TOT - Braves Say Goodbye to a Colossal Mistake

By Johnmaxmena2 (Own work) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons

Transaction of Today...November 15, 1989: The Atlanta Braves release Bruce Sutter.

A mistake.

It is rarely a mistake to add a Hall of Famer, but when you do so like the Braves did after the 1984 season, it can only be described just that - a mistake. Worse, it was the mistake that kept reminding the Braves of their misguided approach to free agency that winter.

It was a mistake that even as the Braves tried to move on from it 27 years ago today, they couldn't completely and every winter since, the Braves continue to pay for their ineptness.

It began in December of 1984. Two years removed from their first division title since 1969 and back-to-back second place finishes under Joe Torre, Braves general manager John Mullen and owner Ted Turner saw an opportunity to make a splash. They fired Torre because Turner felt they were stagnating and brought up Eddie Haas from Triple-A to replace him. And then, on December 7, they signed Sutter.

For the Braves, adding Sutter gave them the flexibility to withstand the pending loss of Donnie Moore along with give them the ability to move reliever Steve Bedrosian to the starting rotation. Meanwhile, in Sutter, they had acquired one of the most dynamic pitchers in baseball. He was coming off a season in which he went to his sixth All-Star Game in nine years in the league, his fourth Rolaids Relief Award, and a third-place finish in the Cy Young voting.

Part of the new breed of relievers who didn't start their careers as starters before being shifted to the pen, Sutter was renowned for his split-fingered fastball and great control. Outside of one bad season - by his standards - in 1983, Sutter had not finished a season with an ERA over 3.20 and had led the Senior Circuit in saves in five of the previous six seasons before becoming a free agent.

St. Louis wanted to keep Sutter, but was not willing to give in to his steep demands. Not only did he want a hefty salary moving forward, but a no-trade clause. The Cards balked, which opened the door for Ted Turner. Never one to shy away from making the news, Turner swooped in with an offer that still defies logic. According to an article written a month after Sutter joined the Braves and penned by Kenneth Reich of the Los Angeles Times, Sutter was due an exorbitant amount of money for a reliever by even today's standards. For starters. he would be paid $750,000 as a player in each of the next six years. That alone was a significant price to pay when the average salary in 1985 was $368,998.

But that's where the deal went into full nutty. After six seasons, Sutter would receive a minimum of $1.12 million for the next 30 years. Sutter, who could have been playing somewhere else in 1992, would still get paid at least $1.12 million that season. 1992 was the first year that the major league average salary scaled over the one million dollar mark, but even with that in the mind, the Braves would be paying Sutter more than the average salary even if he wasn't playing for them. And he wouldn't be, but this contract's nuttiness is still not complete so let's not get back to his playing career just yet.

At the end of the contract, Sutter would receive $9.1 million in "principal." That comes in 2021 - when Sutter 68 years-old and four years after the Braves move into their new ballpark in Cobb County (or the franchise's second park after Sutter's retirement).

The grand total of this contract was $47.2 million. Not for nothing, but that represents just the minimum Sutter would receive because I won't even touch the interest rates which could have increased this contract a lot according to what Reich wrote in 1985. To put it in a different way...the Atlanta Braves paid Gordon Beckham about $130,000 more in 2016 than they paid Sutter. Say what you will about Beckham, but he was still a better use of money.

The saddest part of this whole deal was the monster failure on the field. The move of Bedrosian to the rotation did little to help the Braves and the presence of Sutter did even less for the bullpen. In 1985, fresh off one of his best performances of his career, Sutter struggled with the Launching Pad. A veteran of Wrigley Field and Busch Stadium, Sutter saw balls fly out of Atlanta Fulton-County Stadium at a ridiculous high rate of 1.3 per nine innings (13 in total). By August, he was also dealing with shoulder inflammation and with Atlanta going nowhere, he was shut down a month later.

After the '85 season, Sutter underwent shoulder surgery, but it did little to help with his performance. He would pitch in just 16 games during the '86 season and was removed from the closer role early on by the Braves in favor of Gene Garber and Paul Assenmacher. On May 27, Sutter retired two of the three batters he faced in the tenth inning against the Pirates. He would be placed on the DL after the game and miss the remainder of the season. In February of 1987, he underwent yet another shoulder surgery to try to clean up the damage, but would miss all of the '87 season rehabbing from the procedure.

When the 1988 season began, Sutter worked his way back into higher leverage situations. He took over the closer job in May and from the 17th of that month until the 17th of the next month (June), Sutter looked like he might be back in form. In ten games, he pitched 12.2 innings with 10 K's, one walk, and one run allowed. He also saved seven consecutive games. However, getting his ERA into the low 2's would be a short-lived accomplishment. He blew six of his next eight save opportunities and missed half of August with another trip to the DL. He would pitch just seven times after returning, including a save on September 9, 1988 against the Padres. It was his 300th of his career. It would not only be his final save, but also the final game of his career.

He underwent surgery on his knee to end the season and the next spring, he was diagnosed with a severely torn rotator cuff. John Mullen, who was the general manager of the Braves when they signed Sutter in 1984 and had returned as an assistant GM under Bobby Cox, commented on Sutter after he officially retired following a 1989 season completely spent on the DL. "It`s obvious he can`t pitch anymore. He`s not going to try to pitch anymore. It`s just the end of the line...It was just one of those things. His arm just didn`t do what we hoped it would. He certainly gave it his best shot, but one thing led to another concerning his arm problems."

