2013 Atlanta Braves Thread

[Sportsforever]

Re: 2013 Atlanta Braves Thread

.275/.320/.461 with 18 hr isn't good? Because that was 2012. And 2011 was better. He's not an amazing hitter, but that's a great bench bat.

And how is this throwing away a pick? Where Gilmartin was drafted doesn't make a difference. They have plenty of pitching depth. Would you rather they trade someone better just because he was drafted lower? This is baseball, where a first round pick only has a 66% chance of even reaching the majors. So if you can get a solid major leaguer, why not? Because Gilmartin might one day be your 5th starter behind Teheran, Minor, Wood, and Sims?

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I'm looking at 247/314/396 in 2013…quite a drop off from 2012. I'm of the opinion you can never have enough pitching and if you invest a first round pick in a left handed starter I think you have to give him time to develop. That said, maybe there is more here than we realize like Gilmartin wasn't coachable or wasn't developing like they hoped. The deal is done and Doumit is ours…I wish they got more, but it is what it is. I don't expect much from Doumit though...

[thefakeJTS]

Re: 2013 Atlanta Braves Thread

The fact that Doumit will free up Gattis to pinch hit on his off days, and Doumit is immediately the best pinch hitter on the bench now makes the trade great to me. It's not like we signed this guy to be a fill time starter.

Doumit, Floyd, and Gamel were all cheap acquisitions that if healthy make our team deep. Eric O' Flaherty and a veteran RH reliever is all we need IMO.

[royals19]

Re: 2013 Atlanta Braves Thread

For me, I don't have a problem with acquiring Doumit but I don't really like giving up a projectable 23 year old left hander for a backup catcher. It might sound crazy but if something were to happen to either Minor or Wood then what lefthanders do the Braves had that could step in?

Lefthanded pitching is such a commodity that I would've thought they could have gotten more for Gilmartin. Regardless, the trade is over with so not much can be done about it now.

[DonkeyJote]

Re: 2013 Atlanta Braves Thread

For me, I don't have a problem with acquiring Doumit but I don't really like giving up a projectable 23 year old left hander for a backup catcher. It might sound crazy but if something were to happen to either Minor or Wood then what lefthanders do the Braves had that could step in?

Lefthanded pitching is such a commodity that I would've thought they could have gotten more for Gilmartin. Regardless, the trade is over with so not much can be done about it now.

I've always felt that needing a lefty in the rotation was way overrated. In the bullpen, yeah, but in the rotation, there's no strategy to it. You can't change when the guy will pitch, so any advantage he gets from facing left hand heavy teams is offset when he faces a right hand heavy lineup.

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[Sportsforever]

Re: 2013 Atlanta Braves Thread

I've always felt that needing a lefty in the rotation was way overrated. In the bullpen, yeah, but in the rotation, there's no strategy to it. You can't change when the guy will pitch, so any advantage he gets from facing left hand heavy teams is offset when he faces a right hand heavy lineup.

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In some ways you are correct, but I do think there is some value to having LHP in the rotation. I think a good mix is in order…if you're all RHP you will struggle against a LH based team. If you look at the Braves of the mid-1990's, our weakness was LHP with Justice, McGriff, Klesko sitting in the middle of the order.

[DonkeyJote]

Re: 2013 Atlanta Braves Thread

In some ways you are correct, but I do think there is some value to having LHP in the rotation. I think a good mix is in order…if you're all RHP you will struggle against a LH based team. If you look at the Braves of the mid-1990's, our weakness was LHP with Justice, McGriff, Klesko sitting in the middle of the order.

But then you have teams where having a lefty is a disadvantage. And I haven't looked at the splits, but I imagine based on his stuff, Gilmartin is actually better against righties. If you're a starter, you have to be able to get both guys out. Plus there's guys like Medlen, who gets leftys out more than righties.

Plus, if I'm building a team, I'm trying to win a world title, not make the playoffs every year. If Gilmartin is making playoff starts over the next few years, then this team doesn't have a great shot. Doumit as a bench bat (and interleague and hopefully World Series DH) helps the goal of a world championship more than a typical 5th starter would.

