SB Nation - Peter Moylan

Braves Sign Matt Diaz, Others

gondeee — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 16:21:56 -0000

Kudos to the Atlanta Braves for getting one of their arbitration eligible players signed already for next year -- something that can usually drag on into spring training. Matt Diaz agreed to a one-year $2.55 million deal in the last 24 hours, that's a raise of over $1 million from last year's salary of $1.237 million.

That leaves three players who remain unsigned by the Braves; second baseman Kelly Johnson, and relievers Peter Moylan and Boone Logan. Midnight tonight is the deadline for the Braves to offer them a contract. That doesn't mean they have to come to terms, they simply have to be tendered a contract for 2010. The Braves are expected to face a tough decision on Kelly Johnson, who is likely to make around $4 million and may not have a starting role.

I got an email from a reader alerting me to several minor league signings as well as international signings by the Braves. I'm trying to get them to source this information, so until then consider it as unsourced:

Minor League signings not posted on site yet: Mariano Gomez LHP, Gerardo Avila 1B, Luis Bolivar 3B, Eric Duncan 3B, Mauro Gomez 1B, Brent Clevlen OF, Mitch Jones OF, Juan Gonzalez OF

International Signings to date:
Mexico - Daniel Castro (ss), Javier Morales (rhp)
Panama - Abraham Espinosa (rhp), Luis Madrid (ss)
Venezuela - Erick Maldonado (of), Jesus Saldeno (rhp), Elias Valdez (lhp)
Nicaragua - Enrique Medina (lhp), Elieser Salmeron (of)
Dominican - Emmanuel Daniel (of)
Spain - Alejandro Martinez (ss)

Current players expected to receive visas from DSL: Juan Flores OF Victor Cadette RHP Luis de Luna RHP Amilcar Gaxiola LHP Andy Otero LHP Jorge Paulino RHP Williams Perez RHP Alexis Pinto LHP Ernesto Silva RHP Erick Epifano IF Omar Llapur 1B Edison Sanchez 3B

No, that is not the Juan Gonzalez, I believe he's an outfielder of the same name who played last with the St. Louis organization.

The reader also passed along this article on our baseball academy in Tenerife.

Talking Chop Round Table: Braves Relievers

gondeee — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:22:33 -0000

As part of season reviews for major league players and top prospect rankings for minor league players, we here at Talking Chop thought it would be a fun idea to get all of our bloggers together with the help of Google Docs and debate the various aspects of each position in the Braves organization.

The participants are, yours truly (gondeee, indicated by MG), yondaime4 (indicated by MF), royhobbs (indicated by DH), and cbwilk (indicated by CBW).

The round table for relievers in the Braves organization is after the jump.

MG: If you had to pick one to keep, would you keep Rafael Soriano or Mike Gonzalez, and why?
MG: I find this a tough question. Both were dominant at times, but both were very hittable at times. Both seem to do better in the closer's role than the setup role. I would go with Mike Gonzalez. He just seems like more of a thinking man's closer, but he still has a killer fastball. That, and a lefty closer in the NL East is a nice luxury to have. ...Okay, I'm coming back to this answer after having done the Soriano writeup, and I'm hedging towards Soriano now. Ughh, I'm so conflicted.
DH: To me, it's an easy choice - Rafael Soriano. When he's on, he epitomizes dominance. He has a swagger about him on the mound and his body language often is saying to the hitters that "you can't really hit me." He's lost some velocity since his injuries, but he's still got the ability to shut down the tail end of a game effectively. The fact that Mike Gonzalez might be considered a thinking-man's closer, might actually work against him. Too much thinking can never be a good thing. He's exhibited an alarming amount of inconsistencies at times, and he doesn't inspire the confidence that Soriano does more often than him. Gonzo also seems to need the adrenaline from a close game to be at his best; and even then, he's still apt to give up the longball more than Soriano would. Going through his game logs throughout his Atlanta tenure, he converted his first 16 save/hold chances, but since coming back from TJS, into the end of 2009, in about 1.5 seasons worths of appearances, he has blown nine saves and absorbed seven losses. Those are not horrific numbers by any mean, and the save/hold stats are pretty merciless, but he's not quite the lockdown closer that a team really needs sometimes.
MF: Tough choice for me too. I think I would go with Gonzalez here because he has gotten better and better since his injury and he was great before it too. Soriano worried me a bit at the end of the season as he was tiring down, which isn't his fault. The funny thing about these two guys is statistically they are probably the two best closers coming onto the Free Agent market this fall. I think I am going to switch gears and says Soriano. When I think about someone closing a game for us I just think Soriano. He was so good in the first half I'd rather bank on that than on the fact he is tiring. I am just worried all the innings he put in this year could hurt next year.
CBW: I've always gone with Gonzalez on this one. I may be biased in the fact that he's one of the nicest guys in the game, but I liked him when he was with the Pirates and always wanted him to be with the Braves and now that he is, well, I want him to stay with the Braves. Soriano has been great when he's been healthy for Atlanta, but that's the thing, I have this hunch he's going to blow that arm out again, probably in 2010. Even barring that, he's always struck me as a guy who just goes out and throws the ball without really having a plan. I don't care what position it is, I want a guy who's a pitcher, not a thrower.

MG: The walks that Craig Kimbrel has been giving up are quite alarming to me. He's got to fix those before he can be an effective major leaguer. I still think he's a year away from making his debut, but if he suddenly sorts out the walks, then he'll get called up quickly.
DH: Hey, a minor leaguer that I can chime in on somewhat—given the current situation, I can suspect that we'll see Kimbrel sooner rather than later, which might not be a good thing if he can't figure out how to keep the walks down still. I agree that a full year would be nothing but beneficial to his development, but with the possibility of our two top tier relievers bolting, and only guys like Peter Moylan and Eric O'Flaherty to potentially close by committee, I can see the team dipping quickly into the minors and bringing Kimbrel up, if they also can't snag a guy like Billy Wagner.
MF: We will see Kimbrel next year I don't have any doubt about that. His effectiveness is what I worry about obviously. he has been lit up in Arizona and its been mostly because of his walks. He doesn't even have to be good at maintaining his walk level, he just has to be a little better than he is now because his stuff is so nasty. Remember this guy did lead the minors in Kp9 this season at like 14 or 15 per 9. The walks do need to come down, but I think he can still be fairly effective even if they don't. And he did show improvement this year so there is no reason to expect he can't improve more.
CBW: To me, the walks are a direct result of his stuff. He gets insane movement on his pitches, which leads to the huge strikeout totals, but it also leads to the walks. A lot of pitchers have had this problem and the solution is usually to back off the speed a little, something hard for a young pitcher to do. I really believe the Braves have the best minor league pitching coaches in baseball and with their help I see Craig being able to solve things a little, maybe never to Maddux like numbers, but to a level that's still acceptable. And remember, even with all the walks, he's been able to keep guys from scoring.

