I want to see who you guys think would be good waiver claim pickups. I think there are 4 guys would make a ton of sense for The Braves.

1. Josh Willingham- Think Jeff Conine

2. Omar Infante- Great Utility Man back-up SS replaces Lugo

3. Tyler Clippard- Would fill out an already stout bullpen slides right into the 6/7th inning role and we could give 1 of the big 3 a day offer every day to keep them fresh.

4. Scott Hairston- Backup OF who hits LHP very well with Pop, would rather have gotten his brother before the deadline but Scott will do in a pinch similar to Willingham but without the ability to play 1B.

If it becomes clear by the trade deadline that McLouth is not playing at an acceptable level then Who would be a viable alternative to pick up at the Deadline.

Here are 5 Options

1. Coco Crisp- switch hitter very good defensively and can lead off. FA after 2011

2. Grady Sizemore- LH hitter GG CF, has an option for 9 million in 2012.

3. David Dejesus- LH hitter CF, but not ideal FA after 2011

4. Marlon Byrd- RH hitter could hit 2-8 and plays a very good CF and affordable. 6.5 million in 2012

5. BJ Upton-RH hitter could hit 2-8 also Arbitration Eligible for 2012.

I may be in the minority, but I wouldn't mind seeing the Braves try and extend Ankiel after the season.I am not saying on a long term deal or anything but say decline the option for next year and offer him a 2 year deal in the 8 million range. Say like this

2011- 3.5 million base with some nice incentives say 450 PA gets him 350K, 500 gets him 350K, and 650 gets him $500k. A GG gets him another $250K.

2012- 4.5 million base with the same incentives.

We need a very good defensive CF, as Nate is not the Answer nor is Melky. Melky is a very nice 4th OF but not much more. He is a very nice Platoon guy with Ankiel or as a Defensive Replacement if needed.

We need a RH power guy in our lineup but there isn't one that plays CF anywhere to be found, so the best we could do is find a Power hitting RH LF. The only problem is they aren't growing those on trees.

The only options that I see to fill that position are

1. Jayson Werth-gonna be expensive

2. Manny Ramirez- great bad, bad defense and most likely a career DH from here on out

3. Johnny Gomes- Nice bat, Cheap

4. Magglio Ordonez- Might be able to get him for around 7-8 million as his 15 million option is not going to be picked up or vest.

5. Andruw Jones- night be worth a cheap pick up if we miss out on the others.

My personal option on what we do this off-season is

Re-sign Ankiel for 2 years

Sign Magglio Ordonez for 2 years and 18 million, 1 year guaranteed 8 million, 2nd year a mutual option for 9 million with a 1 million buyout.

Re-sign Hinske for 1 year 1.75 million

Offer Arbitration to Melky and Diaz both should get between 2.75 & 4.5 million.

Trade Kawakami for a AAAA bull pen arm.

Who does everyone believe deserves a September Callup. I m not asking who you think will get one I am asking who deserves one. Here is my list of 8 and that is the Max that will get called up

1. Brooks Conrad-He should have been up since his original callup

2. Barbaro Canizares- He gives the Braves something they don't have a RH with Power off the bench

3. JoJo Reyes- He has pitched better since his injury and could provide Depth in the bullpen

4. Diory Hernandez- He played well in the field for us and he does give us someone who can give esco a day off once a month.

5. Reid Gorecki- He will stay up but without Nate's injury would have been a call-up anyway.

6. Tim Hudson- He will be brought up when the rosters expand and be on the playoff  roster instead of Boone Logan

7. Luis Valdez- He got into a game earlier in the season in colorado and would be a nice addition in the bullpen.

8. James Parr- he is already on the 40 man and he is a warm body to throw out there if we need him.

I know it is a long shot, but here goes why not try and hire Tony Gwynn as the Hitting Coach. I think Bobby wants to coach a few more years 1-2 I think and that would be a nice progression for Tony to move into the Managers Role. Gwynn can hit and can teach hitting look at what his teams at SDSU have done. He has proven to be a very good coach. I think he can help this team learn how to hit the baseball without, swinging at everything that comes out of the pitchers hand. Lets face it TP ain't getting the job done, and if we can hire Gwynn who would be a better leader of you franchise and make guys want to work harder and be able to teach them how to hit.

The Braves have got to do something with the 7th inning Peter Moylan just isn't getting the job done. O'Flarhety has been very good so far this year(sans tonight). I feel like the Soriano & Gonzo pair is as good of a 8th & 9th combo as there is in baseball, but the 7th inning needs to be addressed. I think that Medlen or Acosta would be the 1st candidates in my mind to take over in the 7th inning. Jeff Bennet has the stuff but just can't be depended on conisistenly. I think our next move should be to get an arm for the pen and send Moylan down until he can regain his control. Our next offensive move should be to acquire Mark DeRosa from the Cleveland Indians and play him in RF everyday. If we can move Francoeur to Boston or KC then we do it and recoup the prospects that we will have to give up to get DeRosa.

I wonder if the Rays would be open to dealing him at the deadline, he is a switch hitter who can play just about anywhere but is primarily an OF he had 12 HR last season in just 200 at bats that translates to 30 HRs if he continued that pace through 500 abs. The Rays really don't have anywhere for him to get consistent at bats, since they have Upton, Crawford, Burrell, Kapler and Gross in the OF. I think he would be a great addition to the team and could provide some pop for us. He is also still making the min this year and is arby eligible for the next 3 years.

Do you guys think that This would have any chance of a 3 way deal happening with Seattle, Houston, & Atlanta

Seattle receives: Jeff Locke, Charlie Morton, Jeff Keppinger, Kenshin Kawakami, & Jeff Francoeur

Houston Receives: Eric Bedard, Adrian Beltre, JoJo Reyes

Atlanta Receives: Carlos Lee, Latroy Hawkins.

It seems like a good deal for all parties in that seattle gets 5 pieces for 2 guys who they won't retain anyway.

Houston gets a lights out stater to pair with Oswalt, a good 3B, and a young starter, plus they get rid of almost 30 million in Salaries for next year to retool in FA.

Atlanta get the Power bat that they are looking for plus lose KK's contract, Francoeur and his raise, and only give up 3 marginal prospects and none of thier main pitching prospects.

Here are a few guys that I wouldn't mind seeing the Bravos take a look at signing since they were non-tendered today.

1. Johnny Gomes-RH masher

2. Takashi Saito-All-star closer when he is right

3. Chris Capuano-coming off an injury could be a real diamond

4. Willy Taveras-speedy guy that needs to figure out how to get on base

5. If we trade Kelly, We really need to look at Ty Wigginton-he can play any of the IF positions and can hit.

6. Daniel Cabrera- Has all the natural talent and stuff in the world just hasn't figured it out yet.

Thoughts anyone.

 The Chicago Cubs and Ryan Dempster are believed to have come to agreement on a new contract. The new deal is believed to be 4 years and 52 million. Dempster had a Career year in 08 and the cubs are he can repeat it. Dempster does come with an injury risk having already undergone Tommy John surgery once in his career. The Braves can now take Dempster off thier wishlist and now must move on to another one of the top Free Agent starters most notably AJ Burnette and Derek Lowe.