Last day before the non-waiver deadline. Even if Atlanta doesn't make a move today, I would be pretty surprised if a deal isn't made in August, even if it comes on the 31st.
-Forgot to mention that Reed Johnson hit the DL yesterday. The Braves announced the promotion of Todd Cunningham. Before the callup, Cunningham was slashing his way to a .279/.357/.352 clip with a 101 RC+. He did produce slightly better the previous season with the Mississippi Braves, OPSing .767 and a 116 RC+. He's a little cold right now, OPSing .535 over his last nine games. Cunningham's essentially the same guy he replaced on the roster, except he's a switch-hitter. He's fairing better against lefties this year, much like Johnson. However, since 2011, he's hit righties better.
-From David O'Brien, B.J. Upton will begin his rehab assignment with Gwinnett today for at least three games. Jordan Schafer hits the farm this weekend. Hopefully, Upton stays at Gwinnett until he starts hitting or reaches his rehab limit (whichever comes soonest).
-Mark Bowman has this to add to the twittersphere: "Gerald Laird is here today, but it's highly doubtful he'll be available. He's spent the past 4 days in pain, trying to pass a kidney stone." Well, that sucks. Last year, I had a kidney stone and I acted like a kid dealing with pain that day.
-Adam Rubin of ESPN reported that the Braves affiliation this fall in the Arizona Fall League will be the Scottsdale Scorpions.
-Fun link from Stephen Shaw. He has a picture from the last walk-off triple by the Braves. Note who was the winner for the Braves.
-If you haven't seen it, please, please - PLEASE - see this!!!!! h/t to @keithlaw. And major props for Chad Qualls for giving us this wonderful video.
Showing posts with label Twitter Feed. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Twitter Feed. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Twitter Feed: July 30
Getting closer and closer to the deadline. Everything you read on twitter about trade rumors should be taken with a MASSIVE grain of salt over the next few days.
-Ken Rosenthal tweeted something that sounded absurd. For a second, I thought he was trolling us or his account had been hacked. The Rangers apparently did their due diligence and came calling about Brian McCann. Really? Needless to say, the Braves didn't seem all that interested. For more, you can scroll down on his notes column.
-In a move that was pretty expected, the Braves DFA'd Kameron Loe according to Mark Bowman. Loe only appeared in two games. In the first one, his sinker wasn't awful. In the second one, it was awful. That's all you need to know right now.
-One of the strangest parts of Brandon Beachy's return was that Paul Maholm was placed on the 15-day DL. Maholm had been, I guess, twiddling his thumbs since July 20th, when he left the White Sox game with a wrist injury. Since then, the Braves played short for...some reason. Well, partly, it was because the Braves were going to place Maholm on the DL when Alex Wood was brought back to replace him in the staff. However, Tim Hudson's injury forced Huddy to the DL first for Wood. Crazy that Maholm wasn't DL'd at some point, though.
-Rowland's Office, a superb blog, tweeted about their newest column. It is a wonderful look at the $160M contract that the Braves ultimately didn't pay for everyone's favorite ballplayer - Alex Gonzalez. Remember to follow @RowlandsOffice.
-Ken Rosenthal tweeted something that sounded absurd. For a second, I thought he was trolling us or his account had been hacked. The Rangers apparently did their due diligence and came calling about Brian McCann. Really? Needless to say, the Braves didn't seem all that interested. For more, you can scroll down on his notes column.
-In a move that was pretty expected, the Braves DFA'd Kameron Loe according to Mark Bowman. Loe only appeared in two games. In the first one, his sinker wasn't awful. In the second one, it was awful. That's all you need to know right now.
-One of the strangest parts of Brandon Beachy's return was that Paul Maholm was placed on the 15-day DL. Maholm had been, I guess, twiddling his thumbs since July 20th, when he left the White Sox game with a wrist injury. Since then, the Braves played short for...some reason. Well, partly, it was because the Braves were going to place Maholm on the DL when Alex Wood was brought back to replace him in the staff. However, Tim Hudson's injury forced Huddy to the DL first for Wood. Crazy that Maholm wasn't DL'd at some point, though.