MG: I'm kind of getting more excited about David Hale than I was during the draft and shortly thereafter. The more I read about him the more I see that he's a smart kid who never really dedicated himself to just pitching. I think he can be a good one, and fast.
MF: I have liked Hale since we took him. He kind of remind me of Bobby Parnell of the Mets, a guy I knew in college. Bobby was terrible in college for the most part, but he threw a heavy fastball and the Mets liked that and saw something they could fix in his mechanics. They brought him in and sure enough they fixed him and now they refuse to trade him. I see Hale in a similar light. The Braves think they can fix his mechanics and get him focused on baseball. And if that happens we have another fast moving reliever.
CBW: I honestly wasn't overly impressed with Hale when I saw him with Danville, but it was just 2 innings and it was just his 2nd pro game, so that's not really a reasonable thing to judge him on. I will say that before the game several of his teammates were raving about him to me, making sure I knew that he was going to be pitching and I was in for something. That, at least to me, is more telling than what I saw, especially since most of the guys telling me about him were hitters. Hitters hate talking positively about pitchers, even their own teammates, so if they were willing to tell me how filthy his stuff is, he must really be something.

MG: Jeff Lyman came out of nowhere this year once he was moved from the rotation to the pen. Who else in the Braves system do you think can succeed more by moving from the rotation to the bullpen?
MF: Well maybe not succeed more, but I think Osuna and Ortegano have a better shot at the majors long term with a move to the pen. Maybe Richard Sullivan, but I like his big frame for eating innings as a starter. David Francis has logged more games as a reliever though I don't think the Braves think of him as such yet, but his stuff would play well as a reliever.
CBW: Jeff's been a guy I've thought highly of for a while and I was pleased to see him start getting things going in the pen. Some guys you can just tell are going to work better out there. He's one and Deunte Heath, who also spent most of his time in 09 in the pen, with increased success, is another. I mentioned guys like Redmond and Cofield in the writeups as players who could probably succeed more with a move to the pen. Paul Clemens sort of focused on relieving this year and I think his big, lanky frame is just going to play better there. Everyone keeps wanting to make Jose Ortegano a LOOGY but I saw his last start of the season and the guy was throwing his fastall at 98 in the 8th inning and still getting good break on his offspeed stuff. Once you see this guy you realize that yeah, he could be a dominant lefty reliever, but it'd be kind of a wast of his talent.

MG: The recent article by David O'Brien about Lee Hyde validates my ranking of him in the middle of my relievers list. I've long had my eye on him and I really believe he's someone who will be able to help soon.
MF: He has been looking good, but I don't think anyone can expect anything from a guy that appeared in 16 games over two seasons. I had pretty much forgotten about him until this year when he came back and pitched well. He still only put in 35 innings during the regular season so its hard to guess what he will do next year, but he did put himself back in the Braves plans.
CBW: I didn't put him on my list and I don't really feell like that was a mistake, even with his recent success. Lee obviously has talent, he was a great college player, got drafted highly, and performed well before he got hurt. But yeah, the injury worries me. I think he's fully recovered and he seems to have regained his velocity, so it'd be a great story if he can establish himself in the bullpen at some point in 2010 or 2011. Lefties are always a premium and smart lefties who throw in the mid 90s just don't exist.
MF: John Rocker is an excellent example of CB's final statement.

MG: Cory Gearrin is a guy who continues to fly under the radar. Can anyone tell us more about him?
CBW: I'm not gonna lie, I have a man-crush on Cory. Of all the players in the system, nobody is more of a lock to be a Major Leaguer to me. And yes, that includes Jason Heyward. At worst, he'll be a highly effective ROOGY or double play specialist, at best, he'll be Peter Moylan, a dynamic arm out of the pen who can pitch in a ton of games. Either way, I see him having a nice career. He's one of the smartest players in the system and he puts a lot of work in to study the game. He throws sidearm, which is always valuable and gets great break on his stuff. I expect him to get a chance sometime in 2010, and possibly be a fixture in the pen in 2011.

Braves 2009 Season in Review: Middle Relief

gondeee — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:48:31 -0000

More photos » by John Heller - AP

Atlanta Braves reliever Peter Moylan was one of the most valuable members of any team's bullpen last year.

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Middle relief is never a sure thing in baseball. The Atlanta Braves have been lucky in the past to have cobbled together good middle relief corps. They haven't been so lucky the last few years, but last year they did a decent job of assembling good middle relievers while working around some injuries.

The most striking thing about the 2009 middle relief crew was how fast the team was to make a change early in the year. The Braves hadn't broke camp a week when they released Blaine Boyer after two (out of three) disastrous outings. Blaine bounced around the rest of the season, ultimately finding some success (or luck) in Arizona. The Braves were also quick to cut ties with Jeff Bennett after he went kung-fu on the clubhouse wall.

Peter Moylan

Perhaps the rock of the 2009 bullpen, Peter Moylan appeared in 87 games only a year removed from Tommy John surgery. He got off to a rough start, but continued to battle, and posted a 1.00 ERA in the second half of the season. He gave Bobby Cox the luxury of having a second setup man, and his 25 holds led the team and ranked 6th in the NL.

Going back to the 87 games he appeared in, that should raise some alarms, but Moylan insists he likes to pitch that much and many say that his arm angle puts less strain on the elbow than an overhand motion. Those 87 games ranked one game behind the NL leader in appearances for a pitcher, and the Braves had 4 relievers in the top-10 in appearances.

Eric O'Flaherty / Boone Logan

One of those relievers who was in the top-10 in appearances was Eric O'Flaherty. The lefty specialist appeared in 77 games (56.1 innings pitched) and put in his best work as a major leaguer. The Braves got him off the waiver wire from Seattle last off-season, and he beat out Boone Logan in spring training for the LOOGY role. A minor pick up at the time, his good season makes that move look genius -- getting a reliever like that without having to give up anything.

Boone Logan came over as part of the Javier Vazquez trade. He was called up several times in 2009, but had spotty success while being used rather sparingly by Cox.

Here is a breakdown of all the lefty relievers on the Braves in 2009, and how they did versus left and right-handed batters:

Pitcher	BA vs. RH	BA vs. LH
Mike Gonzalez	.218	.194
Eric O'Flaherty	.282	.215
Boone Logan	.364	.231

O'Flaherty was pretty close to Gonzalez in handling lefties, but Logan wasn't that far away either. The big difference between O'Flaherty and Logan comes when they're facing right-handed hitters, with Eric having the clear advantage in that department. The Braves will probably want to keep all the depth they can, but Logan is out of options and arbitration eligible this year, so a non-tender might be in his future.

