great deal

11/16/2010 6:45:00 PM

Omar coming going. Hate to see him go but very nice trade.

11/16/2010 6:45:47 PM

Just do me one favor

Don't carry over the "His name....is DAN UGGLA" home run call

11/16/2010 6:53:30 PM

dig this trade...don't screw up Dan.

11/16/2010 9:39:14 PM

i fucking hate Dan Uggla. I don't really know why though. Maybe this will change my opinion of him.

11/16/2010 10:12:01 PM

Quote :

"Nah, I doubt a contender for the batting title will be sharing time with Freddie Freeman."

Something tells me Freddie isn't as progressed a prospect as Heyward was. I'm sure Prado will spend some time at first, but it'll be awesome if he can fill the gaping hole in left. That, of course, would mean that Chipper is producing at third, which would be equally awesome.

11/16/2010 10:14:45 PM

^^ me too, probably because he was a braves killer. now i'm sure he'll just suck

11/16/2010 10:22:43 PM

The plan is for Prado to play left and back up Chipper at 3B as needed. Hopefully Chipper will pan out and then give the Braves a lineup of:

1. Prado
2. Heyward
3. McCann
4. Uggla
5. Chipper
6. Gonzalez
7. Freeman
8. McOut or Mather (or whoever accidentally hits .200 in spring training and wins the CF job)

Middle of the lineup could be totally different depending on Chipper's health, but either way it gives the team great flexibility to set lineups depending on who's pitching and makes it hard for the opposing manager to play matchups out of the pen. Great trade for the Braves, hopefully they can sign Uggla beyond 2011. Even if they don't, this trade was still a good deal.

In other good news, Braves finally officially got rid of KK. Time for the Royals to step up and sign him and create the super duo of Bruce Chen and KK at the 4-5 spots in their "rotation".

11/16/2010 10:24:52 PM

yeah right dude. vin mazzaro, sean o'sullivan, kyle davies, bryan bullington.. there's no room in that rotation. also, since i only knew like greinke, meche, and hochevar, apparently chen isn't on the roster, he's a FA right now. not that anybody really cared.

[Edited on November 16, 2010 at 10:31 PM. Reason : ~]

11/16/2010 10:31:25 PM

Liking the trade. While i hate to see infante go, uggla is exactly the power bat we need in the lineup to compliment mccann, heyward, and chipper. However, he is a terrible defensive 2B and prado is unproven in left field, plus chipper is no guarantee at 3B. We desperately need a very solid defensive outfielder to play center, and then mclouth can split time with prado in left. Then find a utility infielder who can play third, short, and second and a veteran reliever and we should be all set to make another run at the division title.

11/17/2010 8:47:07 AM

Why are we talking about Prado splitting time with anyone? Sure he may not be a gold-glover in the outfield but I think he showed his versatility in playing SS, 2B, and 3B last year. He can't be worse than Melky out there. He was also .300+ hitter last year and a beast at the top of the order. When he got hurt is when the Braves really started to struggle and you want him to share time with a sub 200 hitter?
That being said I don't mind playing McClouth regularly in CF because of his defense, but I wouldn't want them to split time. Rarely do NL teams have a strong 8th hitter anyways.
You have to put it in perspective here that we are talking about the Braves, not the Yankees so we probably aren’t making any more blockbuster moves this offseason. Another arm in the pen is the only critical area as of right now IMO.

11/17/2010 11:00:31 AM

I really hope we go after somebody like Ellsbury. If we had him leading off and Prado batting second we could move Heyward to the middle/end part of the lineup and it would be really stacked.

11/17/2010 6:18:54 PM

I think we need another OF. Even if Chipper is healthy (and any good at baseball) he can't play every day. McClouth/Whoever is going to get decent playing time, and I don't trust Chip not to get hurt for a large part of the season, pushing McClouth into the starting lineup, and Prado at 3rd. Going in without somebody pretty solid on the bench (McClouth is actually a pretty good player, just had a terrible year last year) would be a mistake, IMO.