-Rowland's Office, a superb blog, tweeted about their newest column. It is a wonderful look at the $160M contract that the Braves ultimately didn't pay for everyone's favorite ballplayer - Alex Gonzalez. Remember to follow @RowlandsOffice.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Twitter Feed: July 29
-Yesterday was fun even before the game began. There were reports that Jake Peavy had packed up things and a trade was imminent. Soon after that, the Braves and A's were the teams most likely to bring Peavy on board. That was followed by tweets ESPN's Jim Bowden and FOX's Ken Rosenthal that the Braves weren't in on anything. According to what people think the White Sox are offering for Peavy, a package equal to or greater than the package the Rangers gave up for Matt Garza, I am less keen on making a trade than I was a few days ago when I wrote about Peavy.
-Speaking of Rosenthal, this morning he tweeted about his new column that includes a few lines about the Braves. He wrote about how the Braves are getting "terrific work" from Jordan Walden, Luis Avilan, and Anthony Varvaro. One of these is not like the other. While Varvaro's 3.61 FIP is good enough, I worry about him. Hix xFIP is about 80 points higher than his FIP and a 1.5 K/BB doesn't inspire much confidence. While people talk up the bullpen's ERA ranking, which is first, I look at the bullpen and wonder if beyond the top three relievers, the Braves have guys to count on in high leverage situations.
-In Gondeee's latest update, he also mentioned the heavy workload on Walden, Avilan, and closer Craig Kimbrel. It's enough to give a guy fits when you remember the breaking down of the pen late in the season two years ago from Jonny Venters, Eric O'Flaherty, and Kimbrel. O'Ventbrel was dominant until September, which magically coincided with the epic 2011 collapse. Follow gondeee at @gondeee.
-Back to Rosenthal's column, he mentioned Chris Johnson's BABIP, something I mentioned here earlier this month. While Johnson's .421 BABIP is extremely high, only Joey Votto has a higher BABIP since the beginning of 2010 (.370 to .366). Not that Johnson is highly comparable to Votto (23 WAR to 3 WAR should make that clear), but Johnson's style of hitting seems to result in a high BABIP. Not that he will maintain a .421 BABIP, but this far into the season, it's less a fluke and more a sign of a player who doesn't live by the same rules most players do. He also is a Joe Simpson favorite - 34 hits to left, 42 hits to center, 28 hits to right. Seriously, Simpson wouldn't need Viagra looking at that.
-Elsewhere, this tweet mentions that Kimbrel and John Smoltz are the only closers in franchise history to have three 30-save seasons. Kimbrel, who has 120 saves, passed Mark Wohlers for third all-time and needs 21 more to tie Gene Garber for the second most saves in franchise history. Smoltz holds the record with 154 saves.
-One of my trade targets isn't coming to Atlanta, per Ken Rosenthal. According to him, the Tigers have acquired Jose Veras, who I wrote about a few weeks ago.
-Mark Bowman tweets this goody. The Braves "hit .224 w/ RISP in their first 80 games. They have hit .325 w/ RISP in the 25 games that have followed." It's a long season. Don't focus on splits that normalize over time.
-Speaking of Rosenthal, this morning he tweeted about his new column that includes a few lines about the Braves. He wrote about how the Braves are getting "terrific work" from Jordan Walden, Luis Avilan, and Anthony Varvaro. One of these is not like the other. While Varvaro's 3.61 FIP is good enough, I worry about him. Hix xFIP is about 80 points higher than his FIP and a 1.5 K/BB doesn't inspire much confidence. While people talk up the bullpen's ERA ranking, which is first, I look at the bullpen and wonder if beyond the top three relievers, the Braves have guys to count on in high leverage situations.
-In Gondeee's latest update, he also mentioned the heavy workload on Walden, Avilan, and closer Craig Kimbrel. It's enough to give a guy fits when you remember the breaking down of the pen late in the season two years ago from Jonny Venters, Eric O'Flaherty, and Kimbrel. O'Ventbrel was dominant until September, which magically coincided with the epic 2011 collapse. Follow gondeee at @gondeee.