Kris Medlen

While Medlen posted a respectable 4.26 ERA for a rookie, his ERA as a reliever was even better at 3.47. He struck out more than a batter per inning in relief and gave up less than a hit per inning while keeping his walks in check. He was used inconsistently at times, getting long rests only to pitch on consecutive days. This unfamiliarity with the major league bullpen role caused Medlen to admittedly undergo some growing pains, but his work ethic kept his spirits up and his mind ready for any situation.

He could certainly move into a setup role next year, and may become one of the more indispensable members of the Atlanta pen. With the Atlanta rotation at 120% capacity, there's little chance that he would move back to a starting role, but his familiarity with starting may make him an ideal emergency swing man -- further increasing his value to the bullpen and the team.

Manny Acosta

Here are Acosta's ERAs the last three years:

2007 - 2.28
2008 - 3.57
2009 - 4.34

Meanwhile his FIP has hovered around 4.77, and has never been below 4.25, so that should tell us that Manny is either getting real lucky or he's getting bailed out by other Atlanta relievers -- either way it seems to be catching up to him. He is becoming more and more worthless, and that tells me his spot in the pen is in question.

Others

Jo-Jo Reyes and James Parr could find some time in the bullpen in 2010, though neither is ideal for the role. Luis Valdez is doing well in winter ball, and he could play a prominent role in the pen as well. I wondered why the Braves didn't use him more this year, especially towards the end, but maybe they wanted him to get work in winter ball and not the majors.

As always, there is a lot of work to be done this off-season to bolster the Atlanta bullpen.

Braves Top-10 Minor League Right Handed Starting Pitchers (1-5)

cbwilk — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:05:55 -0000

Julio Teheran's funky delivery helped catapult him to the top of the Braves' pitching prospects list.

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The Braves have a long history of developing dominant Major League pitching and that trend seems to be continuing with the emergence of Tommy Hanson with Atlanta this season and with the near limitless potential of their top right handed starting pitching prospects. The top half of the list contains a pair of foreign born live arms, one of whom could become a future ace, a former second round draft pick whose stuff and body is as projectable as any pitcher to come through the system since Kevin Millwood, and a pair of more polished, durable college players who eat innings like candy.

1. Julio Teheran B/T: R/R Born: 1/27/1991 Ht: 6'2" Wt: 150
When he was signed out of Columbia as a 16 year old in 2007, Teheran was considered the top international talent available and was a major coup for Atlanta's scouting department. But, his status as a top prospect was quickly revoked by many as he battled both tendonitis and a sore shoulder as well as severely dented confidence in his professional debut, pitching just 15 innings for Danville in 2008, with a record of 1-2, an ERA of 6.60 and a WHIP of 1.46. But, those who continued to believe in him despite his struggles were rewarded for that faith in 2009, as he returned to Danville and pitched masterfully, with a 2-1 record, 2.68 ERA, and 0.98 WHIP in 43.2 innings covering 7 starts. He was rewarded for his efforts with a promotion to Rome at the beginning of August, where he pitched well, especially considering his youth, in another 7 starts, with a 1-3 record, 4.78 ERA, and 1.40 WHIP in 37.2 innings.

The jump to Rome was obviously an adjustment for him, as he saw a sizable increase in all of his numbers, including allowing more hits (10 per 9 innings compared to 7.4 for Danville), walked more (2.6 per 9 innings compared to 1.4 for Danville), and struck out less (6.7 per 9 innings compared to 8.0 with Danville). But, while his final start was poor, he was making adjustments, pitching 17.1 innings in the three starts before that while only allowing 4 runs and striking out 14 while walking 8.

While Teheran does have electric stuff, combining a fastball that tops out at 97 mph, but which is much more effective when he works it in the 94 to 95 range, with a devastating curveball that rolls in at 83 mph and a slurvey slider that could become his best pitch with more work, his mental makeup is his most impressive asset. Ironically though, his overconfidence was a part of his problem in 2008 when he had a difficult time dealing with the fact that the professional hitters in America weren't instantly intimidated by him like the amateurs in Columbia had been. Once he realized that he might not always be the best player on the field, and that he might not always have his best stuff, he was able to enter 2009 with a newfound willingness to be a pitcher instead of a thrower, and that cerebral outlook on the game, combined with his stuff, makes him likely to reach his ceiling as a Major League ace. It's also shown in his stats, as his strikeouts dropped from last season to this one but his effectiveness improved dramatically, a clear indication that he was pitching more to contact and allowing his defense to perform behind him.

Teheran will begin 2010 back at Rome as a 19 year old and the Braves are confident enough with his ability and makeup that they will have no problem moving him quickly if he succeeds. Don't be surprised to see him join Myrtle Beach's rotation sometime around the middle of the season, with AA and perhaps the Major Leagues both possibilities in 2011.

2. Zeke Spruill B/T: S/R Born: 9/11/1989 Ht: 6'4" Wt: 184
After being selected in the second round of the 2008 draft, Spruill was very successful in his debut for the Orlando Braves in the GCL, with 7 wins and no losses, a 2.93 ERA, and a 1.25 WHIP in 40 innings. He continued his success this season with Rome, winning his first 6 decisions, before finishing the season with a team leading 8 wins to go with 6 losses, a team leading 3.03 ERA, and a 1.24 WHIP in 116 innings covering 20 games (19 starts). But the season wasn't a total success for him, as he found himself demoted back to the GCL team for the majority of August as punishment for some minor disiplinary problems. He used his time at the lower level to focus on his secondary pitches, specifically his changeup, and it showed in his numbers, as he collected a 1-0 record, 4.58 ERA, and a 1.47 WHIP in 19.2 innings.

While this demotion does spark some concern, it really isn't a major issue and isn't something that should be held against Spruill. While he doesn't have quite as good stuff as Teheran does, pairing a low 90s fastball with late movement with a biting curveball and a developing slider and changeup, he is similar in that he's smart enough at a young age to pitch to contact and allow his defense to make plays for him. He has the perfect body for a pitcher, and is very comparable to Kevin Millwood at the same age, making it plausible that he could gain velocity and stamina as he moves up the ladder.

Spruill proved capable of handling the Sally Leauge, so in 2010 he'll move up to Myrtle Beach to attempt to corral the Carolina League as a 20 year old. He's still incredibly young and has a long way to go in his development, but, provided the Braves can fine tune his pitching and keep his maturation on course, he seems verly likely to reach his ceiling as a number 2 or 3 starter in a Major League rotation.

3. Randall Delgado B/T: R/R Born: 2/9/1990 Ht: 6'3" Wt: 165
Delgado's overall numbers, a 5-10 record, 4.35 ERA and 1.38 WHIP in 124 innings covering 25 starts, don't look that impressive, but given the context of his youth, playing the season as a 19 year old, and his improvement over the course of the year, with a 4-4 record and 3.96 ERA in 72.2 innings after the All-Star break, it was a very successful year. He was even better toward the end of the year, with a 2-1 record, a 3.47 ERA, and 33 strikeouts in 23.1 inning in August, follwed with a 1-1 record, 2.31 ERA, and 12 strikeouts in 11.2 September innings. One thing he was consistently able to do was to strike people out, racking up 141 strikeouts on the season, good for 10.2 per 9 innings.

