Official Offseason Thread #2

[robdizzle3]

I honestly think Wren will go after Swisher pretty hard.. I know he doesnt want to stand pat.. I mean how can he? If he does we will be a little worse than last season having Bourn and Chip gone.

[SB75]

Its possible. You never know with FW. I personally would perfer a speed guy who hits for average. I dnt know, but speed and high average players are my weakness.

Ehh.... I guess I feel the same way. I really warmed up to the Alex in left leading off idea. It seems that dream has been crushed, Damn you RAYS! JK

[Fjaschler]

I honestly think Wren will go after Swisher pretty hard.. I know he doesnt want to stand pat.. I mean how can he? If he does we will be a little worse than last season having Bourn and Chip gone.

Swisher will cost too much.

[westside]

Swisher will cost too much.

Yeah, we dont jave the cash to make him a considerable offer. We still need a bench bat as well, so that leaves us with probaly 10 mil to get someone.

[Braves_Fan_RSD]

Let's do an experiment, how would the numbers looked if we use a platoon of Francisco/Johnson last year (Francisco at 3B vs RHP and Johnson in LF vs LHP):

.278/.323/.461 .337 wOBA 110 wRC+

This platoon is a worst case scenario in my opinion, but those numbers are above league for a LF or 3B, so it won't be the worst thing in the world.

Good insight, but wanted to add a little too this. It looks like you went with a 50/50 split on the ABs, when the league usually sees 75% RHP vs 25% LHP which means Francisco would get the bulk of the ABs. So accounting for this I went ahead and gave a season based on 650 AB between the 2 with Francisco taking the majority of the ABs.

The overall OPS is about the same, but OBP goes down and SLG goes up.

.261/.307/.472/.779 40 2B 2 3B 31 HR 102 RBI

Of course this is also based on a very small sample size (306 AB)

So I went ahead and did the stats based on their last 3 seasons and got a 650 AB projection of

.272/.315/.473/.788 47 2B 3 3B 26 HR 100 RBI

Sill a small sample as its only based on about 632 AB but a little more telling.

Over all its not a bad platoon, in theory, but neither of these guys have played an entire season, could be a huge risk.

Like you said its not a horrible back up plan.

[beldugo]

Good insight, but wanted to add a little too this. It looks like you went with a 50/50 split on the ABs, when the league usually sees 75% RHP vs 25% LHP which means Francisco would get the bulk of the ABs. So accounting for this I went ahead and gave a season based on 650 AB between the 2 with Francisco taking the majority of the ABs.

The overall OPS is about the same, but OBP goes down and SLG goes up.

.261/.307/.472/.779 40 2B 2 3B 31 HR 102 RBI

Of course this is also based on a very small sample size (306 AB)

So I went ahead and did the stats based on their last 3 seasons and got a 650 AB projection of

.272/.315/.473/.788 47 2B 3 3B 26 HR 100 RBI

Sill a small sample as its only based on about 632 AB but a little more telling.

Over all its not a bad platoon, in theory, but neither of these guys have played an entire season, could be a huge risk.

Like you said its not a horrible back up plan.

Great points, if we manage to have a .788 OPS from that platoon is not really a bad idea As long as the money is used to extend Prado and Heyward.

[HowFit]

I say put the money where it would take us to win. They need to win for the fans. We need to fill the seats. If we do, I think we have a better chance of keeping our core together....

[Fjaschler]

Liberty is not going to raise the budget and we can't afford a real impact player with what we have left. Liberty is just trying to break even until they can turn around and sell the team for a hefty profit which will probably be when our horrible TV deal finally expires.

[CaseyRyback]

Liberty is not going to raise the budget and we can't afford a real impact player with what we have left. Liberty is just trying to break even until they can turn around and sell the team for a hefty profit which will probably be when our horrible TV deal finally expires.

God I hope not that isn't until 2025. I think they will sell the team in 2014 or 2015 after a new deal with Turner Field. I really wish someone would step up and present an offer they couldn't turn down.