-Back to Rosenthal's column, he mentioned Chris Johnson's BABIP, something I mentioned here earlier this month. While Johnson's .421 BABIP is extremely high, only Joey Votto has a higher BABIP since the beginning of 2010 (.370 to .366). Not that Johnson is highly comparable to Votto (23 WAR to 3 WAR should make that clear), but Johnson's style of hitting seems to result in a high BABIP. Not that he will maintain a .421 BABIP, but this far into the season, it's less a fluke and more a sign of a player who doesn't live by the same rules most players do. He also is a Joe Simpson favorite - 34 hits to left, 42 hits to center, 28 hits to right. Seriously, Simpson wouldn't need Viagra looking at that.
-Elsewhere, this tweet mentions that Kimbrel and John Smoltz are the only closers in franchise history to have three 30-save seasons. Kimbrel, who has 120 saves, passed Mark Wohlers for third all-time and needs 21 more to tie Gene Garber for the second most saves in franchise history. Smoltz holds the record with 154 saves.
-One of my trade targets isn't coming to Atlanta, per Ken Rosenthal. According to him, the Tigers have acquired Jose Veras, who I wrote about a few weeks ago.
-Mark Bowman tweets this goody. The Braves "hit .224 w/ RISP in their first 80 games. They have hit .325 w/ RISP in the 25 games that have followed." It's a long season. Don't focus on splits that normalize over time.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Twitter Feed: July 27
Happy Saturday all.
-Jim Bowden mentions that Kyle Lohse has been hot of late and should he be a trade target for the Braves? The Brewers right-hander notably struggled to find a deal in the offseason after the Cardinals gave him qualifying offer. He received 3 years, $33M right before the season from Milwaukee and they would need his permission to deal him this soon after signing a contract. Doubt the Braves are interested in that contract, even if Lohse has been his usual decent self.
-In addition to the names of Lohse and Jake Peavy, Royals right-hander Ervin Santana was thrown around as a possible trade target, tweets Mark Bowman. Ken Rosenthal says the Royals are interested in major-league ready talent. Santana would be a rental and the Braves are unlikely to pay a premium for him and the Royals would need talent in return for Santana considering they can simply place a qualifying offer on him after the season. Just don't see a match here. Braves won't offer one of their ready starters for a guy they are unlikely to retain after this season.
-Too many have brought up Bud Norris as a possibility. Yesterday, spoke of how the Braves need a guy to put at the head of the rotation. Norris screams average, okay, meh, not awful. He is in badly need of a third pitch. The slider is solid and something off-speed would do a lot for his 92-93 mph velocity, but his changeup is rarely used and often pulverized when it is. If you are going to make a trade, shouldn't you make one for someone clearly better than Paul Maholm?
-Elsewhere, Jayson Stark's sources make it clear the Braves are unlikely to acquire a starter because Frank Wren is not willing to pay the price. Bowman says he is. Rosenthal says the Braves likely won't. WHO IS RIGHT?
-From DOB, both B.J. Upton and Jordan Schafer did their running before the game Friday. For Upton, it was more of the same. However, for Schafer it was a first.
-Finally, an Hudson update from Rosenthal. The surgery Hudson went under was to repair fractured fibula and deltoid ligament in right ankle. Takes about four months to rehab so he could be ready by December. If he returns, he should have a good portion of the offseason at full health as he tries to secure employment for 2014.
-Jim Bowden mentions that Kyle Lohse has been hot of late and should he be a trade target for the Braves? The Brewers right-hander notably struggled to find a deal in the offseason after the Cardinals gave him qualifying offer. He received 3 years, $33M right before the season from Milwaukee and they would need his permission to deal him this soon after signing a contract. Doubt the Braves are interested in that contract, even if Lohse has been his usual decent self.