While most pitchers struggle down the stretch in the second half of their first full season, Delgado flourished, indicating the high level of maturity and determination that has been prominent since the Braves first signed him out of Panama in 2006. His fastball tops out at 94, but works better when he backs it off a few miles per hour, and he pairs it with a changeup and curveball, both of which he's dramatically improved in his time with the organization. He has a tall, lean body, which is still filling out, that allows him great leverage on his pitches, which are further enhanced by a deceptive delivery.

A promotion to Myrtle Beach as a 20 year old in 2010 is in line for Delgado, where he'll join a bevvy of talented young pitchers. His stuff and makeup is as good as any pitcher in the system, and while he could find himself developing into a front of the rotation starter, it's just as plausible, given his mentality and strikeout ability, that he could develop into a shutdown closer.

4. JJ Hoover B/T: R/R Born: 8/13/1987 Ht: 6'3" Wt: 215
After signing at the dealine in 2008 after being drafted in the 10th round, Hoover pitched just 4.2 innings for Danville last season, but he had a great full season debut this year, going 7-6 with a 3.35 ERA and 1.22 WHIP in 134.1 innings covering 25 games (18 starts) for Rome. He also made an emergency start for Myrtle Beach, getting roughed up and allowing 3 runs while walking 5 in just 3 innings. But, that one outing does nothing to mar his season, as he led Rome in innings pitched, strikeouts, 148 (good for 9.9 per 9 innings) and strikeouts per walk, 5.92. He was also very successful at keeping down his walks, with just 25 on the season, good for only 1.7 per nine innings.

Hoover has a strong, thick body that makes him a durable workhorse and he combines that with a sinking low 90s fastball, a looping curve that is becoming more effective as he tightens it up, a good changeup, and a hard slider. He's an advanced pitcher with a good handle on what he wants to accomplish on the mound. At worst, he'll develop into a middle of the rotation innings eater, but his stuff and durability would play well out of the bullpen, so there's a chance he could become a Peter Moylan like bullpen workhorse, capable of coming out and shutting down a team on any given night.

He'll enter 2010 as a 23 year old, which makes him older than the typical top prospects at the lower levels, but that age, combined with his unquestionable success from 2009 and the glut of young arms looking to work in the Myrtle Beach rotation next season make it possible that a strong Spring Training could catapult him to AA Mississippi in 2010.

5. Jacob Thompson B/T: R/R Born: 11/19/1986 Ht: 6'6" Wt: 215
At one point in his college career at the University of Virginia, Thompson was viewed as a possible first round talent, so the Braves feel like they got him as a steal by selecting him in the fifth round in 2008. He pitched just 9.2 innings last year, including 4.2 for his hometown Danville Braves, but proved to be a workhorse this season, as he pitched 154.2 innings in 27 games (25 starts) between Rome and Myrtle Beach, with a 7-9 record overall and a 1.40 WHIP. Oddly enough, he was better at the higher level, posting a 5-4 record, 3.57 ERA, and 1.43 WHIP in 90.2 innings with Myrtle Beach compared to a 2-5 record, 5.20 ERA, and 1.37 WHIP in 64 innings with Rome. While he did walk more batters for the Pelicans, 4.2 per 9 innings compared to 2 per 9 innings for Rome, he also managed to strikeout more batters, 7.7 per 9 innings with Myrtle Beach compared to just 5.8 per 9 with Rome, and give up fewer hits, 8.7 per 9 inning with the Pelicans compared to 10.4 per 9 with the R-Braves.

Whatever issues Thompson was having at the lower level he clearly worked out during his time with the Pelicans, something that can likely be attributed to the team's pitching coach, Altanta's resident Minor League pitching guru, Guy Hansen. His massive, strong frame allows him to get a ton of downward leverage toward the plate, but his lankiness and deceptive delivery also make repeating his arm action difficult. This is what he worked on with Hansen and if he can keep himself consistent, his arsenal of pitches, a low 90s fastball, a biting slider, a developing changeup, and his best pitch, a diving curveball, combined with his durability could make him a solid middle of the rotation innings eater, capable of winning a ton of games for a Major League team.

Thompson will enter 2010 as a 23 year old, so given his age and the success he showed at Myrtle Beach, there's a very good chance he could begin the season with AA Mississippi. He needs to be diligent and remain consistent while continuing to develop his already good feel for pitching. If he can do that, the Braves certainly will have a steal on their hands, and a promising young pitcher who could help them out in late 2010 or 2011.

Top-5 Off-Season Questions for the Atlanta Braves: #3

gondeee — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:03:51 -0000

More photos » by Tom Mihalek - AP

Should Mike Gonzalez re-assume the closer's role for the Atlanta Braves in 2010?

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We continue our look at the top-5 questions facing the Atlanta Braves this off-season.

Question Three: Who will be the Braves closer in 2010?

You heard it here first folks, the bullpen has the potential to be the biggest problem for the Braves this off-season. This season we had the luxury of having two closers at the back of our bullpen, and while they had their issues at times it was certainly a whole lot better than trying to get a save on a consistent basis from Jeff Bennett or Tyler Yates or Chris Reitsma. Our bullpen was a luxury, not as much of a luxury as having old 29 back there, but with Peter Moylan, Mike Gonzalez, and Rafael Soriano in the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings we had a much better chance to win ballgames than we have in several years.

As good as they were, there were still some issues and plenty of blown saves, but our bullpen picked up 38 saves and was considered a strength of our club (for the most part). This off-season the two main parts of that pen are free agents, and this is a lean year for free agent closers. Both Soriano and Gonzalez are likely to be type-A free agents, meaning if we offer them arbitration we would get a first round draft pick were they to sign elsewhere. But that also means that other teams may be more hesitant to sign them for fear of losing a first round pick.

I've read some analysis that said baseball folks expect the Braves to offer arbitration to Gonzalez but not to Soriano. There is a danger in offering both of them arbitration as both could accept and re-sign and then we would be stuck with a pretty expensive bullpen next year, perhaps too expensive to afford. This is the reason being given for believing the Braves will let Soriano walk and go hard at Gonzalez. But if both of them leave... that would leave us in quite a predicament.

Would we use our starting pitching surplus to acquire a closer, or would we once again assemble a rag-tag group of spring training invitees hoping for a chance to make the pen (as was quite often done under John Schuerholz)? Hopefully the Braves have learned their lesson about needing a "quality" "proven" closer (I don't think I need to mention any names).