Sutter finished his career with 1042 innings over 661 games, all out of the bullpen. In addition to 300 saves, he had a 2.83 ERA and 2.94 FIP over his dozen years in the majors. Unfortunately, while he spent five years with the Braves, he only appeared in 112 games and didn't look anything like the guy the Braves hoped they were acquiring when they gave Sutter one of the most creative contracts in baseball history.

TOT - Boston Braves Add Rookie Slugger

By Goudey [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Transaction of Today...November 14, 1929: The Los Angeles Angels (PCL) trade Wally Berger to the Boston Braves for Art Delaney, George Harper and cash (between $40,000 and $50,000).

In the 1930s, the Boston Braves had very little going in their favor. A re-branding of their name to the Boston Bees in 1936 did little to help, nor did the choice of Casey Stengel as manager in 1938. During the decade, Boston only lost 100 games once, but they did it spectacularly. The 1935 Braves lost 115 games. In contrast, they won just 38. That was the year of Babe Ruth. Since 1900, only the Phildelphia Athletics winning percentage of .235 in 1916 was worse than the '35 Braves in .248.

Wally Berger led the National League that season in homeruns and RBI. It was Year 6 of a successful relationship with one of the best hitters in baseball. Unfortunately, the Boston Braves were too inept to do much with Berger in the lineup.

Six years before that historically awful Braves season, Boston was welcoming Berger to their team. A 24-year old blonde kid from Chicago, Berger was a high school dropout who honed his skills in semi-pro baseball outside of San Francisco. He struggled to break into organized ball until finally landing a spot with Pocatello in 1927. Despite missing the start of the season and finishing the year in the Pacific Coast League, Berger set the single-season Utah-Idaho League homerun record with 24. It would not be the last homerun record he set. Berger joined the Los Angeles Angels to finish 1927 and hit .365 over 14 games as a 21 year-old.

At the time, the Angels were affiliated with the Cubs. The PCL played 200-game plus seasons back then so even as he dealt with injury and illness that shortened his first two full seasons with the Angels, Berger still played in 327 games and belted 60 homeruns.

At 24 years-old, Berger was deemed ready for the majors. The Cubs had first dibs, but passed. Other teams like the Pirates, Athletics, Giants, and Indians were also interested, but it was ultimately the Braves who landed Berger and sent $40,000 to $50,000 and a couple of players to the Angels for the slugger. A right-handed pitcher, Art Delaney had been acquired from Oakland of the PCL two years before and, after a promising rookie season, had struggled tremendously in 1929. Already 32, he would spend two more years in affiliated ball with the Angels and the San Francisco Seals.

George Harper was a veteran of 11 major league seasons, including some good ones with the Phillies in the mid-1920s. He was a member of the National League Champion Cardinals in 1928 and had spent 1929 with Boston after the Braves purchased both him and an aging Rabbit Maranville off the Cards. Harper hit .291 with Boston over 538 PA and would continue to play minor league ball for the next seven years, but never made it back to the majors. Harper would remain associated with baseball for decades  as he altered the way cleats were configured to extend shoe life and provide more comfort.

But this trade is known for Berger. The young man attempted to even negotiate his new contract, but the reserve clause and Berger's rookie status made that a non-starter. Boston gave him a $4,500 contract for 1930. Berger tried to argue for more, but eventually accepted that he had no negotiating power.

After signing, Berger became an immediate favorite of first-year Boston manager, Bill McKechnie. Berger took over in left field and immediately shined. Had the award existed, Berger would have ran away with the Rookie of the Year honors. He slashed .310/.375/.614 with 38 homeruns. It would be the only time in his career he reached double digits in each extra base category (2B-3B-HR). Until Berger arrived, only one player in franchise history had even hit 20 homeruns - Rogers Hornsby in 1928 with 21. Berger's single-season homerun record was a franchise-best until 1953 when Eddie Mathews hit 47.

Berger's 38 homeruns were also a new rookie record. It was tied in 1956 by Frank Robinson before being broke by Mark McGwire in 1987 with 49. It remains the NL rookie record for homeruns and his 119 RBI as a rookie was a record until 2001, when Albert Pujols drove in 130.

It was the beginnings of a seven-year run in which Berger was one of most prolific power hitters in baseball. Between 1930 and 1936, only Mel Ott and Chuck Klein hit more homeruns in the National League than Berger, who bashed 194. He would add five more the next year to grab a stranglehold on the franchise mark for homeruns that lasted until Matthews passed him in 1957 as the first Brave to hit 200 homeruns as a member of the franchise. Of course, some guy named Hank Aaron would pass Matthews.

Berger's success as a Braves ultimately gets overlooked because of the era he played in. He missed the good Boston teams of the late 19th century, the Miracle Braves of 1914, and even the Warren Spahn/Johnny Sain led Braves of the late 40's. His era included losses - a lot of them. In 1937, injuries had finally caught up with the now 31 year-old and with Boston undergoing a number of a financial issues - as they did so often - the then-Bees sent the slugger to the Giants for $35,000 and pitcher Frank Gablor. Berger would play in the World Series for the first time the following October, but the Giants lost to the Yankees.

