It's the bottom of the 9th, 2 outs and we're down by 1. Men on 2nd and 3rd. This is the game that decides whether or not the Braves go to the playoffs, go to the world series, win the world series...or just the game you bet your girlfriend that if the Braves win, she'll do that thing you've always wanted her to do (and there are no returns accepted on the polar bear costume). Who do you want to be up to bat?

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I don't usually get to watch the Braves, as I live in NC and haven't renewed my MLBTV subscription (...yet?). I did get to watch much of the last couple games against the Phillies since they were broadcast nationally and I noticed the attendance was pretty poor (I think the estimate was ~18,000 for yesterday's game)...especially considering the defending NL champions and our division rivals were in town. Not to mention watching this team this year has already been so exciting.

I'm curious how attendance has been for the other games so far. Has it been this bad all season? Is anyone concerned about what could happen to the team/ownership?

Anyway, I definitely plan on coming to Atlanta for a few games this summer (but not in my Francoeur jersey shirt, dammit). Looking forward to it!

To steal a similar idea from mvhsbball (something like that)...

If you could inflict years of torment on a SINGLE team from every sport, what team would that be?

Mine:

MLB- Mets. Was a toss-up between the Mets and Phillies...they've both surpassed the Yanks.

NFL- Carolina Panthers

College Bball: UNC

College Football: University of Florida

NBA: LA Lakers

NHL: New Jersey Devils. Not really sure why, though...

And my #1 most hated team overall....UNC. (I'm sure Duke will be on many of your lists :) )

Your thoughts?

I saw in a game one time where on a sac fly, the left fielder bobbled the ball before he caught it. The runner at 3rd took off when the ball first hit his glove, thus leaving too early and he was called out on an appeal.

My question is, why don't LFers do this on purpose? It seems like it would be pretty easy to purposely bobble the ball, and a guy is always going to run when it first hits the glove. Is there a rule against this?

These are the things I think about when I can't fall asleep. Well, some of the things...

Please accept my apologies if this has been discussed previously and I was drunk in a gutter somewhere or distracted by the Brooks Conrad thread.

I've thought a lot since last year how amazing it would be to have Adrian Gonzalez. I figured he would be completely untradeable, but some (MLBTR) think the Pads should consider dealing him. The idea got me feeling tingley inside. Let's look at this further.

He's 27 years old. So far this year, he's at 24 HRs, 49 R, 52 RBI with an OPS of .910. The two years before that, he's averaged 33 HR, 102 R, 110 RBI, and an OPS of .860. Meanwhile, he's going to make an absurdly low $3M this year, $4.75M next year, and $5.6M the year after that. 

Casey Kotchman, on the other hand, currently has 4 HR, 21 R, 31 RBI, and a .742 OPS. Granted he's missed some time this year and is a gold-glove caliber defender, but offensive prowess he does not have. In his best year, 2007, he had 11 HR, 64 R, 68 RBI, and an .840 OPS. Gonzo could put these numbers up blindfolded and with one hand (why he's using only one hand, I'll leave to you).

Now, this would not be cheap, but we have the depth to do it. And this would also NOT be Tex version 2 because we'd have him at super cheap for the next 2 years. I think we could give Kotchman, Freddie Freeman, Jo-Jo Reyes, Cole Rohrbough, and Cody Johnson and not miss a beat in the minor leagues.

People always talk about upgrading our offense through the LF position. But if we can get a powerful, young, and cheap 1B that would instantly give us the hitter we need, why not do it?

Is available.

Lacking a potent offense, the Giants are flawed themselves. Having resisted offers of corner infielders for Jonathan Sanchez, general manager Brian Sabean hinted that he might at least listen to trade proposals involving the left-hander, now that Johnson's aboard.

"We're going to have to be open-minded," Sabean said, although he repeated that he wouldn't obtain a player who's eligible for free agency after 2009.