The Braves do have a couple of internal candidates. Craig Kimbrel and his funky delivery will be another one of the prospects in the Arizona Fall League, but he is still likely a year away as needs to sort out his problem with the bases on balls. Peter Moylan is certainly a durable arm and one that can get the strikeout from time to time, he could be an option. Kris Medlen could also close, but he was very inconsistent this year and may not be ready just yet. These aren't very good candidates, which further underscores the need for a proven commodity to close out games in Atlanta.

The only real other proven closer on the free agent market worth a damn is Jose Valverde of Houston. Yes there are others like Rodney and Gregg, but they aren't good. There is Billy Wagner, someone the Braves are rumored to be interested in, but he is coming off of surgery and is getting up there in age, so signing him may be a roll of the dice. All of that leads us back to either Gonzalez or Soriano.

Keep in mind too that the Braves could be well served by getting another setup man or two, since the last two spots in the pen are occupied by guys that Cox doesn't have much faith in. This is even more reason not to try and keep at least one of our 8th and 9th innings pieces around for at least another season.

Gonzalez seems to like Atlanta, and a chance to close here once again could persuade him to re-sign. I'd like to see the team offer arbitration to Soriano and go for that extra draft pick, but I don't think they'll risk it seeing how tight their finances are. Whatever scenario you throw out there it leaves us needing another reliever or two, so look for Atlanta to be very active on that front this off-season.

Coming up later, Question Four: Who will man first base for the Braves in 2010?

Who Actually Had the Biggest Comeback in 2009?

Jeff Zimmerman (TucsonRoyal) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 23:18:43 -0000

It's award season, and the NL and AL Comeback Awards winners were announced earlier today. Congrats to Chris Carpenter of the Cardinals and Aaron Hill of the Blue Jays for winning the award. It is supposed to go to the players that "re-emerged on the baseball field during a given season."

I decided to take the balloting results and compare the player's WAR from this year, a recent low year and a recent high. Then. I took the total swing in WAR from the high to the low to this season's WAR value . For example Aaron Hill had 3.5 WAR in 2007, 0.5 in 2008 and then 4.2 this year for a total swing of 6.7 WAR ((3.5 WAR -0.5WAR)+(4.2 WAR - 0.5 WAR).

NL Comeback Award Comparison

Here is a comparison of the vote getters in the NL:

Voting Rank	Name and Team	High Year	Previous High (WAR)	Low Year	Lowest Between High and 2009 (WAR)	2009 WAR	Total Swing in WAR
1	Chris Carpenter, STL	2006	5.2	2007	0.2	5.6	10.4
2	Yovani Gallardo, MIL	2007	2.6	2008	0.4	2.8	4.6
3	Josh Johnson, FLA	2006	2.5	2007	0.2	5.3	7.4
4	Todd Helton, COL	2007	4.9	2008	1.5	3.5	5.4
5	Aaron Boone, HOU	2007	0.3	2008	-0.2	-0.3	0.4
6	Pedro Martinez, PHI	2007	1.2	2008	0.1	0.6	1.6
7	Luis Castillo, NYM	2007	2.4	2008	0.6	1.4	2.6
8	Jeff Weaver, LAD	2007	0.9	2008	0	0.6	1.5
9	Jonny Gomes, CIN	2007	0	2008	-1.2	0.8	3.2
10	Peter Moylan, ATL	2007	0.6	2008	0	1.5	2.1
11	Mike MacDougal, WSH	2007	0.2	2008	0.1	-0.2	-0.2

NL Observations and the AL Comparisons after the jump

NL observations:

The voters got the winner correct.
The voters also got the next four correct with the exception of Gallardo being a little high
The wasn't a whole lot to choose from after the first 4.
In two cases the players WAR value did not increase in 2009 from the previous years. In one case, Aaron Boone had open heart surgery this off season and even getting on the field should warrant some votes. I have no clue how Mike MacDougal end up with votes.

AL Comeback Award Comparison

Now here is a comparison of the vote getters in the AL:

Voting Rank	Name and Team	High Year	Previous High (WAR)	Low Year	Lowest Between High and 2009 (WAR)	2009 WAR	Total Swing in WAR
1	Aaron Hill, TOR	2007	3.5	2008	0.5	4.2	6.7
2	Victor Martinez, BOS	2007	5.1	2008	0.9	4.8	8.1
3	Michael Cuddyer, MIN	2007	2.1	2008	-0.2	2.1	4.6
4	Jorge Posada, NYY	2007	7.1	2008	0.8	4	9.5
5	Russell Branyan, SEA	2006	1.1	2007	0.5	2.8	2.9
6	Scott Podsednik, CWS	2005	1.4	2006	-0.5	1.5	3.9
7	Juan Rivera, LAA	2006	2.7	2008	-0.7	3.5	7.6
8	Rajai Davis, OAK	2007	1	2008	0.6	3.5	3.3
9	Andruw Jones, TEX	2007	3.6	2008	-0.9	0.7	6.1
10	Travis Hafner, CLE	2007	2.2	2008	-0.8	1.1	4.9
11	Fernando Rodney, DET	2007	0.7	2008	0.4	0.3	0.2

Observations on the voting for the AL Comeback Award:

The winner here did not have the largest swing in WAR, Hill was actually 4 in total swing behind Posada, Martinez, and Rivera.
The swing values in the AL were much more than in the NL on average. There was only one swing value of less than 2.9 in the AL, but 6 in the NL.
I need to look back over 5 years to see the comeback of Scott Podsednik. He has the following WAR values from 2005 to 2009: 1.4, -0.5,-0.1, -0.4, 1.5
Fernando Rodney, like Aaron Boone and Mike MacDougal got votes for actually being worse this year than last year.
There seems to be a lot of love for Russell Branyan despite being having the 9th highest swing in WAR.

Atlanta Braves 2009 Season MVPs and LVPs

gondeee — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:37:38 -0000

The 2009 season is behind us for better or worse, and for the most part it was for the better. There were a lot of good performances, especially on the pitching side, and we finished with our best record since 2005. Here are the Atlanta Braves 2009 hitting and pitching MVPs and LVPs.

Hitting MVP: This is actually a pretty tough decision. No one really stands out, as there were some good performances, but not any great performances. All the really good performances were not for a full season. If guys like Adam LaRoche, Matt Diaz, and Martin Prado had posted the numbers they did in the second half for a full season, we might have had a three-headed MVP monster. I considered LaRoche, but he was a victim of his position in the lineup, and while he posted the highest OPS+ on the team, he wasn't in run producing situations enough, and of course, he was only here for half a season. Yunel Escobar gets some consideration, but he doesn't really act like an MVP all the time. He's got some growing up to do in that department.