The Yankees would get the best of Berger two years later as they beat the Reds, who the Giants had traded Berger to in 1938. Berger's run in the majors ended shortly after the 1930's did as he would play just 22 games in 1940. Berger would play a little of minor league ball before the war. In 1942, he joined the Navy and served as a baseball coach. After the war, he became a scout before joining the Northrop Corporation.

On this day 87 years ago, the Braves added a difference maker in their lineup. Unfortunately, the rest of the team's ineptness made that difference minimal.

2016 Player Reviews: Mallex Smith, Dansby Swanson, Julio Teheran

Today's player reviews is a biggy (or should I say today's trio of players are bigly important?). Three exciting players at three different junctures of their careers. One is trying to establish himself as a major league option. Another may have already done that and now, we wonder what more can he become? The other is about to be a five-year major league veteran and has given us a solid floor of what we ought to expect out of him, but could he be on the verge of a breakout season?

Did you miss the last edition? I got your back. Want to catch up on all of the series? I have you covered as well.

*Ages reflect the player's age on opening day, 2017.

Mallex Smith, OF, 23 years-old

2016 Review: After finishing 2015 with a .328 wOBA at Gwinnett over 307 plate appearances, Smith seemed primed for a repeat assignment with the Braves' Triple-A squad for at least the first few months of the 2016 season. Instead, an Ender Inciarte injury during the first few games of the season opened the door for Smith. While he would later suffer his own injury which would limit him to just 80 overall games (plus some minor league postseason action), Smith showed us a few things that give us a glimpse of where he is right now as a player. One, he might be capable of an everyday assignment in center field from a defensive standpoint. We knew coming in, he had the speed, but reports were mixed whether he was maximizing the speed with proper angles. While he would later be shifted to left field, where he thrived, that was more about Inciarte's excellent play than Smith. Another thing that we learned was what we could have assumed coming in - his bat is a work in progress. He hit just .238/.316/.365 in the majors. One final thing...it's much more difficult to swipe bases in the majors. After stealing 57-of-70 bases (81%) in 2015, Smith was only successful in 16-of-24 stolen base attempts in the majors.

2017 Projection: There seems to be two schools of thought with Smith. With his speed, solid on-base skills (career .382 minor league OBP), and possibly above-average ability to play center field, he could have similar value as players like Cesar Hernandez, who accounted for 4.4 fWAR last season with a 10.6% walk rate, 17 steals, and a .294 batting average to go with a .099 isolated slugging. Yes, Hernandez is a second baseman, but that's a level from which we can project Smith tio produce at with better stolen base numbers. The other school of thought that comes up when we think about Smith is that, outside of his speed, he lacks a standout skill. He's hit .296 in the minors. While that's a great batting average, the problem is that he's going to provide an "empty" batting average because he has very little extra-base ability. Because of his lack of a standout skill at the plate, maybe Smith will max out as a platoon/4th outfielder. It's way too early to tell which option is more likely, but Smith might benefit from playing a reserve role in 2017. As it stands, the Braves have a veteran-laden outfield with Nick Markakis and Matt Kemp flanking Inciarte. Obviously, a lot can change, but at this point, I don't think Smith really pushes any of that trio for playing time. Rather, he gives the Braves depth and a defensive caddy for Kemp. Meanwhile, the Braves can get him 250 or so plate appearances in the majors to work on one real issue that we saw last year. While Smith is patient at the plate, his contact rate and swinging strike percentage both were issues. While there is an argument that those rates won't be improved by averaging about 10 plate appearances a week, I think his skillset as a reserve (pinch running, defense, situational hitting) could be too good for the Braves to pass on next season. Either way, what we see right now is a guy who brings a good deal of excitement. Can he be a full-time starter in the majors? I don't think that question is likely going to be answered in 2017, but we should be closer to a decision this time next year than we are now.

By Arturo Pardavila III from Hoboken, NJ, USA (Dansby Swanson takes
grounders) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Dansby Swanson, SS, 23 years-old

2016 Review: Here's some good news. The Braves now have a shortstop and won't need to bother with a veteran stop-gap for a second consecutive season. Swanson was a bit of a surprise callup toward the end of the season. After blitzing the Carolina Legaue to open 2016, Swanson had been up-and-down with Mississippi for most of the year. Yeah, he flashed some major potential, but was he ready for the majors? The Braves felt so and promoted him in mid-August. The situation never seemed too large for Swanson and he provided tremendous defense at shortstop over a 38-game cameo to end the year. I realize his UZR/150 doesn't back up the last statement, but I believe that number is soft. Swanson's production at the plate ultimately mimicked his Mississippi-levels except for one key difference. His BABIP at Mississippi was .309. With Atlanta, it was 74 points higher (.383). However, his walk rate held steady at 9% and while his strikeout percentage did climb to 23.4% after hovering around 19% with Mississippi, that's really not a worrisome mark in a short sample size (especially with around league average contact rates). Advanced metrics of .334 wOBA and 107 wRC+ are springboards for what's to come.

