Braves Talk

[KB21]

OK. I think my head just exploded.

Fredi has finally moved BJ Upton out of the 2 hole.

Yep. He's got BJ hitting LEADOFF tonight.

The Braves have a moron as a manager.

[smootness]

I'm through with talking about Fredi. The longer we keep him, the more I put it on upper management.

He's either indefensibly stupid or indefensibly stubborn.

[KB21]

I'm through with talking about Fredi. The longer we keep him, the more I put it on upper management.

He's either indefensibly stupid or indefensibly stubborn.

Considering the contract that Dan Uggla has, and the contract that BJ Upton has that will be an albatross for this team, I think Frank Wren needs to have a hot seat as well.

[msstate7]

Think the Red Sox would be dumb enough to take both uptons in a deal? They need some outfield help so I'm sure jup would be appealing. Bj had success in al east before too. I know whatever value jup has would be cancelled out by bj so we couldn't get much. I'd do it anyway so we'd have some money for the future and I don't wanna sign jup anyway

[Political Hack]

Wren is the only reason this season isn't swirling in the can. Pitching was an issue and he fixed it with little to no time. it's only 2 bad contracts... those two are just really, really bad.

[smootness]

Wren has done a very good job overall. He's made some FA signings that turned out badly, but that will happen to everyone. I like the way he's stuck with our young talent.

But Fredi has to go. It's time.

[msstate7]

Wren is the only reason this season isn't swirling in the can. Pitching was an issue and he fixed it with little to no time. it's only 2 bad contracts... those two are just really, really bad.

They're also really big contracts on a small market team. Why we let bourn go in favor of bj, I'll never know. If we had bourn last year, we might have gotten by dodgers

[smootness]

I was fine with the BJ signing at the time. He's younger, and if we'd just gotten the Tampa BJ, we'd be fine. Bourne hasn't been good, either.

We didn't know we were getting THIS BJ. But now that we know, hitting him at the top of the order while hitting Heyward and Justin 5/6 is beyond indefensible and shows a complete lack of intelligence or even common sense.

[dawgs]

The braves aren't a small market team.

[msstate7]

The braves aren't a small market team.

Some one should tell liberty media

[dawgs]

Some one should tell liberty media

Not saying they don't act like it, but they aren't. Royals, brewers, rays, Indians, etc. are small market teams. Braves are in the south's largest metro area and have a huge regional following as the south's overwhelming fav mlb team. That's not a small market. The ownership has duped y'all into thinking they're fighting an uphill battle against the big markets, when the reality is they are making money like crazy and wanna keep it instead of spending it.

[msstate7]

Not saying they don't act like it, but they aren't. Royals, brewers, rays, Indians, etc. are small market teams. Braves are in the south's largest metro area and have a huge regional following as the south's overwhelming fav mlb team. That's not a small market. The ownership has duped y'all into thinking they're fighting an uphill battle against the big markets, when the reality is they are making money like crazy and wanna keep it instead of spending it.

I'm not disagreeing. As long as liberty is owner, we're small market though.

[smootness]

Not saying they don't act like it, but they aren't. Royals, brewers, rays, Indians, etc. are small market teams. Braves are in the south's largest metro area and have a huge regional following as the south's overwhelming fav mlb team. That's not a small market. The ownership has duped y'all into thinking they're fighting an uphill battle against the big markets, when the reality is they are making money like crazy and wanna keep it instead of spending it.

Doesn't matter. Based on our budget, we are on the smaller end. And budget is all that matters when discussing potential roster moves.

[dawgs]

http://deadspin.com/2014-payrolls-an...eam-1551868969

Fwiw, braves are 14th in payroll this year. Squarely in the middle of the pack.

[dawgs]

Doesn't matter. Based on our budget, we are on the smaller end. And budget is all that matters when discussing potential roster moves.

I disagree. When a team is clearly capable of spending money, but chooses not to, that doesn't make then small market. That's my only point.

[smootness]

I disagree. When a team is clearly capable of spending money, but chooses not to, that doesn't make then small market. That's my only point.

But we're talking about Frank Wren, and he can only be evaluated on the available budget. You don't fire the GM because the owner won't spend.

[dawgs]

But we're talking about Frank Wren, and he can only be evaluated on the available budget. You don't fire the GM because the owner won't spend.

Then just don't call it small market. Bitch about the owner and the unnecessary budget constraints, but don't pull the small market term out.

[War Machine Dawg]

Considering the contract that Dan Uggla has, and the contract that BJ Upton has that will be an albatross for this team, I think Frank Wren needs to have a hot seat as well.

Been saying this for years. Glad others are finally catching up. Wren has been a terrible GM and every bit as big a problem as Fredi.

[KB21]

IMO, the line up should look like this:

1. Tommy La Stella
2. Freddie Freeman
3. Justin Upton
4. Evan Gattis
5. Jason Heyward
6. BJ Upton
7. Chris Johnson
8. Andrelton Simmons
9. Pitcher

And I would actually consider hitting the pitcher 8th and Simmons 9th simply because he is more likely to get on base for the top of the order than the pitcher is. I'd hit BJ Upton 6th because he is a base stealing threat when he does get on, and with Johnson and Simmons behind him, you essentially have singles hitters.

The concept is simple. You want your best hitters to get the most at bats. When you dole it out, your best on base guy hits first, best overall hitter 2nd, best hitter with power 3rd, and the next best two hitters #5 and #3 respectively.

[KB21]

Been saying this for years. Glad others are finally catching up. Wren has been a terrible GM and every bit as big a problem as Fredi.

I also think our farm system has eroded since Tony DeMacio became the scouting director. We don't draft as many high upside high school guys, and while we do have a lot of guys that move up to AAA ball, we haven't gotten a lot of truly outstanding prospects in the draft. Think about it this way. Two of our top three prospects right now were international signees, not draft picks. Lucas Sims is in the top 3, and he is a high upside high school arm. Mauricio Cabrera is another international signee. Basically, our system is loaded with system guys and very few headliners.

Now, we have had some luck with some. Evan Gattis stands out as a very lucky 23rd round pick and is a guy that was underrated by the pundits due to his age.

Look at Rome's pitching staff right now. This organization is very thin when it comes to arms at the lower levels, and they are relying on guys like Felix Falcon, Alec Grosser, Carlos Salazar, and Luis Merejo to take a step forward, but most of these guys are in short season ball.