-In addition to the names of Lohse and Jake Peavy, Royals right-hander Ervin Santana was thrown around as a possible trade target, tweets Mark Bowman. Ken Rosenthal says the Royals are interested in major-league ready talent. Santana would be a rental and the Braves are unlikely to pay a premium for him and the Royals would need talent in return for Santana considering they can simply place a qualifying offer on him after the season. Just don't see a match here. Braves won't offer one of their ready starters for a guy they are unlikely to retain after this season.
-Too many have brought up Bud Norris as a possibility. Yesterday, spoke of how the Braves need a guy to put at the head of the rotation. Norris screams average, okay, meh, not awful. He is in badly need of a third pitch. The slider is solid and something off-speed would do a lot for his 92-93 mph velocity, but his changeup is rarely used and often pulverized when it is. If you are going to make a trade, shouldn't you make one for someone clearly better than Paul Maholm?
-Elsewhere, Jayson Stark's sources make it clear the Braves are unlikely to acquire a starter because Frank Wren is not willing to pay the price. Bowman says he is. Rosenthal says the Braves likely won't. WHO IS RIGHT?
-From DOB, both B.J. Upton and Jordan Schafer did their running before the game Friday. For Upton, it was more of the same. However, for Schafer it was a first.
-Finally, an Hudson update from Rosenthal. The surgery Hudson went under was to repair fractured fibula and deltoid ligament in right ankle. Takes about four months to rehab so he could be ready by December. If he returns, he should have a good portion of the offseason at full health as he tries to secure employment for 2014.
Friday, July 26, 2013
Twitter Feed: July 26
Ouchie...the guys from the Atlanta Braves forum at mlb.com ripped Bryce and me a new one yesterday. Damn you, Bryce!
-Braves had a scout at the White Sox game yesterday, started by Jake Peavy. This is according to Jayson Stark. Whether or not the Braves' interest was in Peavy or one of the White Sox relievers or both is unknown. Kameron Loe didn't help his chances of sticking around in the bullpen after his awful Thursday outing and the Braves' interest in the starting pitching market is higher since the injury to Tim Hudson. For his part, Peavy was charged with four hits and four runs in seven innings. Detroit's damage came in large part from three homers off Peavy in Whatever-They-Call-Comiskey-Park-II. He walked a pair and struck out seven. It was his second start since returning from the DL, his first coming against our Braves. Of course, Peavy has suffered greatly from injuries during his career. Since 2007's 5.9 WAR season that led him to an Cy Young award, Peavy has failed to reach 200 innings or 30 starts in all but one season. I'm going to do to a Trade Targets on Peavy for later today because there is much that can be written.
-Ken Rosenthal tweeted about a new column that begins with the Braves, but the most interesting tidbit was not about a possible trade for Atlanta, but this: "They struck out once every 3.99 plate appearances in April, followed by once every 4.30 PAs in May, once every 4.62 in June and now once every 5.14 in July." So, Atlanta has that going for them. To read Rosenthal's complete column, click here.
-Deadspin reports on the admission by former Brave Robert Fick that he used steroids twice as he returned from shoulder injuries. Fick, an All-Star with the Tigers in 2002 (mainly cause someone had to be), joined the Braves for 2003 and started 111 games at first. You might remember when he swiped at Eric Karros' glove during the '03 NLDS against the Cubs. Overall, Fick played parts of ten seasons with the Tigers, Braves, Rays, Padres, and Nationals and is now an agent. Hat tip to Keith Olbermann.
-Today is the two-year anniversary of the 19-inning game that is often credited to killing the Pirates season in 2011. To Braves fans, it's known as the Jerry Meals Game. To me, I always think of Scott Proctor falling out of the box after making contact. I believe I worked that night so I only tuned in during the eighth inning or so. Little did I know how much more baseball was to be played. Julio Lugo's only claim to fame for the Braves was being called "safe." Thanks Jerry! Hat-tip to Rob Biertempfel.