2017 Projection: Now, he's not a seasoned veteran who we can expect All-Star-level performance from just yet, but he's got a chance to be pretty damn special. Swanson has just 165 games of professional experience since the Diamondbacks took his with the first overall pick in 2015 and has done nothing short of impress. While it would be easy to think about what Swanson can be become, let's focus on 2017 for the moment. The Braves treated Swanson with kid gloves last year and left him in the eighth spot in the order, but he'll probably move up to the second spot in 2017 and hit between Inciarte and Freddie Freeman, which should only help him see more fastballs (he had a 6.2 wFA last year according to PITCHf/x). I've long felt that the second spot is a perfect place for young hitters to hone their skills and Swanson profiles as a perfect #2 guy in the lineup. Swanson's early success also bought him some time if he struggles out the gate to not feel the pressure to succeed or get demoted. The Braves will - or at least, should - give him the time to play through some issues as Swanson's progress will go a long way to deciding just how close the Braves are to being a division title contender again.

Julio Teheran, RHP, 26 years-old

2016 Review: Teheran is basically becoming the Andruw Jones of pitchers. While he may never become the pitcher some projected he would become during his minor league days, that shouldn't take away from the fact that he's a very productive option. A year after struggling with his control, Teheran found it again in 2016, setting a new single-season low with a 5.4% walk rate, which represents a 3.3% decline from the previous year. His strikeouts have remained steady in the 21% range as a major leaguer and Teheran continues to surrender his fair share of homeruns, though the rate is an acceptable 1-in-10 flyballs that turn into homers. He's lost a tick in average velocity, though still has the ability to hit close to 96 mph with his fourseamer and 94 mph with his sinker. Overall, his 2016 was much like his 2013-14 in performance and that's a pretty good thing. Beyond control, possibly one thing that led to Teheran's resurgence this year was that he once again wasn't completely inept against left-handers, who owned him in 2015.

2017 Projection: One of the stories of camp will be if new pitching coach Chuck Hernandez, along with other the new pitching instructors the Braves have added, are able to unlock some potential in Teheran that we haven't seen. We all know Roger McDowell preached working the knee-high strike on the corners. Will Hernandez and company push Teheran to be more aggressive? Consider that Teheran worked the entire strikezone against right-handed batters in 2013. Just as many pitches were over the inside corner as the outside corner among pitches that would have been charted as a "strikes." Last year, about a hundred more pitches were charted as "strikes" over the outside corner as there were over the inside corner. To the right, you can see a visual representation about what I am talking about. The top pic comes from 2013, Teheran's rookie season. The bottom one is last year. As you can see, while the pitching styles aren't wildly different, Teheran seemed more apt to come in to right-handed batters. While I am just just using right-handed batters because it's a bigger sample size, I should point out that left-handed batters see a reverse in that he's more likely to come in against them than he was in 2013. Now, part of all of this is due to better control, but one has to wonder what effect - if any - the new pitching braintrust will have on a guy like Teheran. Either way, we do know that Teheran will likely be, at minimum, a 3-win pitcher in 2017 and short of a big trade, will be expected to front this rotation.

TOT - Boston Braves Trade One Hall of Fame Manager, Get Another

By The Library of Congress [Public domain],
via Wikimedia Commons

Transaction of Today...November 12, 1923 - The New York Giants traded Dave Bancroft, Bill Cunningham and Casey Stengel to the Boston Braves for Joe Oeschger and Billy Southworth.

Three Hall of Famers changed teams on this day, 93 years ago. All three would need the Veteran's Committee to be enshrined in Cooperstown and each of the future Hall of Famers logged time as a major league manager. Some were a bit more successful than others.

The 1923 Boston Braves were, like so many teams the franchise fielded in Boston, bad. Actually, to be fair, they were really bad. Only the Phillies were worse than Boston, who finished with a 54-100 record. the New York Giants were one of the teams that routinely whipped Boston that season by taking 16-of-22 meetings. New York would go on to win the National League title before blowing a 2-1 lead in the World Series against Babe Ruth and the Yankees.

You couldn't blame outfielder Casey Stengel for that failure, though. He hit .417 against the Yankees with two homers. In fact, Stengel caused a bit of a scene in Game Three when he homered to provide the only run in a 1-0 victory. Ever the showman, Stengel blew kisses to the Yankee Stadium crowd and thumbed his nose at the opponent's bench. Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who was at the game, fined Stengel and later said, "Casey Stengel just can't help being Casey Stengel." Little did he know just how grateful future fans of the game were for Landis being exactly right.

1923 was one of Stengel's best individual efforts as a player. The 32 year-old slashed .339/.400/.505 over 75 games. It was the 12th year of his career after arriving in the majors at the end of 1912 with Brooklyn (which he's pictured with above). He had also played for the Pirates and Phillies before being being traded to the Giants in the summer of 1921.

By Exhibits [Public domain],
via Wikimedia Commons

Dave Bancroft was the starting shortstop for that '23 Giants squad. Also a former Phillie who the Giants picked up in 1920, Bancroft had hit over .300 for the third consecutive year in 1923, but managed just two hits in the World Series. He was 32 that season. Bill Cunningham was another outfielder off the Giants team in 1923. Unlike Stengel and Bancroft, he was a bit player for the Giants who filled in when called upon and even played a little infield when asked. He went 1-for-7 in the World Series in a backup role.