Waiting until Spring Training also could be an option for the Giants, who'll know by then whether left-hander Noah Lowry will have sufficiently recovered from two forearm surgeries. If Lowry's fit, Sanchez would be bumped from the rotation into the bullpen and could be expendable.

I'd love to get him. And if Lowry does come back, I would think the price would be relatively reasonable. Any thoughts?

In case the boys take a break from the "Burnett talks coming along" thread...

So while I was running just now I thought about all the moves the Braves have made and still need to make, and it made me realize just how glad I am we traded Teixeira. I know a lot of people were complaining that we didn't even try to sign him to an extension, but everyone knew he was going to test free agency. And now it looks more and more likely that he's going to get about 10 years, $200 million from whoever signs him. That's not a price the Braves would have met (nor should they have), which would have left us with 2 compensation draft picks, $45 million to spend, and 4 gaping holes (2 SPs, 1 LF, and a 1B).

We've filled two of those (with Vazquez and a capable but still underachieving Kotchman). Hopefully we'll get Burnett and a LF (rhymes with Fun...n), and the Angels will enjoy those two draft picks. 

This from the Beaver* County Times:

Atlanta has interest in a couple of Pirates starting pitchers, left-hander Paul Maholm and right-hander Ian Snell, but won’t give up top pitching prospect Tommy Hanson in a trade. Washington also has interest in Snell.

I like Snell, and Maholm's not bad. I'd imagine we'd have to give up a decent amount, though.

*In other news, could there be a worse name for a county?

We all heard whispers about this, but looks like it's getting close. I would definitely trade Jo-Jo and Lilli for Vazquez. What are your thoughts? This is from Ken Rosenthal at Fox Sports...  

The Braves, moving to address their starting pitching needs, are in serious discussions with the White Sox about a trade for right-hander Javier Vazquez, according to major-league sources.

The White Sox would receive as many three players in return. Left-hander Jo-Jo Reyes and infielder Brent Lillibridge are among the names under discussion, sources said.

The Braves entered the offseason intending to acquire two front-line starting pitchers. When they failed in their attempt to acquire Padres right-hander Jake Peavy, they shifted their attention to free-agent right-hander A.J. Burnett and began pursuing other trades.

Vazquez, 32, went 12-16 with a 4.67 ERA for the White Sox last season. He is not a top-of-the-rotation starter, but his stuff remains above average and he could benefit from a move to the National League. He has pitched 200 or more innings in eight of the last nine seasons, the exception being 2004, when he worked 198.

For the White Sox, the deal would continue the team's quest to get younger and more athletic while reducing payroll. The Sox also are discussing trades involving outfielder Jermaine Dye, and earlier this offseason sent first baseman/outfielder Nick Swisher and a minor league pitcher to the Yankees for infielder Wilson Betemit and two minor-league pitchers.

Vazquez is under contract for $11.5 million next season and $11.5 million in 2010. His limited no-trade clause blocks deals only to teams in the NL West and AL West, and he likely would welcome a trade to Atlanta, one of the closest major-league cities to his native Puerto Rico.

According to www.MLBTraderumors.com, it's not the Oakland A's but the Braves who are reportedly discussing a 4 year, $52 million deal with Furcal. The article MLBTR links to is in spanish, which is why I didn't link to it.

In my opinion, there's no way Wren offers $13 million/year for Furcal unless he has a potential trade in the making involving Yunel.  Do you guys have any thoughts on this?

According to MLB Hot Stove, AJ Burnett finds the idea of playing for the Braves appealing. We've had preliminary discussions with him, and I really hope we're able to sign him regardless of whether or not we get Peavy. Here's the link: http://hotstove.mlblogs.com/archives/2008/11/burnett_interested_in_braves.html

I almost hope we don't get Peavy (as long as we get Burnett and another SP) so we can trade KJ for Ludwick. I think he'd make a great addition to the OF.

After reading this site obesssively, I finally decided to sign up. Thanks for all the info and discussion you all provide. This site is great for procrastinating.