[Edited on November 17, 2010 at 8:40 PM. Reason : bench]

11/17/2010 8:39:07 PM

Per the AJC, Braves re-signed Hinske today and let Diaz walk. Good moves in my opinion although I liked Diaz, he was really only a LHP killer, but was pretty sucky at everything else.

Hinske is a good clubhouse guy and a solid left hand bat off the bench. Plus he can play 1B once Freeman starts shitting the bed. Braves can now look for another mediocre player to play CF to go along with Mathers and Mclouth.

12/2/2010 5:11:13 PM

Haha, you guys took Linebrink. Suckers!

12/3/2010 3:49:29 PM

^ he is worth a shot to Braves brass. We gave up nothing to get him, ChiSox are eating about 40% of his salary, and he was pretty stout with the Padres a couple years back. Maybe coming back to the NL and getting away from the band box that is US Cellular field will help him regain his form. Not a huge risk either way. Plus he's a veteran who can help Venters and Kimbrel.

12/3/2010 4:38:46 PM

27%
Linebrink has been God Awful since about July 2008. That's 2 and a half seasons of shit. I'm thrilled the Sox got rid of him, and he might turn it around in the NL where hitting is generally weaker, but he was just really terrible for most of his Sox tenure. More power to him.

12/3/2010 4:46:44 PM

Quote :

"The White Sox also sent cash — at least $2.5 million — to help offset Linebrink’s $5.5 million salary in 2011"

At least $2.5 means 45%+.

And like I said he may be shit, but the Braves are only risking a low ranked minor leaguer and $3 millon.

12/3/2010 4:49:56 PM

wow I thought it was 1.5 million. that blows. linebrink was so bad that the sox are paying 2.5 million dollars for him to be someone else's problem.

12/3/2010 4:53:03 PM

make that 3.5
http://twitter.com/mlbbowman/status/10814207406641152

12/3/2010 8:02:03 PM

Amazing. The cost of not having to watch him anymore!

12/3/2010 8:07:11 PM

just signed George Sherrill

12/9/2010 12:19:12 AM

^ He'll be a situational lefty. He was horrible last year, but still effective against left hand hitters which is key against the Phillies. Reasonable gamble and it's not likely he'll see a ton of action given that he'll be the third lefty out of then pen behind Venters and O'Flaherty.

12/9/2010 9:47:29 AM

Halladay, Lee, Oswalt, Hamels?

so much for winning the NL East next year

12/14/2010 12:26:50 AM

even though i'm a mets fan, i fully believe we both should cancel our seasons next year and go ahead and give philly the division

12/14/2010 12:28:53 AM

JFC... that's a knife through the heart.

wonder if wren will counter with something... i had the feeling he was pretty much done, maybe acquiring a bottom of the order OF to provide some depth, but that would just be a drop in the bucket now.

12/14/2010 5:39:21 AM

Fucking dirty Phillies. Where the fuck are they getting all of this cash? Gotta hope one of the big three goes down with a major injury and that Hamels reverts back to the shitty Hamels we've seen the last couple of years. Dude is Jekyl and Hyde.

No doubt they'll be the odds-on World Series favorites now. Wild card here we come...

12/14/2010 8:20:45 AM

Yeah, the phillies have the best starting rotation now since the mid-90's Braves, probably even better. Unless two of the top four pitchers have major injuries I see them easily winning over 100 games and running away with the division. It would be nice to see the Braves make a big counter-move but obviously that probably isn't going to happen. Looks like our sights are already on the wild-card....

12/14/2010 8:33:02 AM

12/14/2010 9:06:48 AM

I so want to point and laugh at the Yankees but I think I'll just curl up in the fetal position and cry instead.

12/14/2010 9:42:12 AM

Per the AJC, Braves are close to signing Uggla to a 5 year $60 million deal. Seems like a good deal for the Braves if Uggla can continue to be the power guy he is, but I worry that he'll start to break down in the next few years. Muscular guys like him usually break down quick.

