2006 Atlanta Braves Discussion

[TDO]

screw the pirates. i really like the potential of the orioles trade . either taht or keep laroche imo

[mjb2124]

I'm actually surprised so many of you like the Penn/Ray deal. I honestly don't think it's that good of a deal for ATL. The Gonzalez for LaRoche deal was terrible for ATL as well.

[bravosfan]

Well of all the LaRoche rumors, Ray/Penn seems the most attractive. Ray's a young guy who had a great year last year and is 4 or 5 years from free agency. And Penn is a pretty good starting prospect, his minor league #'s are comparable to Kyle Davies'... unfortunately, so are his major league #'s.

I'm skeptical that that was ever even a legit offer, though, I think Rosenthal was just throwing a couple names out. Somehow, I still expect the Pittsburgh deal to get done.

[bravosfan]

Quote:

The Atlanta Braves have dangled first baseman Adam LaRoche, but they are unwilling to give him up for just Gonzalez. Trouble is, their other needs are for a second baseman to hit leadoff, or a long-term center fielder to eventually replace Andruw Jones. The Pirates have a second baseman available, Jose Castillo, but he does not fit Atlanta's profile. They have a center fielder, too, in Chris Duffy, but his name is not known to have arisen. Atlanta seems focused more on discussing LaRoche with the Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Angels, teams better equipped to suit the Braves' needs. An industry source close to the Pirates said that a three-team trade involving the Yankees and Braves -- one that would have sent Gonzalez to New York, LaRoche to Pittsburgh and Cabrera to Atlanta -- was "pretty much a done deal" until last weekend. But he added, "I don't know what happened from there."

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06356/748148-63.stm

Quote:

The Braves and Orioles have not had significant conversations the past few days about LaRoche. At the winter meetings, the teams came close to a trade that would have sent second baseman Brian Roberts and pitching prospect Hayden Penn to Atlanta for LaRoche and second baseman Marcus Giles, but Orioles owner Peter Angelos wouldn't approve the deal. After concluding that the Orioles wouldn't deal Roberts but still wanted LaRoche, the Braves asked about a package that included Orioles closer Chris Ray , according to a source, but at this point, the teams are not aggressively discussing a deal.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/b...ports-baseball

[bravosfan]

I dunno the validity of this, but here's what BuccoBlog (a Pirates blog) reported tonight:

Quote:

Bucco Blog heard yesterday that a pending deal for Adam LaRoche was in the works and published our article asking Littlefield to not pull the trigger too quickly. But it looks like he has. The three-team swap between the Yankees, Braves, and Pirates is now said by one source to be nearly complete as all sides work on minor issues. The Pirates will end up with LaRoche. I say that gently because there are a few versions floating.. one that involves the Angels from one source and two versions that involves the Braves from two separate sources - one of which is the original source we inititally broke the LaRoche deal at the GM meetings to you with. There is also a straightup Pirates/Yankees version from one source that I place little credibility in. However, since the Pirates recently asked for, and reviewed, LaRoche's medicals, we have to assume this deal is with the Braves and our original source tonight is correct one. No matter which version is correct, Gonzalez will be a Yankee if he passes the physical. For now, it seems LaRoche will be a Pirate by Christmas, Gonzalez will be a Yankee, and Cabrera a Brave along with at least a second yet unidentified Pirate. More as I hear it.

http://buccoblog.mlblogs.com/my_webl...te_the_tr.html

[mjb2124]

There's also a rumor that Mike Gonzalez had to cancel an appearance in his hometown in Texas because the Yankees wanted to give him a physical. A poster on a Pirate site is reporting that it was on one of the local news stations tonight.

PS - That BuccoBlog is often garbage. The guy who posts it is a wacko. I've seen www.mlbtraderumors.com use it as a reference and it makes me cringe.

[bravosfan]

Heh, I was actually gonna ask you if you knew anything about that blog and its reliability. I've visited it a bit since the LaRoche rumors started and the guy running it seems like an arrogant a-hole... though that doesn't necessarily mean he's wrong, I guess.

[mjb2124]

Yeah I never liked the guy who ran it. Mainly because he seems way to pro-Pirates. I mean, after 14 straight losing seasons there is obviously some negative things going on in the front office and with Ownership. However, the guy running Bucco Blog has never seen anything negative and always "reports" that all is well. That couldn't be further from truth.