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[royals19]

Re: 2013 Atlanta Braves Thread

Well if the Braves were planning to trade for Smardzija, this pretty much blows it out of the water:

Talking Chop

They basically wanted a package centered around either Heyward or Justin Upton.

The other interesting tidbit I found was that the Rays were looking for Wood, Bethancourt and two top other prospects in exchange for David Price. If we could get away with giving them Sims/Cabrera and Todd Cunningham; that would actually would be fairly reasonable. The current depth in the rotation now would allow us to rebuild our farm system if we could put together a couple good drafts.

[decga]

Re: 2013 Atlanta Braves Thread

Well if the Braves were planning to trade for Smardzija, this pretty much blows it out of the water:

Talking Chop

They basically wanted a package centered around either Heyward or Justin Upton.

The other interesting tidbit I found was that the Rays were looking for Wood, Bethancourt and two top other prospects in exchange for David Price. If we could get away with giving them Sims/Cabrera and Todd Cunningham; that would actually would be fairly reasonable. The current depth in the rotation now would allow us to rebuild our farm system if we could put together a couple good drafts.

I am glad they didn't do the Samardzija trade. He is an unknown with the capability to throw the hard. He is not worth giving up any ML league talent at all. We got a bunch of Samardzija's in our rotation let Roger earn his keep.

[KSUowls]

Re: 2013 Atlanta Braves Thread

I didn't realize that Gilmartin was not performing that well in the minors. I think my issue is still that we traded our #1 draft pick from 2 years ago for a 3rd catcher coming off maybe the worst season of his career. He had good numbers in 2011 and 2012, but he will be 33 in June and we've seen how quickly a guy's production can fall off once they get into their 30s in the post steroid era. Add onto it that he's a catcher and the potential for him being done are even greater.

[LowerWolf]

Re: 2013 Atlanta Braves Thread

Doumit is more of a hitter than a catcher. When we need a big pinch-hit in the late innings, he's going to be the guy to get the call. And I think he'll be pretty good in that role. The fact he can catch is just a bonus. I don't think he'll see much time behind the plate.

The goal is to win the World Series this season. Doumit will help more toward that goal than Gilmartin would have this season. Hence the trade.

[Sportsforever]

Re: 2013 Atlanta Braves Thread

Merry Christmas, Braves fans…read this today and three things jumped out at me:

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/atl/the-new-year-brings-an-enthusiastic-outlook-for-the-2014-edition-of-the-atlanta-braves?ymd=20131226&content_id=66133108&vkey=news_atl

1) Amazing that Atlanta has won the 2nd most games over the last 4 years…I would never have guessed that. Would be nice if we had more than a Division title to show for it though…

2) It looks like they are set on Heyward hitting leadoff. I'm actually okay with it…he may one day move down in the lineup, but our offense was the best I've seen in years in that 30 game stretch he spent at the top of the order. In fact, I still contend that our season changed the day he was hit by Niese in New York.

3) Insane note about Smoltz…FIRST season since 1987 that a player who has played with Smoltz isn't on the roster (Huddy and BMac were the last). Maybe we can go get Francouer for cheap

[thefakeJTS]

Re: 2013 Atlanta Braves Thread

I've been hoping Frenchy would come back on a minor league deal for the past two seasons.

[KSUowls]

Re: 2013 Atlanta Braves Thread

Gilmartin likely would not have made any impact on the 2014 Braves you're right. I need to see it before I believe it though that Doumit will return to his stats from 2-3 years at age 33 to make a positive impact on this team.

[TheMatrix31]

Re: 2013 Atlanta Braves Thread

And wouldn't you know that I was at the game in NY the day Heyward got hit? Just the type of luck I bring, lol.

[Sportsforever]

Re: 2013 Atlanta Braves Thread

Congrats to Bobby, Mad Dog, and Tommy…awesome that those three go in together. Just wish Smoltz could have been on the ballot!