12/17/2010 1:51:55 PM

Nationals sign Ankiel to a one year deal.

12/20/2010 12:49:01 PM

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/hotstove10/columns/story?columnist=crasnick_jerry&id=5946218

Quote :

"Chipper Jones was sitting 25 feet up a tree hunting deer in Iowa when he received a text from Atlanta general manager Frank Wren telling him the Braves were trading for Dan Uggla. There's nothing like the arrival of an All-Star second baseman with a 30-homer, 90-RBI per year pedigree to brighten a No. 3 hole hitter's mood on a mid-November day in the heartland. Last week, Jones was at his ranch in Texas when his mother texted to inform him that the Philadelphia Phillies had just signed pitcher Cliff Lee to a five-year, guaranteed $120 million contract. Through the years, Jones has heard other rotations compared to Atlanta's Greg Maddux-John Smoltz-Tom Glavine-Steve Avery foursome from the early 1990s, but this is the first group that he thinks legitimately stacks up with that killer rotation. "I guess Philly has squelched any talk that they're coming back to the pack," Jones said by phone Tuesday. "We know it's going to be tough. We know there are going to be no off days, and they're going to have their rotation lined up every time we face them. But every series, every game against the Phillies has always been like a playoff series for us. It's a 'You-better-show-up-or-you're-gonna-get-your brains beat in' type of scenario. That's no different now." Throw in the Washington Nationals' seven-year, $126 million investment in outfielder Jayson Werth and a flurry of smaller moves by the Florida Marlins, and the National League East has had a chaotic, Black Friday-at-Bloomingdale's look about it all winter. A 38-year-old veteran could get overwhelmed just monitoring the transactions. Jones, a six-time All-Star in the twilight phase of his career, is busy enough just sweating, grunting and dragging his body through another day. It all stems back to Aug. 10, when he leaped in the air while making a fine defensive play on a Hunter Pence ground ball, landed awkwardly and tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee. Before Dr. Marvin Royster even had a chance to assess the damage, Jones appeared at a news conference and revealed his plans to come back and play an 18th season. Jones had the same knee operated on by the same surgeon in 1994. The estimated recovery time then was 12 months; now it's a mere six months because of advances in arthroscopic surgery. But Jones is also 16 years older and less resilient now, and he knows the true test won't come until he's on the field and forced to charge balls and make abrupt cuts when it really counts. Come January, Jones will head to his hitting facility in the Atlanta suburb of Suwanee and begin taking batting practice with Brian McCann, Mark DeRosa, Jeff Francoeur, Andruw Jones and his other winter workout buddies. At the moment, he's focused on lifting weights at the gym and running the hills in his subdivision. "I actually have a funny story about that," Jones said. "I'm so out of shape, one of my neighbors caught me dry-heaving on his lawn. We had a nice little chuckle out of it. I grabbed his phone to make sure he didn't take any video and people would see it on YouTube." It's been one thing after another for Jones. In May, he was plodding along in the .220s and looked perilously close to the end. Brian Jordan, a member of Atlanta's broadcasting crew, did a radio interview and questioned Jones' commitment to physical conditioning. Jordan subsequently apologized to Jones, and the former Braves teammates patched up their differences. Jones eventually picked up the pace and began hitting the ball with authority after the All-Star break. He raised his batting average to .265 and was slugging at an .833 clip in August when his season ended at Minute Maid Park in Houston. The knee injury forced Jones to play spectator during the farewell tour for Bobby Cox, the only big league manager he had ever known. Then Jones' sense of disappointment was compounded when he had to sit and watch the Braves bow out against San Francisco in the National League Division Series. Atlanta's three losses came by scores of 1-0, 3-2 and 3-2. "I'm a realist," Jones said. "I know when you play hard for 18 years, sometimes your body isn't going to allow you to go out there. But I really feel bad I couldn't help send Bobby off the way we thought he should have gone out. We lost three one-run games to the eventual World Series champions. Being the egomaniacal idiot I am, I like to think I could have had a positive impact on one of those games." If Jones retired today, he would have a strong case for the Hall of Fame. With 436 career home runs, he ranks third among switch-hitters behind Mickey Mantle and Eddie Murray. Jones has a career .405 on base percentage, and he's the only switch-hitter with more than 300 home runs and a .300 career batting average. He fares just as well with the trendier metrics. Jones ranks 36th among position players with a career Wins Above Replacement rating of 80. Ken Griffey Jr., Pete Rose, Paul Molitor, Reggie Jackson and Johnny Bench are just a few of the luminaries who rank behind Jones in WAR, which factors in a player's hitting, fielding, baserunning and position and determines how many extra wins he provides when compared to a baseline "replacement-level" alternative. What kind of production can the Braves expect from Jones in 2011? An American League scout said the team should be happy if Jones can hit .280 with 15 homers and 75 RBIs, if only because aging players and leg injuries are a bad combination. Jones has appeared in 140 or more games only once since 2003, so the Braves are accustomed to holding their breath when he charges a ground ball or busts it down the line. Whatever the numbers turn out to be, the Braves derive a certain comfort from seeing Jones in the middle of the order. An 80 percent-capacity Chipper is infinitely better than none. "He's not the Chipper Jones who was the MVP in 1999," Wren said. "We know that. He knows that. But he also means a lot to our lineup. You have a hitter with the credentials and the ability that pitchers can't ignore his spot in the lineup. Even when Chipper is struggling, they have to be careful with him." Jones will return to a new manager, Fredi Gonzalez, and a new hitting coach, Larry Parrish. Craig Kimbrel takes over for Billy Wagner as Atlanta's closer in 2011, and Wren has fortified the bullpen with the addition of veterans Scott Linebrink and George Sherrill. Rookie Freddie Freeman takes over at first base, Jason Heyward hopes to build on his impressive rookie year, and Jones and Uggla will see what kind of synergy they can develop in the middle of the order. "I'm looking forward to having that big right-handed bat behind me," Jones said. "He's going to be my bodyguard in the lineup." Five weeks ago, Chipper Jones climbed down from his tree stand, surveyed the landscape and saw a new season coming into focus. Now it's time to start hitting."

