Show #206: Our Interview with David O’Brien
DOB weighs in on the wild card loss, the bottle throwing, the leadership void left by Chipper, Teheran and Delgado, Venters and Hanson and the moves for 2013.
157 Responses to “Show #206: Our Interview with David O’Brien”
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Pages: « 1 2 3 4 5 [6] 7 » Show All
November 29th, 2012 at 12:07 pm
Any local Atlanta folks watching Good Day Atlanta with Ron Gant as one of the anchors? PAIN FUL.
November 29th, 2012 at 12:36 pm
Anne – I’ve not seen him on Good Day, but I can only imagine. He’s painful on Braves broadcasts where he’s talking about things he knows probably better than anything else in the world. All the off the cuff he most do on that show must be the worst.
November 29th, 2012 at 3:06 pm
I really hope the Braves aren’t focused on finding a prototypical leadoff hitter for leftfield. I hope they are looking for the best available leftfielder. Let the batting order take care of itself. Worry about batting order later. If the best available leftfielder happens to fit in to the leadoff spot, fine.
November 29th, 2012 at 4:21 pm
#126/127 – this morning he was clearly reading copy and mentioned the NYC Christmas dance festivities featuring the “world-famous New York City Rockets.” Pronounced like rockets red glare. Co-host flinched but was kind enough to smile at the camera and not correct him.
November 29th, 2012 at 5:30 pm
Say what you want about Ron Gant but the man knows how to get a job. I think he has a gig on MLB Network, Fox South, and now Good Day. I need some interview tips.
November 29th, 2012 at 5:33 pm
I agree Shaun, I think we get caught up in a getting a speed demon. But all we need are OBP skills. He can be as slow as Cecil Fielder as long as he gets on base.
November 29th, 2012 at 6:25 pm
Span to the Nats for a minor league pitcher.
November 29th, 2012 at 6:50 pm
132 — Just saw that. That sucks. Apparently Alex Meyer (the guys the Twins got in return) is one of Nats’ top pitching prospects, but if we could’ve gotten Span for Delgado or Teheran (or Maholm or Hanson?), I think that’s a trade Wren should’ve made.
November 29th, 2012 at 7:02 pm
No I’m glad we didn’t trade Tehran for Span. Maybe Delgado.
November 29th, 2012 at 7:04 pm
We’ve waited too long on Teheran. It looks like he is going to have to come up with the braves now. Hope he can get straightened out.
November 29th, 2012 at 7:05 pm
I hope they give him a chance early in the season.
November 30th, 2012 at 1:01 pm
The Span thing is strange. I mean, we can only assume the Braves wanted him and went after him. So what happened? Did he tell his agent he wouldn’t play left field? Would the FO not give up one of Teheran or Delgado? Did the Twins simply like the Nats prospect better?
November 30th, 2012 at 1:01 pm
#129 – Brutal.
November 30th, 2012 at 1:07 pm
Just because I’m feeling shallow and small today:
http://www.sportsgrid.com/mlb/derek-jeter-fat/
November 30th, 2012 at 2:04 pm
Hanson traded to angels for Jordan Walden
November 30th, 2012 at 2:51 pm
Good stuff. Walden gives the Braves a right-handed reliever for high-leverage situations, which was a need. Plus an extra $4 million for a leftfielder (or thirdbaseman, but probably a leftfielder).
Wren could be thinking relatively big for leftfield.
November 30th, 2012 at 2:54 pm
Wonder what it would take to get Justin Upton? Teheran, Pastornicky, and someone?
November 30th, 2012 at 2:56 pm
Some (less than promising) info from Olney on BJ Upton:
The peaks and the valleys. His offense comes in bursts, and rival scouts have thought for years that Upton tends to get down on himself. In recent years, the Rays were open to listening to offers for Upton, as he got more expensive, and no team — not the Braves, not some other club — aggressively moved on him.
This whopper investment by Atlanta seems incongruous with how the industry has viewed Upton in recent seasons, and you wonder if the Braves might’ve been better off chasing Chris Young — who was acquired by Oakland from Arizona a few weeks ago — in a deal earlier this offseason. His age (29) and production has been very similar to that of Upton, he’s regarded as a better defensive outfielder, and — most important — he’s owed only $10 million over the next year, with an $8.5 million salary in 2013 and a $1.5 million buyout on an $11 million option for 2014. The Braves probably would have been better off overpaying in a trade for Young rather than assuming the risk of the massive deal with Upton.