As for the players headed to New York, Joe Oeschger was a rubber-armed right-hander who twice pitched 20+ inning games during his career. He had already played for the Giants briefly in 1919 before they traded him to Boston. He was pretty decent for a couple of years, but had seen his ERA hit 5.06 and 5.68 in his final two years with the Braves.

Why this trade happened, though...well, that was partly because of Billy Southworth. A former Indian and Pirate, Southworth had come into his own with Boston. Acquired in the trade that sent Rabbit Maranville to the Pirates in 1921, Southworth had hit .315/.371/.448 over three seasons in Boston despite missing most of 1922 with a dislocated knee. Southworth was expected to fit right into a Giants dynasty. While the Giants had the best offense in the National League, they had an opening in the outfield - which is why Stengel played more often than usual that season.

This trade happened for another reason, as well. Bancroft had a big admirer in Giants manager John McGraw. The aging shortstop once played a game with pneumonia in the dead of June before collapsing after the game. Suffice it to say, McGraw loved him. He also loved Braves general manager, Christy Mathewson. Big Six had pitched 635 of his career 636 games with the Giants before later becoming McGraw's assistant manager. McGraw even set things up for Mathewson to take over the Braves in 1923 after convincing his attorney, Judge Emil Fuchs, to help Mathewson buy the Braves. As Mathewson tried to rebuild the team, McGraw did the former Giants stalwart another favor by basically giving him a new manager in Bancroft, who moved into the role for the first time.

Also, it's worth mentioning that the Giants were stacked, which helped to facilitate this trade. Trading Stengel and Cunningham may have hurt their depth, but this was a team that had Hack Wilson on the bench and 19 year-old and future Hall of Famer in his own right, Travis Jackson ready to take over at shortstop for Bancroft.

Bancroft would spend four years as the player/manager for the Braves. After another 100-loss season in 1924, Bancroft's sophomore season as a manager saw the Braves win 17 more games. However, Boston quickly returned to the bottom of the league with only the ineptly-run Phillies to keep them from being the worst team in the National League.

Cunningham spent just one year with Boston. He hit okay with a .272 batting average and .326 on-base percentage, but in a changing game that prioritized power, Cunningham's career 9 homers in 1,024 plate appearances just didn't impress anyone. After failing to make the Boston roster before the 1925 season, he spent the next four years playing minor league ball in the Pacific Coast and Western Leagues.

Before I get to the two important figures in this trade, Oeschger's second run with the Giants was nearly as short as his first stop in New York. He would be waived and finished the year with the Phillies. After a 21-game run with Brooklyn the following year, Oeschger's career ended with a 3.81 ERA in 1818 career innings.

Joining Oeschger in New York was Southworth. While the Yankees dynasty in the Bronx was just beginning, the Giants' dynasty at the Polo Grounds was nearing its end. After three consecutive NL titles (and two World Series victories), McGraw's Giants would again be the class of the NL in 1924. However, Southworth really wasn't a factor. A right-fielder in Boston, McGraw shifted him to center field because of Ross Youngs. Southworth's numbers crashed and when the Giants met the Senators in the World Series, Southworth was relegated to backup duty. His only postseason moment with the Giants came in Game One when he scored a run as a pinch runner in the ninth inning. That wound up being the difference in a 4-3 victory for the Giants. However, just like they did the previous year, the Giants wasted a 2-1 edge in the World Series. This time, they fell in seven games.

The Giants wouldn't win another pennant under McGraw. Southworth would perform better in 1925 and was doing well the next year before McGraw sent him to the Cardinals to acquire a true center fielder. The Cards shifted him back to right field and Southworth finished the 1926 season on fire. His homerun in the Polo Grounds in September put St. Louis ahead in a game that would clinch the franchise's first 20th century pennant. Southworth continued to hit in the World Series and the Cardinals beat the Yankees in the 1926 Fall Classic.

It would be Southworth's last hurrah as a player. While he continue to perform in 1927 and even hit .301, he was limited by a rib injury. He would head back to the minors the following year after Branch Rickey offered him a job as a manager. One year later, the former Brave became the latest in a string of one-year managers for the Cardinals. Southworth lasted 90 games before the Cardinals owner, Sam Braeden, switched him with the minor league manager in Rochester. Later, Billy the Kid would return to the Giants as a coach for McGraw's replacement, Bill Terry. However, Southworth's drinking later led to him losing that gig.

By St. Louis Cardinals - 1941 Team Issue
[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

After cleaning up, Southworth would eventually return to the Cardinals as a minor league manager. Finally, 11 year after losing his job as Cardinals manager, Southworth made it all the way back to St. Louis in 1940. Two years later, he guided St. Louis to three consecutive pennants, including a pair of World Series titles. However, Southworth's personal demons would once again begin to eat at him. His son, a B-29 pilot, died in a training accident before the 1945 season. This likely lead to Southworth returning to the bottle. After a second-place finish in 1945, Southworth would be convinced by a three-year, $100K offer to join the Boston Braves.

Under Southworth, the Braves would have their most successful run in decades. After losing 85 games the year before Southworth arrived, Boston would win 81 in Southworth's first year. They won 86 the following year and in 1948, behind Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain, Boston won their first pennant since the magical season of 1914.