I'm going to go with consistency for the MVP, and that would be Brian McCann. Once he got his vision straightened out, he put up some stellar numbers, and even when the rigors of catching 90% of the games slowed him down, he was still able to drive in runs. McCann quietly put together a terrific season, leading the team in homeruns, RBI, and OPS+ for a full season -- not bad production from a catcher. The runner up here is most certainly Martin Prado.

Brian McCann

#16 / Catcher / Atlanta Braves

Height: 6-3

Weight: 230

Bats: L

Throws: R

Born: Feb 20, 1984

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Brian McCann	138	488	63	137	35	1	21	94	49	83	4	1	.281	.349	.486

Hitting LVP: There are a couple of unfortunate candidates here. The guy I most want to give it to is Garret Anderson. He was just awful, and he played 134 games of .303 OBP and .401 slugging in a position where there should be a big bopper. Not to mention his defensive style is that of a hung-over beer-leaguer. He was bad, but not as bad as some others. We all know about how bad Jeff Francoeur was as a Brave -- the worst everyday right fielder in baseball. But we've done enough beating up on Frenchy, and besides we rid ourselves of his taint months ago.

Nope, the hitting LVP for the 2009 Braves is a guy many thought would really turn the corner this year, unfortunately he did turn a corner, just not down the road to improvement. Kelly Johnson played way too much before he was mercifully replaced by the excellent Martin Prado. Johnson spent way too much time in the lead-off spot, compiling a .274 on-base percentage while hitting first. His whole game suffered this year as he looked completely lost and/or over-matched at the plate. The runner up here is actually Jordan Schafer, another unfortunate season for someone who we had such high hopes for.

Kelly Johnson

#2 / Second Base / Atlanta Braves

Height: 6-1

Weight: 205

Bats: L

Throws: R

Born: Feb 22, 1982

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Kelly Johnson	106	303	47	68	20	3	8	29	32	54	7	2	.224	.303	.389

Pitching MVP: There are several very good and deserving candidates for this award. First off, we need to step back and realize that in Tommy Hanson, we probably saw the best debut of a Braves rookie starting pitcher ever... and the scary thing is he's only going to get better. There were some worthy bullpen performances. As much as Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez struggled at times, they were two pretty darn good relievers for most of the year. Both of them had ERAs under 3.00 and strikeout-per-nine ratios over 10. Add Peter Moylan and his almost league leading appearances in there as well (he missed it by one game).

Jair Jurrjens was absolutely amazing this year, with the third-best ERA in the National League (2.60) while starting the most games on the team (34). But still, as good as he was, we had someone better. Javier Vazquez may have been the best off-season acquisition of any club. He ranked 6th in the NL in ERA (2.87), tied for 5th in wins (15), 3rd in WHIP (1.026), the 5th lowest in hits allowed, and the 4th lowest in walks allowed, while striking out the 3rd most per 9 innings pitched. Oh, and he pitched the 5th most innings in the league, and ranked right behind last year's Cy Young winner in total strikeouts. He was silly-good, and worth every prospect we gave up for him.

Javier Vazquez

#33 / Pitcher / Atlanta Braves

Height: 6-2

Weight: 210

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Jul 25, 1976

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Javier Vazquez	15-10	37	32	3	0	0	0	219.1	181	75	70	20	44	238	2.87	1.03

Pitching LVP: At first I was struggling with this one. There really weren't too many bad performances this year. No one in the bullpen stayed around long enough if they were stinking it up -- they were Blaine Boyered out of town. The default for this distinction goes to Derek Lowe. Yes, he won 15 games... I don't know how. When you look at his numbers (other than the wins) he definitely deserves this award. A 4.67 ERA and a disgusting 1.515 WHIP. Lowe gave up 10.7 hits per nine innings for a total of 232 hits -- the most in the NL. He is going to have to figure some things out and be more like the Lowe we saw in the first couple of months of the season.

Derek Lowe

#32 / Pitcher / Atlanta Braves

Height: 6-6

Weight: 230

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Jun 01, 1973

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Derek Lowe	15-10	34	34	0	0	0	0	194.2	232	109	101	16	63	111	4.67	1.52

Game 156 Recap: Marlins 0, Braves 4

gondeee — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 02:13:26 -0000

More photos » by Gregory Smith - AP

Atlanta Braves starter Jair Jurrjens delivers to the Florida Marlins during the first inning of a baseball game, Monday, Sept. 28, 2009, at Turner Field in Atlanta.

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The Atlanta Braves got a half game closer to their post-season goal today by shutting out the Marlins. Jair Jurrjens looked like an ace while pitching 7 strong innings, and Chipper Jones slugged his 18th homerun, one of only 3 hits the Braves had all night. They did, however, get walked 11 times.

At one point, Jurrjens retired 11 straight batters from the second to sixth inning. In his early and later innings he worked around runners like a magician with key strikeouts when he needed them most. Jurrjens allowed only 6 base runners and no runs. He comes up huge in a big game... but then, he's pretty much done that all season.

The Braves scored two runs in the first inning without the benefit of a hit. The Marlins starter, Anibal Sanchez, was a little more than wild and walked the first three Braves batters. A ground out and a sac fly later and it was 2-0 Atlanta. A Chipper Jones homerun two innings later pushed the score to 3-0 Atlanta. In all, Sanchez walked 8 Braves batters in just 5 innings. It's kind of amazing he only allowed 3 runs.

The Marlins bullpen also had a case of the walks when one of their relievers walked in another Braves run with three bases on balls. The Braves bullpen, on the other hand, was almost perfect as Peter Moylan and Rafael Soriano combined for only one walk in 2 innings of work.

Two games out of the wild card with six games left. I guess the word of the day is "Believe."

Final - 9.28.2009	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Florida Marlins	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
Atlanta Braves	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	X	4	3	1
WP: Jair Jurrjens (14 - 10) LP: Anibal Sanchez (3 - 8)

Complete Coverage >

Atlanta Braves Sweep Washington Nationals, DC Bullpen Gives It Away In Extras, 6-3.

Ed Chigliak — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 22:54:22 -0000

More photos » by Pablo Martinez Monsivais - AP

2 months ago: Washington Nationals' Ryan Zimmerman, left, circles the bases after hitting a solo home run against Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Derek Lowe, right, in the first inning of a baseball game in Washington, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

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• Ryan Zimmerman and Josh WIllingham go back to back off ATL right-hander Derek Lowe with two down in the first. Zimmerman’s 32nd of 2009, gives him 8 more than his previous season high of 24 which he hit in 162 games in 2007, and there are eight innings left today and seven more games on the 2009 schedule to be played this week. The Hammer hits his second HR and collects just the second RBI in his last 62 at bats. So far in September, Willingham's hit in just 12 of 71 at bats, for a .169 AVG, a .272 OBP and a .324 SLG. Derek Lowe gives up two HR's in the same game for the first time all season.