-Braves had a scout at the White Sox game yesterday, started by Jake Peavy. This is according to Jayson Stark. Whether or not the Braves' interest was in Peavy or one of the White Sox relievers or both is unknown. Kameron Loe didn't help his chances of sticking around in the bullpen after his awful Thursday outing and the Braves' interest in the starting pitching market is higher since the injury to Tim Hudson. For his part, Peavy was charged with four hits and four runs in seven innings. Detroit's damage came in large part from three homers off Peavy in Whatever-They-Call-Comiskey-Park-II. He walked a pair and struck out seven. It was his second start since returning from the DL, his first coming against our Braves. Of course, Peavy has suffered greatly from injuries during his career. Since 2007's 5.9 WAR season that led him to an Cy Young award, Peavy has failed to reach 200 innings or 30 starts in all but one season. I'm going to do to a Trade Targets on Peavy for later today because there is much that can be written.
-Ken Rosenthal tweeted about a new column that begins with the Braves, but the most interesting tidbit was not about a possible trade for Atlanta, but this: "They struck out once every 3.99 plate appearances in April, followed by once every 4.30 PAs in May, once every 4.62 in June and now once every 5.14 in July." So, Atlanta has that going for them. To read Rosenthal's complete column, click here.
-Deadspin reports on the admission by former Brave Robert Fick that he used steroids twice as he returned from shoulder injuries. Fick, an All-Star with the Tigers in 2002 (mainly cause someone had to be), joined the Braves for 2003 and started 111 games at first. You might remember when he swiped at Eric Karros' glove during the '03 NLDS against the Cubs. Overall, Fick played parts of ten seasons with the Tigers, Braves, Rays, Padres, and Nationals and is now an agent. Hat tip to Keith Olbermann.
-Today is the two-year anniversary of the 19-inning game that is often credited to killing the Pirates season in 2011. To Braves fans, it's known as the Jerry Meals Game. To me, I always think of Scott Proctor falling out of the box after making contact. I believe I worked that night so I only tuned in during the eighth inning or so. Little did I know how much more baseball was to be played. Julio Lugo's only claim to fame for the Braves was being called "safe." Thanks Jerry! Hat-tip to Rob Biertempfel.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Twitter Feed: July 25
I don't like the way the first two editions of this column have looked so let's try a different way. As always, follow me @WalkOffWalk1.
-Courtesy of Bill Shaikin, Harris Poll recently conducted their yearly poll on Most Popular MLB franchises. Atlanta held their customary third spot for the fourth consecutive season, finishing behind the Yankees and Red Sox (who have also been consistently #1 and #2). The Mets and Phillies are also in the top ten among division rivals. I have actually been a bit surprised with the road support the Braves have received this year, though according to this poll, I shouldn't have been. I wonder, however, if the lack of Braves on TBS will eventually put the Braves into a slide down the poll. For the complete poll, here's a link.
-Brandon Beachy made, what might be, his last rehab start according to DOB. He went six innings for Gwinnett, giving up two hits and walking four compared to three strikeouts. 86 pitches, 51 strikes. Not a wonderful outing, but good enough. As I said yesterday, I am getting more interested in seeing Beachy this season if only to see what the Braves have with him.
-DOB also says that Fredi Gonzalez isn't considering moving Paul Maholm to the bullpen. For what it's worth, lefties are hitting .203/.254/.271, an OPS that is .371 points lower than his split vs. right-handed hitters. This isn't new. Lefties have an OPS against Maholm of .603 throughout his career, .195 points lower the OPS righties have against Maholm. Of course, due to the injury to Tim Hudson, that might be a moot point.
-Elsewhere, the Tigers signed Jair Jurrjens. Yeah, that happened. On the plus side, I can use my Jair tag!
-Jon Heyman points followers to a column by CBS's Danny Knobler. In the article, Knobler contends that Atlanta was already keeping their toes warm in the starting pitching pool, but now might up their search. There doesn't seem to be more than guessing here, which is astonishing because that's the work of a blogger. He mentions Jake Peavy, which a lot of people have also mentioned. I don't see Peavy as much of a fit, but I have been surprised before.