The success didn't last long, though. Southworth's managerial style rubbed many players, included his two star pitchers, the wrong way. Southworth would leave the team in 1949 after, according to press clippings, being on the verge of a mental breakdown. He returned in 1950, but Boston finished eight games back. He began 1951 as Boston's manager, but in June, he resigned.

Southworth would never manage again and passed away in 1969. Thirty-one years later, in 2007, Southworth was elected by the Veterans Committee to the Hall of Fame.

He joined Stengel in Cooperstown. In 1925, his first year with Boston, Stengel reached 500 plate appearances for the first time in four years, but after his numbers fell the following season, he became the player-manager of a minor league squad of Boston's. He later would take over the Toledo Mud Hens and become a coach with Brooklyn. In 1934, Stengel got his first shot to be a manager for some pretty weak Dodgers teams. After three years, the Dodgers let him go and after spending 1937 taking care of his oil fields, Stengel returned to Boston to become the then-Bees manager. As I mentioned recently when the Braves sold Rogers Hornsby to the Cubs, Boston had a lot of financial issues back then and Stengel was not only named the manager, but was a part-owner because he was a successful oil fields owner. Stengel's Bees/Braves had one .500 season - his first - before falling to seventh place for the next four years. After a sixth place finish in 1943, Stengel resigned. Three years later, Southworth took over the Braves.

Of course, Stengel later became The Old Professor for the Bronx Bombers after taking over the team in 1949. During his dozen years in pinstripes, he guided the Yankees to 10 pennants and 7 titles. Later, in his 70s, he took over the expansion Mets, who would lost 404 games before Stengel finally called it quits after breaking his hip shortly before his 75th birthday.

Rarely does a trade include three Hall of Famers. Even more rare did a trade include two players elected to the Hall of Fame completely because of their managerial success. Yet, that is exactly what happened 93 years ago today.

2016 Player Reviews: Chaz Roe, Rio Ruiz, Shae Simmons

I see an end to this series, though it keeps getting pushed back as the Braves add players. Today, I take a look at three players who could all be on next year's opening day roster.

Did you miss the last edition? I got your back. Want to catch up on all of the series? I have you covered as well.

*Ages reflect the player's age on opening day, 2017.

Chaz Roe, RHP, 30 years-old

2016 Review: In early August, the Braves quietly picked up Roe from the Orioles off waivers. It was the ninth organization of Roe's career that originally began after being picked by the Rockies in the first round of the 2005 draft. His departure was a numbers game working against Roe and some poor pitching to begin with, including 7 walks in 9.2 innings. Once he got to Atlanta, he found himself over 21 games to finish the season. The Braves didn't change him much - they just gave him time and he threw more strikes.

2017 Projection: If you are looking for reasons to believe Roe can find continued success in 2017, here are a few things that might help. Roe was actually pretty decent the previous year with a FIP/xFIP of 3.86/3.78. He outperformed those marks after arriving in Atlanta with the aid of a high groundball rate (64%!) and a 1.75/2.75 combined FIP/xFIP. His BABIP was within his career norms as well. How Roe fairs after the sacking of Roger McDowell is another question because Roe fit right into McDowell's fondness for trash heap sinkerballers. He's worth a look, though he'll need to pitch well in spring to keep his job.

By Tate Nations (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0],
via Wikimedia Commons

Rio Ruiz, 3B, 22 years-old

2016 Review: According to Baseball Reference, Ruiz became the first Rio to ever play in the majors, which is already a cool fact. His middle name is Noble, too. I'm just padding this section because Ruiz only had a handful of games in the bigs. After a hot start to the season, Ruiz cooled off in May with Gwinnett. Ruiz was able to shake it off and flipped the switch back on toward the end of the season. In August alone, he hit .286/.375/.505 with 4 of his 10 homers. That strong finish certainly gave the Braves enough reason to believe Ruiz was ready for a cup of coffee and he played in five games in the final two weeks, going 2-for-7 with a triple, a steal, and two K's.

2017 Projection: Ruiz is ready to contribute in the majors and short of the Braves adding a full-time third baseman (or trading Ruiz), he'll be given a chance to compete for time this spring. While Adonis Garcia did a decent enough job in 2016, he is hardly a long-term option. Ruiz likely isn't either, but in all likelihood, he'll have his opportunity to impress. Ruiz hasn't flashed a lot of power in the minors and struggled against left-handers last year, but does have a patient approach at the plate with enough pop to be interesting. He's expected to be a solid defender, though not an elite one. Whether a platoon or some kind of time share develops, the duo of Ruiz/Garcia (and maybe Jace Peterson as well) should handle third base well enough in 2017.

Shae Simmons, RHP, 26 years-old

2016 Review: Starts and stops led to a long rehab from Tommy John surgery which kept Simmons off the mound very often in 2016. After missing all of the previous season following the surgery, he first got back into live action in mid-May. After three games and a setback, he returned in June for two games before again hitting the shelf. Finally, in late July, he was able to stay on the mound and even pulled his first back-to-back of the year on August 23-24. As rosters expanded for September, Simmons would appear seven times for the big league club before elbow soreness ended his season.

