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Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Once a Brave, Always a Brave - AL East

...excluding John Rocker.

I think I am clear that I love having a regular series to write about.  Random Prospects, Random Ex-Braves, Favorite Braves List, the now defunct Twitter Feed (better in the offseason)...suffice it to say, I like having ongoing segments because, mainly, it takes out the difficulty of trying to be creative.  As a stay-at-home dad with a second kid on the way, I can't always be a creative master.

So, in the first on an ongoing series that I'll aim to release every Wednesday, let's catch up with former Braves around the league.  If I miss a former Brave for a team, feel free to hit me with a baseball bat.

Baltimore

P Jairo Asencio - Who?  Oh, yeah, he was picked up before 2008 from the Pirates system and got to the bigs the following season.  Expected to battle for a spot in 2010, visa issues torpedo'd his year.  He did get into a half-dozen games with the Braves in 2011.  He's in his third different organization since and has spent most of the season doing a nice job at closing games for Norfolk with four games in Baltimore.

IF Wilson Betemit - He's hurt and he sucks.  So hurt he has missed the season to this point from knee surgery.  I'd look up how his rehab is going, but as I established previously, he sucks.  Remember when he came up in 2001 as a 19 year-old?

OF Nate McLouth - Screw him.  No, really, screw him.  You know how your .283/.350/.420 current slash with 25 steals would have come in handy when you sucked it up badly in Atlanta?  He actually is a good guy and I'm glad he has found success, but still, screw him.

Boston

P Ryan Dempster - Wait, he's a dick.

P Oscar Villarreal - El Vulture started the year with Pawtucket, but he's back in the Mexican League.  Don't miss him.

C David Ross - He played in 23 games and wasn't hitting like the Rossy we remember.  He's been on the DL for a long time now with a concussion.

C Jarrod Saltalamacchia - Here's a funny possibility.  The Braves might target Salty if Brian McCann signs elsewhere and they don't have confidence in Evan Gattis.  He's hitting .261/.331/.445 and strikes out a ton.  Lower that batting average and you're an honorary Brave.

IF Drew Sutton - He was kind of a Brave. At least, everyone wanted him to be in 2012 as he was toiling around in Gwinnett to start the year.  Instead the Braves sold him off to be a Pirate who sold him off a day later to be a Ray.  Yeah, that's not a lie.  Neither was the fact he was selected off waivers a month later by the Pirates.  And there were a good deal of Braves fans who thought the Braves made a mistake with Sutton.

New York Yankees

P Boone Logan - Also known as Javier Vazquez's squire (traded with him to the Braves, traded with him to the Yanks), Logan remains a solid LOOGY.  41 K's in 30.1 ING with just seven walks.  Not too shabby even if he's given up 5 homers.

1B Mark Teixeira - He's hurt.  Semi-related, but look at the baseball-reference page for the Yankees and take a gander at their normal starters.  And laugh.

IF Brent Lillibridge - Lillipad was just designinated for assigment when means he wasn't good enough to stick with a team that has employed the likes of Reid Brignac and Ben Francisco.

Tampa Bay

P Kyle Farnsworth - Formally a two-time Brave, Farny has been fairly bad for the Rays this season and has been relegated to low leverage situations.

SS Yunel Escobar - Still a good defender, Escobar has been the regular shortstop for the Rays after getting traded twice this winter.  In a lineup that is really good, Escobar's .694 OPS stands out as a sore thumb.  On the other hand, Esco has always stood out as a sore thumb.

UT Kelly Johnson - My mancrush is now a utility player.  How sad.  Still, he's having a decent year for the Rays while receiving time at 1B, 2B, 3B, FS, SG, NCIS, and LF.  He's OPSing .783 with 15 homers, second most on the team.  His time has been cut in by the arrival of Wil Myers.

Toronto

P Buddy Carlyle - "My Buddy" started 20 games with the 2007 Braves, but that was more a sign of how desperate the Braves were.  He also appeared in 45 games as a regular pen guy in 2008.  The Braves were his seventh organization he had played for at the time and the bulk of his major league career (all but 62.1 ING) came with the Braves.  He played overseas in 2010, with the Yankees in 2011, and back in Gwinnett last year. He has been coming out of the pen for the Buffalo Bisons this year and remains a good organizational guy to have at AAA.

P Todd Redmond - For three-and-a-half years, Redmond pitched in Gwinnett.  He wasn't so much refining his game as he was AAAA material.  The Braves got him before 2008 for Tyler Yates.  Last season, desperate for a guy who could play shortstop because no one was interested in seeing Tyler Pastornicky suck some more, the Braves dealt Redmond to the Reds for Paul Janish.  He's now with the Jays and has made five starts in Toronto.  He's actually not sucked. So, there's that.

IF Mark DeRosa - He's still got pop and can hit lefties, but DeRosa's lost every bit of range he once had.  He deserves better than to have to play on this shitty team at 38, though.

OF Melky Cabrera - Funny how his numbers have crashed since being busted for PED's.  Couldn't happen to be a more deserving douche.

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