[Edited on December 23, 2010 at 10:27 AM. Reason : ;]

12/23/2010 10:27:05 AM

Uggla to sign 5 yr, $62 MM dollar extension. We'll see how this turns out. I am optimistic about him producing better numbers not playing in that abortion of a stadium that the Marlins use, but I'll be surprised he can keep it up over 5 years.

1/5/2011 8:15:25 AM

i hope chipper can get to at least 450 homers this season before calling it quits. nice round numbers go over well for the hall, even though i think he's a shoe-in already

1/5/2011 10:05:04 AM

Keith Law: Top 100 prospects of 2011
http://proxy.espn.go.com/mlb/insider/columns/story?columnist=law_keith&page=LawTop100Prospects1-25

1 CF Mike Trout LA Angels 6-1 217 19
2 RF Bryce Harper Washington 6-2 245 18
3 RF Domonic Brown Philadelphia 6-5 200 23
4 C Jesus Montero NY Yankees 6-4 225 21
5 1B Eric Hosmer Kansas City 6-4 215 21
6 RHP Julio Teheran Atlanta 6-2 150 20
7 2B Dustin Ackley Seattle 6-1 185 22
8 C/RF Wil Myers Kansas City 6-3 190 20
9 RHP Shelby Miller St. Louis 6-1 190 20
10 CF/RF Aaron Hicks Minnesota 6-2 185 21
11 LHP Zach Britton Baltimore 6-3 195 23
12 LHP Manny Banuelos NY Yankees 5-10 155 19
13 RHP Kyle Drabek Toronto 6-1 190 23
14 RHP Jeremy Hellickson Tampa Bay 6-1 185 23
15 LHP Aroldis Chapman Cincinnati 6-4 185 22
16 LHP Matt Moore Tampa Bay 6-2 205 21
17 1B Brandon Belt San Francisco 6-1 210 22
18 LHP Martin Perez Texas 6-0 178 19
19 RHP Casey Kelly San Diego 6-3 195 21
20 CF Desmond Jennings Tampa Bay 6-2 200 24
21 RHP Michael Pineda Seattle 6-5 245 22
22 RHP Jacob Turner Detroit 6-5 210 19
23 3B Mike Moustakas Kansas City 5-11 230 22
24 LHP Tyler Matzek Colorado 6-3 210 20
25 RHP Jarrod Parker Arizona 6-1 180 22
26 SS Manny Machado Baltimore 6-3 185 18
27 1B/LF Jonathan Singleton Philadelphia 6-2 215 19
28 LHP Mike Montgomery Kansas City 6-5 180 21
29 3B Miguel Sano Minnesota 6-3 195 17
30 RHP Jameson Taillon Pittsburgh 6-6 225 19
31 C Devin Mesoraco Cincinnati 6-1 220 22
32 RHP Kyle Gibson Minnesota 6-6 210 23
33 C Derek Norris Washington 6-0 210 21
34 RHP Jarred Cosart Philadelphia 6-3 180 20
35 2B/SS Jean Segura LA Angels 5-11 155 20
36 RHP Zack Wheeler San Francisco 6-3 180 20
37 2B Brett Lawrie Toronto 6-0 213 21
38 1B Anthony Rizzo San Diego 6-3 220 21
39 3B Lonnie Chisenhall Cleveland 6-1 200 22
40 RHP Chris Archer Tampa Bay 6-3 180 22
41 LHP John Lamb Kansas City 6-3 195 20
