two are)

Skip Caray, Ted Turner, the San Diego Chicken. Cookie Please.

[EKUAlum05]

Skip Caray, Ted Turner, the San Diego Chicken. Cookie Please.

[Image: http://www.babble.com/CS/blogs/strollerd...cookie.jpg]