-The injury to Hudson was horrific. Huddy has always been an easy guy to love. You hate to see a guy potentially not have the opportunity to go out on his own terms. Hopefully, he is able to get back out there and get a chance to get back on the mound. It might not be with Atlanta, but if he pitches again, I don't care who he faces (Braves included)...I hope he has the best game of his career. If he's not able to get back...superb career from one of baseball's true class acts.
-Courtesy of Bill Shaikin, Harris Poll recently conducted their yearly poll on Most Popular MLB franchises. Atlanta held their customary third spot for the fourth consecutive season, finishing behind the Yankees and Red Sox (who have also been consistently #1 and #2). The Mets and Phillies are also in the top ten among division rivals. I have actually been a bit surprised with the road support the Braves have received this year, though according to this poll, I shouldn't have been. I wonder, however, if the lack of Braves on TBS will eventually put the Braves into a slide down the poll. For the complete poll, here's a link.
-Brandon Beachy made, what might be, his last rehab start according to DOB. He went six innings for Gwinnett, giving up two hits and walking four compared to three strikeouts. 86 pitches, 51 strikes. Not a wonderful outing, but good enough. As I said yesterday, I am getting more interested in seeing Beachy this season if only to see what the Braves have with him.
-DOB also says that Fredi Gonzalez isn't considering moving Paul Maholm to the bullpen. For what it's worth, lefties are hitting .203/.254/.271, an OPS that is .371 points lower than his split vs. right-handed hitters. This isn't new. Lefties have an OPS against Maholm of .603 throughout his career, .195 points lower the OPS righties have against Maholm. Of course, due to the injury to Tim Hudson, that might be a moot point.
-Elsewhere, the Tigers signed Jair Jurrjens. Yeah, that happened. On the plus side, I can use my Jair tag!
-Jon Heyman points followers to a column by CBS's Danny Knobler. In the article, Knobler contends that Atlanta was already keeping their toes warm in the starting pitching pool, but now might up their search. There doesn't seem to be more than guessing here, which is astonishing because that's the work of a blogger. He mentions Jake Peavy, which a lot of people have also mentioned. I don't see Peavy as much of a fit, but I have been surprised before.
-The injury to Hudson was horrific. Huddy has always been an easy guy to love. You hate to see a guy potentially not have the opportunity to go out on his own terms. Hopefully, he is able to get back out there and get a chance to get back on the mound. It might not be with Atlanta, but if he pitches again, I don't care who he faces (Braves included)...I hope he has the best game of his career. If he's not able to get back...superb career from one of baseball's true class acts.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Twitter Feed: July 24
More twitter fun. Feel free to follow me @WalkOffWalk1
- Braves checked in on Tigers lefty Phil Coke, according to Jerry Crasnick. Coke is an extreme left-hand specialist. Righthanders have slashed .293/.374/.439 against Coke throughout his career with a OPS of over .900 against Coke this season. Amazingly, despite the apparent ease of finding these numbers, Jim Leyland has signed off on Coke facing a right-hand hitting batter 73 times compared to 60 times against left-handers. I get that LOOGY's often have to face right-hand hitters. Sometimes, they have to face switch-hitters whose perceived worst side is hitting from the right-hand side. Other times, there's a righty sandwiched between two lefties so you take a chance. But a specialist like Coke, who has appeared in 32 games should only have about half as many innings pitched, not the 30.1 innings Coke does have. For what it's worth, lefties are slashing .214/.271/.346. For what it's worth again, nothing seemed to come from the talks. For what it may never be worth...it would be awesome to see a guy whose last name matched one of the greatest exports to come from Georgia.
- David O'Brien took a question to Fredi Gonzalez many of us have had. Why does he insist on batting Andrelton Simmons in the lead-off slot? I don't know why I am depressed by his response, but according to O'Brien (who is paraphrasing), Simmons bats lead-off "because Rickey Henderson or Vince Coleman's unavailable." Oh, that makes sense. .283 OBP, 12th worst mark in baseball. .640 OPS, "good" for tenth worst. Of course, Simmons did go out and have a good game with a leadoff homer and a long at-bat that produced a walk. Still, because Henderson and Coleman are unavailable, Gonzalez is obligated to put a guy who is miserable at the first task for a batter, let alone one who is receiving the most at-bats on the team? I imagine Henderson is available...but that's another sad story.
