Show #171: The Braves Make Offseason Moves (kind of)
The Jack Wilson signing. The Prado contract. Sizing up the Nationals. And discussing the Chipper interview in the AJC.
111 Responses to “Show #171: The Braves Make Offseason Moves (kind of)”
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Pages: « 1 [2] 3 4 5 » Show All
January 21st, 2012 at 12:33 am
Ham & Curt – thanks for the replies. And yes, despite Jeter’s being a Yankee, he’s a very classy and professional ballplayer. I know that a Yankees are, but I don’t hate Jeter like I do other players solely because they play on the Yankees.
Living in Columbia, SC, I’m pretty excited about the Braves caravan stop that’s coming to town — Teheran, Heyward, and Fredi. That’s two “woo hoos!” and one “eh…woo hoo! Teheran and Heyward!”
January 21st, 2012 at 1:32 pm
David, I’ve tried very hard to hate him. He just doesn’t seem hateable. That said screw the Yanks.
That’s great that those guys are going to all be in town. See if they will be on the show. Well, other than Heyward. We’ve had him on.
January 21st, 2012 at 3:58 pm
Thanks for a great podcast, as always, guys.
I think I would like to hear more from Heyward. I want so desperately to believe that he can be one of those players that you couldn’t hate if you wanted to. He has done a lot in the past year and a half to make me doubt him. Hopefully he and Prado start 2012 healthy and productive. That would surely make this a different team.
January 21st, 2012 at 9:26 pm
I know that this is probably way too early, but given the projected players we have, what would be your lineup? I think the only definite spots right now are Bourn in leadoff and Pastornicky in the 8th spot.
Given that he rebounds from last year, Uggla would be a 4/5 hitter; same with McCann. I’m assuming Chipper has the 3-hole, although I liked having him hitting 2 for a bit last year and I like him following Bourn instead of other players. It won’t happen at all, though.
As for Prado, Freeman, and Heyward, I feel like they could rotate through the 2, 6 and 7 spots, especially depending on the opposing pitcher.
January 22nd, 2012 at 12:51 pm
Thanks for all the good reading. I do have an issue with #19 post. Can’t go along with using the “stuck with” phrase when referring to Chipper. He has earned his place and salary with performance and loyalty. Few teams are “stuck with” a player like this though they wish they were. “Stuck with” goes better when used to refer to “stuck with” a $10 mil payment to Lowe this year. Can you imagine what the team could have done with that money this year?
By the way, there are only a couple of Braves players that bring fans to the road games and Chipper is one of them. I’m not a big fan of Wren, but, I was totally on board when he chose to keep Chipper here.
January 22nd, 2012 at 5:48 pm
It’s truly amazing that Prince Fielder hasn’t signed yet. It’s almost February.
January 23rd, 2012 at 12:54 am
Okay…at the risk of appearing to brag, I posted the following in the last podcast comments section. (Check the date.)
93 David Says:
January 10th, 2012 at 5:11 pm
I’m going to go ahead and make my prediction for the NFC Champion as well as Super Bowl winner: the New York Giants.
Why? Because they beat Atlanta. Let’s take a look at teams in recent years that have eliminated Atlanta from postseasons in NFL and MLB:
2008-09 NFL: Arizona Cardinals (eventual NFC Champions)
2010 MLB: San Francisco Giants (won World Series)
2011 MLB: St. Louis Cardinals (won World Series)
2010-11 NFL: Green Bay Packers (Super Bowl winners)
To echo ABT’s recent tweet about the joys of being an Atlanta sports fan…when will the road to the championship stop going through Atlanta and END in Atlanta???
January 23rd, 2012 at 8:35 am
The last 4 times the Falcons have made the playoffs, the team that beat them went to the Super Bowl. Prior to the Cards was when Vick lost in Philly to McNabb and the Eagles. Good stuff.
January 24th, 2012 at 5:02 pm
So Fielder to the Tigers. That helps things
January 24th, 2012 at 6:17 pm
I’m really happy to see him going to Detroit. Given our records against each last year, the Fielder to the Nats rumor scared me more than any of the moves the Marlins made this offseason. The Nats would have been adding 2 difference makers- Fielder, Strasburger- to a team that handled the Braves pretty well last season. Plus we don’t have to worry about him losing his mind and charging the mound anymore when he gets hit. Fielder needs to back his enormous body off the plate or learn how to take it like a man.