• A fan interferes with a leadoff line drive by Martin Prado, who gets second, and Chipper Jones reaches on an infield single off Livan Hernandez in the fourth. Livan gets a harmless fly out of Brian McCann, but Josh Willingham catches it while backpedaling and throws it in weakly off his back heel allowing Prado to take third, and then score easily on Garrett Anderson’s groundout. 2-1 DC. Yunel Escobar hits a two-out triple to score Chipper and it’s tied at 2-2 after four.

• Mike Morse hits the third HR of the game off Lowe to give DC a 3-2 lead in the fourth. Morse hits his second HR in two days, for the 4th and 5th HR’s of his 132-game MLB career. Before yesterday's HR, Morse hadn't gone deep in a major league game since August 15th 2005 when he hit a two-run HR as a Seattle Mariner for the 3rd HR of his rookie campaign.

TRIVIA: The last time Derek Lowe gave up 3 HR’s in a game? August 27, 2007, against the Washington Nationals...Q: Who hit the HR's off Lowe? There were three different players...? A: Dmitri Young, Wily Mo Pena and Ryan Zimmerman in a 5-4 loss to Los Angeles.

• After grounding out with two on and two out in the sixth, Livan Hernandez walks Yunel Escobar to start the seventh and then gives up an RBI double off the base of the out-of-town scoreboard to Adam LaRoche, which scores Escobar from first ahead of the cut throw home. 3-3 ballgame. Hernandez out after 6.1 IP, 6 hits, 3 ER, 1 BB and 2 K's. Tyler Clippard replaces Livan, and strands Adam LaRoche at third in a tie game. Then the Nationals do the same...

Continued after the JUMP...

• Miss The Game? The DC Faithful Were Watching...

• Check Out The SB Nation's Atlanta Braves Blog: Talking Chop.

• "Game 155: Our team is terrible." - Doghouse.

Full Game Report After The JUMP...

• The Worst Kind Of FAIL...How To Strand A Leadoff Triple: Willie Harris starts the Nationals’ seventh with leadoff triple off Braves’ reliever Peter Moylan. Ian Desmond grounds to first, Adam LaRoche fields and looks Harris back to third. The Braves walk Ryan Zimmerman. First and third, one out. Josh Willingham K's taking a 1-2 slider inside for a called strike three. Elijah Dukes takes an 0-2 slider low and outside and that's a strike too, Willie Harris is left standing on third...

• Extra Innings...For the second-straight day, Mike MacDougal comes on in a non-save situation. Yesterday, MacDougal allowed a single, a sac bunt and an RBI double before he was lifted for Ron Villone who gave up a two-run HR, with one run belonging to the DC closer. Today, MacDougal starts the tenth with the game still tied at 3-3, and gets the first out on a groundout by pinch hitter Brooks Conrad, then it all falls apart. One-out walk to Nate McLouth. MacDougal hits Martin Prado. Chipper Jones hits a dribbler toward first, McDougal can't make the play, everyone is safe. Brian McCann grounds out to score the go-ahead run. 4-3 Braves. Pinch hitter Omar Infante hits a bloop single to center, two more score. 6-3 Atlanta. Ballgame.

Nationals now 52-103.

Atlanta Braves At Washington Nationals. Game 155 Of 162.

Livan Hernandez gets a two-seam fastball to break back inside for a called strike three on Nate McLouth. Martin Prado grounds weakly to short, and Chipper Jones flies out to left center where Willie Harris’ catch ends a quick top of the first...Willie Harris flies out to Garrett Anderson in left field. Chipper Jones makes a quick toss to first on a groundout by Ian Desmond. Two down for Braves’ righty Derek Lowe. Ryan Zimmerman goes over the out-of-town scoreboard with a two-out solo HR to right. Josh Willingham gets a first-pitch fastball and he destroys it, line drive to left and GONE!! HR for the Hammer, 2-0 DC. Elijah Dukes K’s swinging over a sinker, 2-0 Nationals after one.

Brian McCann gets a 1-2 fastball up high that he drives to center for a single. Brian McCann takes second when Garrett Anderson grounds out to Mike Morse at first. Yunel Escobar skies a 2-0 pitch to right. Livan Hernandez likes working with the lead, and he strikes Adam LaRoche out to preserve it...Mike Morse grounds weakly to short after Lowe jams him with a fastball inside. Jamie Burke’s not expecting a curve, and he’s fooled so bad he throws his bat five feet in front of home. Alberto Gonzalez rolls one to Chipper Jones who barehands it and throws to first, in time.

Matt Diaz grounds back to the mound. Derek Lowe’s slow chopper’s handled by Ryan Zimmerman. Willie Harris covers his eyes and catches the third out of the Braves’ third off Nate McLouth's bat...Lowe gets an equally weak grounder out of Livan. Willie Harris’ single to center puts one on for Ian Desmond. Desmond walks, Zimm’s up for the second time with two runners on. Zimmerman flies out to center. Harris takes third. Willingham walks to load the bases, but Elijah Dukes’ pop-up ends the third.

Martin Prado doubles by third and a fan inteferes to hold Prado at second. (And get him/herself ejected.) Chipper Jones grounds to Desmond deep in the hole at short. Desmond backhands but holds it. Two on for McCann. Josh Willingham’s backing up when he catches Brian McCann’s fly ball, but he throws off his back heel and it comes in late at third. Garrett Anderson grounds to short to score Prado. 2-1 Nationals. Livan Hernandez gives up a two-out, RBI triple to Yunel Escobar, who splits the gap in left center to tie it at 2-2. Adam LaRoche flies out to the track to end the top of the fourth...Derek Lowe hangs a curve to Mike Morse that ends up in the first row in the left field stands, 3-2 DC. Jamie Burke rolls the first out to third. Matt Diaz slides in to catch a short fly off Alberto Gonzalez’s bat. Livan Hernandez grounds out to Yunel Escobar to end the fourth.

Ian Desmond charges and fires to first to get Matt Diaz to start the sixth. Derek Lowe’s dribbler’s so slow Zimmerman can’t throw out the pitcher. Alberto Gonzalez can’t stab a sharp grounder from Nate McLouth and there are two on again. Martin Prado singl--Alberto Gonzalez gets there makes a slick underarm toss to second, Desmond spins around the bag and throws to first, double play...Willie Harris singles to start the fifth. Ian Desmond grounds out to first to move Willie Harris into scoring position. Ryan Zimmerman flies out to deep center. Harris stays put. Josh Willingham grounds out to short to end the fifth.

Chipper Jones flies out to Josh Willingham in straight left. Brian McCann grounds out to Alberto Gonzalez at second. Willie Harris catches the third out off Garrett Anderson’s bat on the curly-W in the outfield grass...Elijah Dukes pops a first-pitch fastball up over first for LaRoche to catch. Mike Morse K’s swinging through a 1-2 fastball. Jamie Burke rips a single over second with two down. Alberto Gonzalez hits the second straight two-out single. Livan Hernandez grounds to short to end the threat.