But the opinions on Upton are scattered, and an NL evaluator offered a different perspective.
“He is the most talented player in the free-agent market and somebody I think will age well,” the evaluator said. “He is continuing to improve. Most free-agent signings pay players for what they have done, but when you sign Upton, it’s about what he will do.
“On top of that, things in the market are changing. Jonny Gomes just got a multiyear deal with an average annual value of $5 million, while setup guys like Brandon League and Jeremy Affeldt are getting paid between $6-8 million per year. Baseball just signed a new labor deal last year and got a lot of TV money this year. There was value in the Braves’ striking early, before the market really took hold, because some of these contracts may get out of hand.”
November 30th, 2012 at 3:29 pm
142: That’s what I’m wondering, too. I don’t think it’ll be Pastornicky, though — I wonder if Teheran and Nick Ahmed, and possibly another lesser prospect or two.
It’s already been said, but the Hanson trade was clearly a salary dump and hopefully a precursor to another move. What will that move be?
Dream: Trade for Justin Upton — Teheran, maybe Nick Ahmed will satisfy the DBacks’ need for a SS, plus another prospect like Todd Cunningham or someone.
Reality: I think the extra money will make it possible for the Braves to sign Shane Victorino (sigh). He’s apparently looking for somewhere around 3 years, $27 million, and while the Braves could’ve afforded that without the Hanson dump, the move now allows them to sign Victorino and afford raises for the other younger guys.
Dark Horse: Nick Swisher. We’ve heard his name connected to the Braves a little bit (not much, but a little), but it’s always been said that he’ll command a higher salary. An even darker horse would be Josh Hamilton.
November 30th, 2012 at 4:26 pm
It’s sad how much I love being retweeted.
November 30th, 2012 at 5:08 pm
@142
Reportedly Simmons, which the Braves have already said “NO!” to…
I would trade Teheran for him (but not a whole lot more)… Delgado has already shown capability at the MLB level, Terhan has not… in several tries… and didn’t show much in AAA this year…
@143
I think I would rather have Angel Pagan for a couple of years instead of Victorino… Although, Victorino might have “something to prove” against the Phillies…
November 30th, 2012 at 5:10 pm
It’s amazing that a year ago JJ and Hanson were counted on so much.
November 30th, 2012 at 8:07 pm
We better not trade Simmons. I feel like the Braves should be lucky to have a future SS after the unfortunate jettisons of Andrus and Escobar.
November 30th, 2012 at 8:24 pm
Keith Law on the Hanson deal:
(In short, he said Hanson is a mess and already in decline.)
“In exchange for a player they had to at least be considering a potential non-tender, Atlanta gets back a project reliever in Walden. He throws in the upper 90s with heavy sink, but has below-average command and often has to elevate the ball just to throw strikes, meaning he doesn’t generate the ground balls you’d expect from the scouting report.
His slider is sharp but is just a pitch to keep hitters off the fastball, meaning it won’t be effective unless he can improve his ability to locate his primary pitch.
But Walden isn’t eligible for arbitration yet, with one more year of club control than Hanson has remaining, so Atlanta saves some cash for 2013 and also has more time to try to fix what ails Walden, mostly command, which is more likely than the Angels fixing Hanson’s health issues. I’d much rather have four years of Walden than three of Hanson, and that’s even more true when we consider the greater expense for Hanson, because arbitration values starters more highly than non-closer relievers.”
December 1st, 2012 at 12:58 am
Hey guys! Sorry I haven’t posted lately but I read and listen to most everything! I’m with Steve on Upton let’s wait and see what moves next to determine if it was a good move. I do have a question for everybody. My first thought when I saw the Walden trade is that our bulpen is so stocked with quality late inning guys that he will be used as a trade chip for left fielder or third basemen. Given his youth and history of closing games! What’s your guys thoughts? However I would love to add another quality arm to our bulpen, I do believe he could be useful to teams like Arizona and San Diego for Upton or Headley.