Show #87: The Braves Retool the Bullpen with Wagner and Saito
Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito join the Braves’ bullpen. Revisiting 1st base. And clearing up that Bob Rathbun hire.
447 Responses to “Show #87: The Braves Retool the Bullpen with Wagner and Saito”
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December 7th, 2009 at 12:05 am
“Steve, Freeman’s in the wings but why not get Gonzalez for a year. Padres don’t need pitchers?”
I just don’t think its good business. Gonzalez has one more year left on his contract. He’d be a one year rental for a steep, steep price in prospects and MLB ready players. Two years, maybe. But not for one year.
December 7th, 2009 at 12:29 am
lol @ “I’d rather have Bob Rathbun at 1b than Nick Johnson.”
Good show.
Saito has a hoozey whatzit that he rehabbed without surgery? Umm. That sounds alarming.
December 7th, 2009 at 6:52 am
OMG! Hilarious show, great job! You guys need to do a show every few days! I can’t not express my love for this show enough! Also, update on your twitter more often! Please help my addiction! Jk.
December 7th, 2009 at 10:20 am
JJ – thanks for the kind words. I can’t express my love for your comment enough!
If you’re interested, send me a note (steve@atlantabaseballtalk.com) and let’s work out linking to each other’s sites.
December 7th, 2009 at 11:01 am
Stevie, it’s baseball not business. Maybe I should travel around with Frank and use my southern charm to get things done. Whose the Padres GM? We’ll trade Buddy Carlisle for AG before he remembers Buddy’s in Japan.
I obviously think Hammy is brilliant annd his validating my opinion makes him my current favorite host. LaRoche was helpful at the end of last season and he is forgiven for ruining Mother’s Day 2004 but his first half performances make me nervous. Hammy, while brilliant, confused me a bit. The guys you mentioned had pretty low BA. So that’s ok as long as they have 20HR or so? Still learning. Great show!
December 7th, 2009 at 11:10 am
By the way Curt, I think the surgeons made a mistake in took part of your voice instead of your gall bladder.
December 7th, 2009 at 11:18 am
The official screw-it-we’ve-got-pitching line-up.
1. McLouth
2. Prado
3. Chipper
4. Heyward
5. McCann
6. Freeman
7. Escobar
8. Schafer/ Diaz
I know, I know, but which rookie has time to be nervous when there’s rookies all over the place?
December 7th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Wow Bub…with balls like that who needs a big bat!
December 7th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Ah, the most comforting statement in the world…
December 7th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
We’re getting saddled with Soriano, folks. Hope I’m wrong. Don’t gimme this agent-smoke-screen business. Maybe it is, but that doesn’t mean it’s working.
The market is poop, in spite of Wren trying to set it high with Wagner. Soriano’s questionable health/attitude coupled with his ginormous draft-picks/arby-raise price tag are a perfect storm.
Gonzalez is much more attractive to teams. Kudos to Wren on the gamble, but Scowl-o-Riffic is a Brave until June.
December 7th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
No, wait. Nevermind. I just realized that even if Soriano accepts, he’d definitely okay a trade to a place where he could close.
Why would any team pay the 7 mill arby salary AND a trade piece when they could have gotten him for 7 mill flat? Because it would be a small trade piece/ salary dump which is easier to give up than draft picks. And because willingness to do certain things changes heavily in the course of an offseason. (See “Derek Lowe, Winter 2008)
Furthermore, I’m talking out of my ass. Roll Tide.
December 7th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
Leah – NOT cool liking Hammy better than me.
Bub – I’m growing a little more nervous as the day wears on as well. But I still believe that he gets offered 2 years for 10MM or more, he’s gone. And I think that is still the more likely scenario. He’s The Scowl, for God’s sake!
December 7th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Steve, remember that she used to like me best. Sometimes the insult is the compliment.
December 7th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
You’re a wise man, Bub. A wise man.
December 7th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Is anybody else experiencing a strange severe increase in love vibrations for Kawakami? Our #5 starter is this guy who’s beaten a half dozen aces? In his feeling-it-out year??
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S3gbtGMPgY
December 7th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
Some recent tweets from Steve Henson (MLB editor at Yahoo Sports) – all from the last 2 hours. Starting with a KK one for Bub:
> Yes, the Braves want to deal Lowe or Vazquez, but source says not Kenshin Kawakami (3.86 ERA), who has 2 years and $13.4M left on his deal.
> Bobby Cox just said “we have six excellent starting pitchers and to get a hitter we NEED to move one of them.”
> Bobby Cox said “teams are knocking on the door” to trade for second baseman Kelly Johnson, who all but lost his job to Martin Prado.
> Bobby Cox also said “we don’t have a 1B,” adding that Freddie Freeman could play there “if push came to shove” but he’s only 20.
Some exciting and horrifying stuff in there. Wren said, LAST YEAR, that Kelly was the most inquired about player in the offseason. Could teams really be that hot for him a year later???
December 7th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Kelly’s got a sweet swing, Steve. It isn’t so hard to believe he’s a decent hitting coach away from turning it around. If I was a mid-low market team looking for a 2B at rather small trade cost, he’d be my guy for certain.
December 7th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Nice tweets. Looks like Wren also feels the increased Kawakami love vibrations. Or the decreased Kawakami bank vibrations.
December 7th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
I propose that during the offseason, we refer to the Boston Redsox and New York Yankees as a single team, since they mean the same thing in so many scenarios, and can be used interchangably in countless trade ideas.
And we shall call them: The B’york Yanksox.
Let’s trade Lowe and Soriano to the B’york Yanksox for … no, wait, it doesn’t work. I hate the internet.
December 7th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
I just Googled Yanksox on my work computer. I’ll be getting a visit from HR within the hour.
December 7th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
lmao! Oops.
December 7th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Stark doesn’t list ATL as one of the seven teams in on Nick Johnson.
December 7th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Steve, I said it and I’m sticking to it so deal buddy. It does also help that Hammy befriended me on Fb, ahem. Bub, you may notice I said Hammy is my current favorite host…just sayin.
Seriously awesome tweets. How am I not already following this guy? This will be rectified by days end.
December 7th, 2009 at 4:53 pm
thanks for nothing folks.
I think I picked up ebola in the hospital and now am 2 weeks sick. but i’m willing to play hurt for my fan.
any takers?
December 7th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
Poor Eeyore. You did actually sound terrible. Does that help?