Livan Hernandez vs Yunel Escobar. Livan misses with a high inside full-count fastball. Adam LaRoche doubles off the base of the out-of-town scoreboard, and Escobar beats the relayed throw home, 3-3 ballgame. Tyler Clippard takes over for Livan Hernandez. Mike Morse fields a grounder from pinch hitter from Greg Norton and steps on first, holding LaRoche at third. Tyler Clippard walks McLouth with two down. Martin Prado K’s swinging through a high-heater from Clippard...WIllie Harris triples to off the right field wall to start the eighth off the Braves’ sidewinder, Peter Moylan. Ian Desmond grounds unproductively to first. Ryan Zimmerman gets the intentionals to set up the DP. Willingham takes a two-strike fastball "inside" for a called strike three. Elijah Dukes takes a low slider outside for another backwards K.

Tyler Clippard vs Chipper Jones. Larrrr-eee grounds out to first. Ryan Zimmerman catches a foul pop off Brian McCann’s bat. Elijah Dukes sprints to catch up to a sharp liner to right by Garrett Anderson. Clippard with a scoreless frame...Mike Morse grounds weakly to short for the first out of DC’s eighth. Jamie Burke chases a slider outside for a swinging strike three. Alberto Gonzalez is completely fooled as he K’s.

Yunel Escobar singles through Ryan Zimmerman’s glove for a leadoff single. Adam LaRoche pops out to center unproductively. Matt Diaz grounds to short, Desmond to Gonzalez to Morse, double play!!!!...The Guzzz, Cristian Guzman sends a blooper to right for a leadoff single. Justin Maxwell runs for Guzman. Willie Harris lines a bunt back to Mike Gonzalez on the mound. Ian Desmond pops out to the infield. Ryan Zimmerman K’s swinging over a nasty two-strike slider.

Mike MacDougal gets a groundout to second from Brooks Conrad. MacDougal walks Nate McLouth with one down and then hits Martin Prado with Chipper Jones due up. C. Jones grounds weakly to first and MacDougal misses it. Bases loaded. Brian McCann’s weak grounder to the mound scores the walk, McLouth. 4-3 Braves. Pinch hitter Omar Infante places a single in the short center grass to score two, 6-3 Atlanta. Yunel Escobar grounds to first to end the inning...Rafael Soriano’s going to close this out. Willingham pops out on the first pitch. Elijah Dukes grounds out to first. Mike Morse K’s on a check swing to end it. Braves win, 6-3 final.

Nationals now 52-103.

Friday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 14:33:17 -0000

More photos » by KYLE ERICSON - AP

Jeff Suppan congratulates Casey McGehee after their 4-3 victory over the Cardinals Thursday. Not pictured: the bottom of Suppan's jersey, which is still tucked in.

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Some things to read while getting tested together.

Casey McGehee returns home tonight after a pretty good series in St. Louis, hitting .455/.462/1.091 with two home runs in three days. Adam McCalvy's game preview for today focuses on McGehee and his possible roles in 2010.

It very rarely seems to come up in conversation, but McGehee might be the Brewers' biggest "sell high" candidate not named Prince Fielder. He's coming off a huge, unexpected year, could be due for a sophomore slump, is playing on a sore knee and the 2010 Brewers don't really have a spot for him, at least on paper. With that said, his value is very high right now, especially when you consider the fact that he's still two full seasons away from being arbitration eligible. He could probably net some very nice pieces in a trade, and if I was Doug Melvin I'd at least have to consider it.

Not everyone was happy after the Brewers' win yesterday. Even before the game, David Weathers was complaining about being removed mid-inning. (FanShot) And if you saw yesterday's game, you saw him scream an obscenity into his glove after being removed mid-inning again.

Mike Cameron's willingness to take less money to return to Milwaukee was the major topic around the Brewer blogosphere yesterday. Miller Park Drunk, The Bucky Channel and Keep Turning Up the Heat all think Cameron should return for the 2010 season. Meanwhile, the Yankees tried to acquire Cameron before the Sept 1. deadline, but talks didn't go anywhere.

Dave Bush will see a doctor regarding "dull pain" in his triceps, and his ability to make his next start is in question. Bush seems to believe it's just scar tissue breaking up, but we'll see. Chris Narveson might get a start or two in Bush's place if he can't go. After getting lit up in his first couple of appearances, Narveson has posted a 1.88 ERA in his last ten outings.

Even if Dave Bush is done for the season, we'll always remember 2009 as the season he vaulted into HBP history. Plunk Everyone has a plethora of factoids about Bush's beanings.

It's been a while since I've plugged the BCB Twitter. If you hang out in the Tweetosphere, you should follow us. And if you're interested in the Brewer minor league affiliates, now you can also follow the Timber Rattlers and Sounds.

On Power Rankings:

Yahoo moved the Brewers up one spot to 18th.
The Crew held steady at #22 in Beyond the Box Score's rankings.

Brian Anderson seems to offer a lot of inane chatter at times during Brewer games, but is he that much chattier than the average pbp guy? A Wall Street Journal study suggests Anderson says roughly 96 words per minute during Brewer broadcasts, the seventh highest total in all of baseball. Former Brewer announcer Daron Sutton was fifth. (h/t Crawfish Boxes)

Oh, and if you've been waiting with bated breath for your Jason Kendall bobblehead, here's the info on how you can get it.

I only have one note for the "Around baseball" section today:

Phillies: Designated reliever Steven Register and outfielder Joel Naughton for assignment.

If I had known about this earlier, I probably wouldn't have gone anyway. With that said, it's pretty cool that someone was able to put together a Seattle Pilots reunion this week with eleven players from the ill-fated expansion team. (h/t SABR Twitter)

If the Brewers decide not to retain Jason Kendall this offseason, they'll likely need a replacement for his "calls a good game" ability. After guiding Brad Penny through a successful debut as a Giant, Eli Whiteside earned that accolade.

I'm not even sure how to lead into this one. A Rays employee planted a fake bomb at Tropicana Field as a practical joke. The joke wasn't all that funny, but his future job prospects are laughable.

Last year's Rays grew mohawks as a sign of team unity, but that pales in comparison to Peter Moylan's Rally Head, which I hope catches on.

On this day in 2007, Francisco Cordero pitched a scoreless ninth to record his 40th save as the Brewers beat the Astros 5-3. Cordero's 40th save set a new franchise record. He finished the season with 44.

Happy birthday today to Paul Householder, who appeared in 121 games for the Brewers in 1985 and 1986 and turns 51, and to Luis Lopez, who spent 2000 and 2001 as a Brewer and turns 39.

Drink up.