Speaking of TV deal, it almost makes more sense for an owner to puchase control of SportsSouth and terminate the contract. It is one of the worst broadcasting deals in baseball and the organization should be aggressively fighting it. Also I don't know why there has never been intrest in selling naming rights to the stadium to cover costs. This seems like a no brainer to me.

[Fjaschler]

God I hope not that isn't until 2025. I think they will sell the team in 2014 or 2015 after a new deal with Turner Field. I really wish someone would step up and present an offer they couldn't turn down.

Speaking of TV deal, it almost makes more sense for an owner to puchase control of SportsSouth and terminate the contract. It is one of the worst broadcasting deals in baseball and the organization should be aggressively fighting it. Also I don't know why there has never been intrest in selling naming rights to the stadium to cover costs. This seems like a no brainer to me.

I'd imagine that especially after seeing the Dodger's new TV deal they have to be exploring their options for how to get out of it. As it stands in a few years we're going to have to have one of the lowest payrolls in baseball.

[Ja.werd#1]

I don't feel good about this team at all right now, we need to find a way to make some trades..

[Fjaschler]

I don't feel good about this team at all right now, we need to find a way to make some trades..

Any good options for us are no longer available, sans Choo who would be a 1 year stop gap and depending on what we had to trade for him possibly not worth it.
I like our team in it's current state, Upton's stats looked a lot better when he was protected in the line up and with the Braves he will be, I'm also confident that Walker will get Upton to walk more. Uggla, I'm thinking the power numbers last year, or lack of them, were an aberration, not actual decline. If he can get back up to 25 and keep that OBP up there I'm happy with it. Hopefully McCann returns to form after the surgery. I'm very confident in our rotation.
Here comes where the wishful thinking starts...
Juan Francisco:
He seems to be taking things more seriously, even to the point where he's getting in much better shape. He's been absolutely raking in the winter leagues. If he can even come near replicating that for us this season I'll be extremely happy.
Evan Gattis:
If he can handle left field and proves that he can handle major league pitching, he's another one I would be happy with. In his case he probably wouldn't be ready to take over in left till after the all star break, if then.

Two viable internal options to fill the hole, whichever one is most viable after spring training will determine what position Prado plays this season (Thank god for Prado. Lock him up Wren.)

Yes, that doesn't handle our lack of a leadoff hitter, but in that case these are our options, Simmons (if he can handle the bat the whole season like he did last and coax some walks his speed would fit nicely there) and Prado (who lacks the prototypical speed element of a leadoff hitter but does hit for average and gets on base a lot).

[Getting UGGLA]

Braves GM Frank Wren said he has interest in certain outfielders as one-year stopgaps, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports (on Twitter). The Braves need another outfielder, even after signing B.J. Upton.
Read more at http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/atlant...xEAtCXmogSF.99

1. Stop gap for who? Paul Bunyan (Gattis)?
2. We're screwed, looks like Itchy-Zero or some crap.
3. Our terrible offense last year had only 2 guys with an OBP above 350, now it only has one (Prado). Unless the young-uns step up we will be carried by our pitching again, if their backs can take all the weight. I've heard McCann is up to 285..... jk
4. I wanted Hamilton this offseason, I thought he could replace Chipper's numbers and bring a REAL threat to our lineup. Unless we can trade for a guy like Corey Hart, I think our offense definitely does not strike fear into the opposition. Also, we are terrible with RISP.
5. Looks like Wren is wrong, he IS going to be shopping at the thrift shop/flea market for us.

[Bravo95]

I don't believe the Braves payroll will ever be near the bottom before this awful TV deal runs out, the fan base is too large for that to happen and revenue will remain solid. But everyone better get used to middle-class life, and don't expect them to spend like the big dogs for the next 20 or so years.

[mgcslugger33]

We all know the obvious guys like Swisher and Choo that we want. I'm interested in hearing some guys going out on a limb and suggest a rebound guy or a guy stuck in AAAA that could be a steal. Stick your neck out a little.

Here I go..... Eric Thames.

He is a guy that has stroked in the minors and I just think he a chance to settle in and get some regular ABs. Its a crowded OF in Seattle now. He could be had for very little.