42 RHP Jordan Lyles Houston 6-4 215 20
43 1B Freddie Freeman Atlanta 6-5 225 21
44 RHP Zach Stewart Toronto 6-2 205 24
45 SS Jose Iglesias Boston 5-11 175 21
46 LF/RF Jaff Decker San Diego 5-10 190 20
47 RHP Arodys Vizcaino Atlanta 6-0 189 20
48 SS Wilmer Flores NY Mets 6-3 175 19
49 SS Hak-Ju Lee Tampa Bay 6-2 170 20
50 RHP Randall Delgado Atlanta 6-3 200 20
51 SS Billy Hamilton Cincinnati 6-1 160 20
52 RHP Carlos Matias St. Louis 6-0 165 19
53 SS Nick Franklin Seattle 6-1 170 19
54 RHP Anthony Ranaudo Boston 6-7 225 21
55 3B Matt Dominguez Florida 6-1 205 21
56 2B Jason Kipnis Cleveland 5-10 175 23
57 C Travis d'Arnaud Toronto 6-2 195 21
58 SS Grant Green Oakland 6-3 180 23
59 C Yasmani Grandal Cincinnati 6-2 215 22
60 LHP Drew Pomeranz Cleveland 6-5 231 22
61 LHP Mike Minor Atlanta 6-3 210 23
62 C Hank Conger LA Angels 6-1 220 22
63 C Tony Sanchez Pittsburgh 6-0 213 22
64 RHP Simon Castro San Diego 6-5 210 22
65 1B Yonder Alonso Cincinnati 6-2 210 23
66 RHP Trey McNutt Chicago Cubs 6-4 205 21
67 LHP Chris Sale Chicago WS 6-5 170 21
68 C Gary Sanchez NY Yankees 6-2 195 18
69 C Wilin Rosario Colorado 5-11 190 21
70 SS Devaris Gordon LA Dodgers 5-11 150 22
71 CF Ben Revere Minnesota 5-9 175 22
72 3B Zack Cox St. Louis 6-0 215 21
73 RHP Dellin Betances NY Yankees 6-8 245 22
74 OF Oswaldo Arcia Minnesota 6-0 210 19
75 3B Nick Castellanos Detroit 6-4 195 18
76 RHP Brody Colvin Philadelphia 6-3 195 20
77 LHP Alex Torres Tampa Bay 5-10 175 23
78 LHP Tyler Skaggs Arizona 6-4 195 19
79 1B/OF Christian Yelich Florida 6-4 189 19
80 1B/OF Chris Carter Oakland 6-5 230 24
81 SS Jurickson Profar Texas 5-11 165 17
82 C J.P. Arencibia Toronto 6-1 210 25
83 RHP Matt Harvey NY Mets 6-4 225 21
84 SS Chris Owings Arizona 5-11 170 19
85 RHP Jordan Walden LA Angels 6-5 240 23
86 3B Matt Davidson Arizona 6-3 225 19
87 LHP Christian Friedrich Colorado 6-4 215 23
88 RHP Andrew Brackman NY Yankees 6-10 240 25
89 RHP Alex Colome Tampa Bay 6-2 184 22
90 LHP Drake Britton Boston 6-2 200 21
91 RHP Zach Lee LA Dodgers 6-4 190 19
92 3B Nolan Arenado Colorado 6-1 205 19
93 RHP Trevor May Philadelphia 6-5 215 21
94 RHP Rubby de la Rosa LA Dodgers 6-1 170 21
95 C Wilson Ramos Washington 6-0 220 23
96 SS Adeiny Hechevarria Toronto 5-11 180 21
97 LHP Jake McGee Tampa Bay 6-3 190 24
98 LHP Danny Duffy Kansas City 6-3 195 22
99 RHP Aaron Sanchez Toronto 6-4 190 18
100 OF James Jones Seattle 6-4 195 22