2017 Projection: Can he stay healthy? If the answer is yes, Simmons could be an x-factor. When he arrived on the scene in 2014, people were already comparing him to Craig Kimbrel. That's unfair, but the sink and movement on his pitches were pretty nasty. He set a new personal best this season with a 98.9 mph fastball. The slider, which snakes across the zone, comes in at about 12 mph slower. He was charted with two new pitches this season, a curve and sinker, and also throws a changeup, but how much of that is just the data not understanding the results? One thing Simmons didn't do once returning to Atlanta is force batters to miss often or strikeout. That's based on control, I feel, as he couldn't command the strikezone and, as a result, pitched himself into bad counts. The stuff is there - especially the slider. Can he command it? Can he just stay healthy? Can he be Mini Kimbrel? Positive answers to the first two questions will go a long way to answering the third.

Braves Go Big, Sign Bartolo Colon

By Arturo Pardavila III from Hoboken, NJ, USA (#WorldSeries Game 1:
Bartolo Colon) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

One day after adding 42 year-old R.A. Dickey to their rotation, the Atlanta Braves signed 43 year-old Bartolo Colon. If both reach at least 20 starts in 2017, it will be the first time since 2007 that a team had two starters get the ball that many times to begin a game. It's only happened once for the Braves - 1981 with Phil Niekro and Gaylord Perry.

Of course, by now, you know the Colon story. A Cy Young winner in 2005, Colon's career took a sharp downward turn due to injuries and poor pitching. In 2011, he made a triumphant comeback as a competent starter for the Yankees and after two years with the A's, he returned to the National League for the first time since 2002 when he signed with the Mets. Three years and 588.2 innings later, Colon is on the move again - this time to help open SunTrust Field to the tune of $12.5 million. Oddly, that's a fairly good price for Colon.

The last player still active who played for the Expos, Colon is a fan favorite. One of baseball's best moments in 2016 - before a magical World Series - was Colon's first career homer against the Padres. Outside of that, he is one of baseball's worst hitters with a career .091 average and a strikeout in over half of his 302 plate appearances. Weighing at least 285 pounds, Colon looks more like he's playing in a charity game rather than getting paid to play baseball professionally, but he makes it work.

But how?

While the image of an old pitcher throwing all kinds of junk at the plate hoping something gets by the hitter might immediately flood your mind when you think about Colon, he's really not that guy. For Colon, it's less about what he's throwing and more about where he's throwing it.

His main pitch is a sinker. Of course, it's lost 3-5 mph in velocity over the last decade, but he still averages 87.8 mph and the 95% +/- confidence interval tell us that the average is about what you should expect most of the time. He also throws a four-seamer at about 90 mph. While he does throw three other pitches, 85-90% of the time, you are getting two variations of a fastball. Again, it's about location and not trick pitches with Colon.

His collection of pitches includes a rarely thrown cutter, a change-up he throws more often to lefties, and a slider he almost exclusively uses against righties. He used his slider a lot less last year (a decrease of about 4-5%). His two breaking balls both are in the low 80's while his cutter is a few mph slower than his sinker.

Have I mentioned it's about location for Colon? He's going to live on the outside corner and only go inside to show that he's willing to. When he's on, he'll get a lot of foul balls off the bat and grounders up the middle. When he's not, he'll get a lot of foul balls off the bat and grounders up the middle and more homeruns. Either way, he's not going to hurt himself via walks, not is he going to get strikeouts.

While durable, Colon's innings and pitches per game have both declined the last two seasons. After reaching 100 pitches 14 times in 2014, he's only done it 11 times since. He only had one game where he failed to throw 80 or more pitches in 2014. He's done that 15 times since. Basically, it's like having a better, older, more robust Chuck James.

But why?

That's the bigger question. Why Colon especially after already adding Dickey (along with bringing back Josh Collmenter?). Here's a few possible hypotheses.

First, the Braves really don't have a lot of faith in Matt Wisler, Aaron Blair, John Gant, Robert Whalen, and Tyrell Jenkins to be starters for them in 2017. These five pitchers combined to make 61 starts in 2016 for the Atlanta Braves. Now, they will battle Collmenter, other young starters looking to make a mark, and any other veteran the Braves bring in to join the rotation to open 2017. Atlanta feels that Colon gives them a better shot to compete now and the price was too good to pass up.

Second, the Braves feel another lean year is destined for 2017. They see the shallow free agent market, the unreasonable asking prices in trades, and the slow development of many prospects as reasons to not commit to long-term deals that could become untradeable albatrosses. Instead, they would rather roll the dice with one-year veterans who, as we all know, they can trade later to turn into future assets (such as the aforementioned Gant and Whalen).

Third, they need depth for when they trade Julio Teheran. I don't think this is likely, but let's run with this idea. The Braves are attached to Chris Archer in trade talks. Apparently, they asked about him and tried to gauge the Rays' asking price. What if that was research to see what the asking price might be for Teheran? It's a shallow free agent market (that may have been mentioned). Why not try to cash in an asset at above market value to take advantage?

Fourth, they really enjoy watching Colon bat. I really didn't have another hypothesis, but I didn't want to end on an odd number.

Whatever the case, the Braves should avoid the desperate search for random arms to help fill out the rotation in case of injury considering the depth they now have. That alone should make them a better squad in 2017.