- From Kyle Tait, Christian Bethancourt entered yesterday with a 21-game on-base streak. It has long been a question if Bethancourt will ever have his bat even come close to reaching his defensive skills. He hasn't really hit since 2011 during a 54-game run with Rome as he repeated the level. The more he produces over the next week, the more it could help him as a trade piece until the deadline. If he's still a Brave come August 1st, the Braves can get back to seeing if he truly has a long-term future with the organization.
- Guy named Howard Megdel leads readers to his latest column. In it, he is curious if Brian McCann is on his way out. It's a valid question with Evan Gattis and Gerald Laird in the fold for 2014 and if Bethancourt continues to show some ability with his bat, he will be in the wings for 2015. I love what McCann has done this season, but I question how long he can continue to contribute at the level we have come to expect from him. Consider he will be in his mid-30's by the time his next deal expires. What kind of player are you paying for in 2017, when McCann will be 33?
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Twitter Feed: July 23
New start to a ongoing column. Welcome to the Twitter Feed where we look at news coming from tweets abou the Braves. You can follow me @WalkOffWalk1
- If you haven't seen Jason Heyward's ridiculously awesome catch from last night, the official Braves twitter has the video here. I recently wrote about the move of Heyward to center, believing that he was the only option the Braves had with B.J. Upton out. If you're curious, there is no way Jose Constanza or Reed Johnson make that grab. I'm less sure if Upton does. My gut tells me with Upton's range, speed, and experience in center, he would have got there. The catch wouldn't have been nearly as memorable. Some pile on Upton due to his offensive troubles, but his defense is still above-average.
- MLB Reports has a link to their look at Braves payroll moving forward. There's not a lot of info in the actual link, especially when you can visit Cot's for a far more in-depth look. I do enjoy the contention that the Braves don't like to move runners over. Not liking to do something is not the same as not being best suited to that one thing. Atlanta would be failing to maximize their strengths by playing "move-the-runner-over."
- According to 670 the Score, Chicago Tribune's Phil Rogers appeared on the Mully & Hanley show in Chicago to say that it's a Jesse Crain to the Braves is a "done deal" if Crain proves himself to be healthy. I've avoided doing a Trade Target on Crain because I've never bought into Atlanta being a true contender for Crain's services. It's not that I don't believe he would be a wonderful pickup for the Braves or that I'm against getting him due to his right shoulder strain he suffered at the end of June. Instead, I have felt the price would be prohibitive. Crain looks like he will make it back before the end of the month. This could get interesting.
- In two separate tweets, David O'Brien said the Braves were possibly scouting the White Sox's Matt Lindstrom and Minnesota lefty Brian Duensing. Lindstrom fits the mold of the rental, though the Braves could bring him back for $4M. Rather than do that, I think they would probably pay the $500K to buy out the option (or even get the White Sox to fit the bill). Lindstrom has been quite effective this season against righties, but has never been good against lefties (.768 OPS career, .975 this season). Expensive price tag for a ROOGY. Duensing was miscast for most of his career as a starter. He's been better (I guess) this season with a 3.33 FIP. His career splits indicate he is tough on lefties, though he has shown no platoon splits this season. He earned $1.3M in his first year of arbitration.
- Couple of tweets from Grant McAuley brought this information on Reed Johnson. His go-ahead pinch-hit single was his eleventh hit as a pinch-hitter this season, good for second this season. In 2011, Johnson led the league in pinch-hits with 18.
- One more tidbit on Heyward's catch comes in nerdy goodness by Adam Burnett. "Heyward covered 96.2 feet in 3.9 seconds for the catch. That’s a speed of 16.8 MPH, or the pace of running a mile in 3.5 minutes."
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