1/28/2011 8:25:07 AM

^ Nice Brackman made it as #88. Wish he wasn't with the dirty Yankees.

1/28/2011 11:16:06 AM

wish we had some more position players on that list

1/28/2011 11:26:38 AM

Just realized Brackman is also the oldest player on the list

I'd rather the Braves have a bunch of good young arms than a bunch of good young position players. Arms are more valuable in trades and you can always find decent position players on the open market.

1/28/2011 11:57:15 AM

Never heard of the Delgado kid, but Teheran is going to be nasty, we'll get to see him in spring training this year. Vizcaino might end up just as good as Teheran, too. Those two with Hanson in a couple years should be a hell of a rotation.

And I'm surprised Minor is on that list. Never thought he had a very high ceiling.

More position players on the list would be nice, but pitching is more valuable. Young hitters also tend to be way undervalued by these sort of things anyway.

1/28/2011 12:26:50 PM

R.I.P. Chuck Tanner. First Braves manager that I can remember watching a lot.

2/11/2011 4:50:42 PM

Ted won as many games managing as I did.

2/12/2011 2:18:22 AM

glad ole chipper is back in the three spot.

2/14/2011 2:54:07 PM

Players started reporting to camp today. Less than a month until games begin, four of which are on ESPN. Prado moving to left field. And

Quote :

"Braves reliever Peter Moylan on going from 248 lbs to 225: “I had to, I was fat as s--- last year."

2/14/2011 8:44:50 PM

hahaha, damn i love me some baseball. Since i'll be living in charlotte this season, which is about 3 hours closer to atlanta than where im at now, i'll try and make a few more games than i did last year!

2/14/2011 8:49:55 PM

^^ He was a fat ass last year and probably still is a fat ass at 225. The Braves will need him for ~80 games this season so hopefully he truly is in good shape. Hope Prado stuck to the P90X again too like he did before 2010.

2/15/2011 9:12:07 AM

If you have an iPad check out the app Pennant. Has every at bat for every game ever played by every team, scores, season trends etc. It $4.99 though.

2/17/2011 4:46:56 PM

Or just go to baseball-reference.com for free

2/17/2011 7:01:47 PM

sorry, 1952 - present, not sure it will update during the season or not

2/17/2011 7:02:56 PM

1:05p

Let's get this party started

2/26/2011 8:18:34 AM