Sticking to the Plan: Braves Add R.A. Dickey

By slgckgc on Flickr (Original) [CC By 2.0], via Flickr

In a case of an early free agency rumor becoming true, the Atlanta Braves have signed pitcher R.A. Dickey to a contract for 2017. According to Jon Heyman, he'll receive at least $8M (total includes $500K buyout) with a chance to earn an additional $7.5 million if his option for 2018 is exercised.

Let's take a look at what the Braves got.

Profiling Dickey

I don't know if you are aware of this, but Dickey throws the knuckleball. In fact, he throws it about 88% of the time according to Brooks Baseball. Along with Steven Wright and Eddie Gamboa, he's one of three knucklers to pitch in the majors since the retirement of Tim Wakefield in 2011. All three had been in the AL East, but that is no longer the case now.

Before Dickey, nobody threw the knuckleball with such velocity. That said, Dickey has "lost" about three ticks in velocity over the last two years from an average of 75.3 mph in 2014 to 72.2mph this year. However, those averages are pretty much useless because Dickey throws two knuckleballs that are only charted as one. The fast one is the one that shocks hitters and observers as, on a good day, it can reach 80 mph. The slower one is comparable to the Bugs Bunny cartoon where a hitter can swing three times on one pitch. Okay, maybe not that slow, but the two knucklers have about, on average, a 5-to-10 mph difference.

Dickey throws three other pitches, but last year seemed to relegate himself to a two-pitch pitcher. His sinker, which averaged 83 mph, was utilized 9.2% of the time. That represents an increase of double the usage from 2015. He rarely went to his fourseamer, which he adopted in 2012, nor his changeup - though that's nothing new. Now, here's the thing. Being a two-pitch pitcher is more in line with his Mets' days. Back then, he actually used his sinker much more (around a quarter of the time). Once he went to Toronto, his knuckleball usage went through the roof.

That's one thing the Braves may attempt to change once he arrives in camp in February. Dickey will also enjoy a move away from the homer-happy stadiums of the AL East where three of the five home parks in the division are extreme hitter paradises. That's especially true of his former home in Toronto. Since joining the Jays, Dickey had a HR/9 of 1.45 at home versus 1.02 on the road. While it's unknown how SunTrust Park will play, of the dozen current stadium in baseball that parkfactors.com gives a rating of 105+ - which classifies it as a hitter's park - only one is the NL East. In an unbalanced schedule, that should aid with Dickey's homerun numbers. He surrendered between 25 and 35 homeruns as a Blue Jay and between 1.05 and 1.49 HR/9. That mark should fall with his return to the NL.

That would also help his FIP/xFIP numbers. During his Blue Jays days, his best performance in those metrics was 4.32/4.14 in 2014. They looked noticeably worse over the last two years as his strikeouts fell. On the subject of K's, it's important to point out that he rebounded there last year (3% climb) and percentage-wise, he's just about 1.5% below where he was in 2014. Of bigger concern was that Dickey's walk numbers climbed sharply as a Blue Jay to a seven-year high of 8.7% last year. Perhaps less knucklers will help with that.

It's also important to not get too attached to the home/road splits. I gave you the homerun difference earlier, but from a FIP/xFIP standpoint, it's less stark. At home with the Blue Jays, Dickey had a combo split of 4.78/4.30. On the road, it was 4.36/4.59. While the FIP does keep the big change, the xFIP doesn't. That's because xFIP normalizes the homeruns surrendered. I'm pointing out this because if you think a return to the NL is just going to fix Dickey right up, you might be very disappointed. It's not to say Dickey won't be improved by a switch of leagues, but he's also not the guy who the Mets traded after 2012 anymore either.

How Dickey Fits

Dickey does do one thing the Braves are searching for. He takes the mound every fifth day. Until last year when he finished 31.1 innings short, the right-hander had pitched at least 208.2 innings every year since 2011. He would have at least gotten closer to 200 innings in 2016, but the Jays removed him from the rotation for the September stretch run. Since the Braves have had two pitchers reach 170 innings the last two seasons, an addition like Dickey will bring some calm to the staff and help them to avoid using AAAA depth guys like Lucas Harrell and Ryan Weber so frequently.

The knuckleballer also buys the Braves some time. Sean Newcomb is coming. So is Max Fried. As is Max Povse, Lucas Sims, and others. Matt Wisler, Tyrell Jenkins, John Gant, Robert Whalen, and more are already here. But the Braves don't want to just hand them spots. They want them to earn their spot like Mike Foltynewicz has. In the mean time, a veteran like Dickey gives them an option and let's not ignore that Dickey, for all his faults, gave the Jays over 800 innings and 6.4 fWAR the last four seasons. Only one pitcher has done either for the Braves. To be fair, Julio Teheran was 4.2 innings short of doing both.

It is unlikely Dickey will be the last starter the Braves add this winter. From the start, the idea was a guy like Dickey who will provide a short-term boost and help the Braves be better in 2017 while the young guns mature. Meanwhile, the Braves will seek another starter to stick around beyond 2017. Recently, I profiled Jason Hammel as a possibility. Regardless of what happens, the Braves do not want to run out of options like they did in 2016. Adding a guy like Dickey will help with that.

It's not a sexy signing. You'll probably have to remind yourself the Braves added Dickey by the time pitchers and catchers report. But it's a good signing that helps the Braves do what they have stated is their goal for 2017 - to be better.