January 24th, 2012 at 6:17 pm
The funny thing is that if Victor Martinez doesn’t tear ACL then Fielder goes to the Nationals. Wow And Whew
January 24th, 2012 at 6:18 pm
*Strausburg
January 24th, 2012 at 6:23 pm
*or Strasburg. I forgot how to spell his name since I don’t see it on Sportscenter every 5 minutes anymore.
January 24th, 2012 at 7:45 pm
But you know how to spell Tim Tebow now.
January 24th, 2012 at 8:03 pm
Bullet dodged.
January 25th, 2012 at 9:22 pm
I know that DOB tweeted it earlier today but it bears repeating. With Pujols and Fielder gone and Howard injured, Freddie’s path to the AS game just got much easier.
On the other hand, as a fan of the NL, the departure of Pujols and Fielder is a loss of a bunch of star power from our league.
January 25th, 2012 at 11:44 pm
Forget Pujols and Fielder. We have Freddie and Heyward. They are the future stars of this league.Fingers crossed.
January 26th, 2012 at 12:28 am
From DOB
“McGuirk disclosed that the Braves are locked into 25-year local TV contracts that will prevent the franchise from cashing in on Major League Baseball’s trend toward dramatically higher telecast rights fees.”
Who in the world signs 25 year contracts. Only the Braves.
January 26th, 2012 at 8:42 am
Yes, that was the third Q&A I was disappointed with.
It was Time Warner. They probably owned half of the entities at the time. But it certainly gives McGuirk something else to point to as to why the payroll won’t move. You notice he says payroll will go up slightly to $94 million, but that leaves $84 million to the team on the field. $10 million is stuck with Lowe. He sucks.
January 26th, 2012 at 11:24 am
I don’t know if any of y’all watched Saturday Night Live, but there was an episode in the late ’90s or early 2000′s when Steve Martin came back to host, and his whole monologue was him going around and singing a song about how all of the actors and faces on the cast were different from when he hosted in the ’70s…except for Tim Meadows, who had been on the show for a long time. And his part of the song goes, “why did I sign…a 30-year contract?? That’s such a long time!”
I always thought that was pretty hilarious. Maybe not so much now that it’s the Braves who are in that position.
January 27th, 2012 at 12:26 pm
I need Spring Training to start because this off-season just gets more and more depressing. Even the Nats signing Lidge was just another event that made the Braves’ inertia even more apparent. And, re #44 and 45, the 25 year TV contract + Liberty Media having no interest in selling any time soon took it to a whole other level.
I need some feel good, “Martin Prado is in the best shape of his life” spring training stories.
January 27th, 2012 at 1:57 pm
Must talk about this TV Contract/financial situation…I’ve heard everything from “not an advantage” to allowing my mind to run to Pre-Oakland A’s type of ball club. The Mets may not be the only ones having trouble competing in future years…especially the way the Nats are beginning to shape up.
January 28th, 2012 at 2:32 pm
I feel it in my bones that this is the year that everything goes right! Starting pitching starts out strong and stays strong. Bullpen is used properly and not wasted in lost causes. Chipper will stay relatively healthy. Heyward has the breakout year. No slumps for Uggla or Mac. Freeman reaches all star level. Bourn steals 60 bases and scores 120 runs. Look at the talent! What could go rong?
January 31st, 2012 at 3:27 am
Dr. Reality a.k.a. Curt will have the most sobering comments about what to fear out of the 2012 Braves. I meant that in a good way though. I’ve been really enjoying the podcasts guys! Can’t wait for Spring Training to start! Hope you all have had a good holiday & new year!
FEAR THE CHOP SHOP!!
January 31st, 2012 at 10:53 am
#49 — That he will. And I agree with the “in a good way” part. It’s good to hear a realistic perspective as well.
Curious — when will y’all be going back to weekly podcasts?? I need my weekly dose!