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Peter Answers Bowman’s Mailbag
By Capitol Avenue Club | November 18, 2009
I got this idea from Drunk Jays Fans and I hope Bowman has many mailbag articles in the future so I can continue this segment.
Peter Answers Bowman’s Mailbag
Do you think keeping six starting pitchers is a good idea? The Braves can leave the rotation like it was in September and have Kenshin Kawakami as their closer.
– Dennis B., Hendersonville, N.C.
Sure. In a vacuum, it’s always a good idea to have a surplus of anything–many would argue this is especially true when it comes to pitching, specifically starting pitching. I don’t know that the organization views Kawakami as a closer. Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing Kawakami close games and I almost prefer it, but my opinion doesn’t mean anything.
Back to the question, I don’t think the Braves will keep all 6 starters. They’re comfortable with Kris Medlen as the emergency starter and as a long-term replacement should a serious injury to one of the starting 5 occur. I would keep them all if I were them, but I don’t think they will. They’re set on addressing other needs and to gain the necessary financial flexibility and/or important pieces by moving one of their veteran starters (Lowe, Vazquez, or Kawakami).
Which of the Minor Leaguers have the best chance of being on next year’s Opening Day roster?
– Greg H., Atlanta, Ga.
How do you classify them as “minor leaguers”? Have they ever played in MLB before? If the answer is “no”, it’s a tough question. I seriously doubt the organization will opt to start Jason Heyward with the MLB club. Jordan Schafer probably won’t either, though he doesn’t qualify anyway. I don’t see Brandon Hicks, Freddie Freeman, Travis Jones, or any of the Gwinnett infielders making the club with the possible exception of Diory Hernandez, who doesn’t qualify. A Gwinnett outfielder could, but Reid Gorecki, Brandon Jones, Gregor Blanco, and Brian Barton all have MLB experience. I think Brandon Jones has the best shot of the four. Matt Young probably has no shot of making the opening day roster. If a catcher is injured Clint Sammons, who has MLB experience, is probably the first to get the call. If a starter and Kris Medlen or two starters are injured, Todd Redmond, who would qualify, or Jo-Jo Reyes, who wouldn’t, would presumably get the call. Really, though, the only place I see a rookie making the 2010 opening day roster is in the bullpen. Which gives us a few interesting choices.
The three AFL relievers– Criag Kimbrel, Jeff Lyman, and Lee Hyde–all have a chance of making the MLB club out of Spring Training. Craig Kimbrel has had a lot of control problems and until he shows he can get the walks under control, he won’t be promoted. Jeff Lyman hasn’t pitched particularly well in 2009 or in the AFL. Lee Hyde, who has shown great stuff in the AFL, stands the best chance of the three. Also from AA, Jose Ortegano, Kevin Gunderson, and Duente Heath all have slim chances of winning a big-league job out of Spring Training. The best candidates from the AAA team are Vladimir Nunez, Jo-Jo Reyes, and Luis Valdez, all of whom have MLB experience. The only other candidate at AAA that I could see making the big league team is Jonny Venters.
Your guess is as good as mine, but now you’re empowered to make an educated one!
How about picking up Jermaine Dye to fill the gap in right field for next season until we’re sure Heyward is ready?
– Bhavik P., Douglasville, Ga.
First of all, Jermaine Dye ain’t-a-playin’ no right-a-field!!!!. Seriously, though, have you seen that man try to play the outfield lately? He’s probably a defensive downgrade from Garret Anderson in LF*. He is playing LF if the Braves do acquire him. That said, he does make some sense. He’s a rather cheap solution because of his age, second-half decline, and defensive limitations, who possesses a fair chunk of upside and could do some to solve the right-handed power outage. I imagine the Braves will think bigger to begin with, but Jermaine Dye isn’t the worst “plan B” in the world.
*By the way, another case study on perception and reality. Garret Anderson really wasn’t that bad in the field in 2009. Overall, his UZR was -11.8, comprised of -12.6 range runs, -0.8 arm runs (another common misconception, Garret Anderson had no arm and base runners ran free when the ball was hit to LF), and 1.6 error runs. The range is to be expected for a 37 year old, but the other parts of his defensive game were serviceable. Additionally, UZR probably even overstates his defensive limitations. His 2008 UZR was 10.0, which probably surprises a lot of people. +/- had him at -4 runs, 24th in baseball. Chris Coghlan posted a -16 and nobody seems to bitch about his defense. Hell, he even won Rookie of the Year. Point is, most LF’ers are bad defenders, and when compared to the rest of them, ACHE ain’t that bad. It’s easy to blame the defense and everything, but the reason why he was so bad and we detested seeing him in the field was because of the fact that he put up a big fat .268/.303/.401 line and hit only 13 homers and drew only 27 walks.
In 2010, the WGST AM 640 contract with the Braves is set to expire. After next season, will the Braves games on radio stay on WGST AM 640 and WKLS FM 96.1 or move to another radio station?
– Kenny K., Elyria, Ohio
Pass. See original article for Bowman’s answer.
By the way, if you have any questions you’d like addressed semi-humorously, email the mailbag, located on the top right. Also, by the way, I realize I haven’t been posting a lot lately. I’m juggling a few posts and studies. Plus there’s just not a lot to write about right now. We don’t really know what the market is going to look like until we see who is offered arbitration on December 1, so most of the rumors are pretty meaningless at the moment. There are obviously no games (not that I diligently cover them anyway), either. Overall just not a lot to be inspired by, so I’ve taken the time to do some studies while there’s a bit of down time. Again, if you want anything addressed, email the mailbag. I will take time out of my research to write something, I just won’t take time out of it to think about something to write about. Anyway, regular content should resume in a week or so.
Topics: Atlanta Braves | 1 Comment »
November 18th, 2009 at 10:50 AM
Good idea for a post.
Good point about Garret’s defense, also. I remember reading someone saying that it was odd that Braves fans were disappointed about getting Garret instead of Griffey, when they ended up with the better fielder. But the counterargument would be: Garret hadn’t played 100 games in the OF since 2005, and you would expect his defense to decline when he couldn’t rest every third day at DH.
I also think Braves fans would cut Garret more slack if it looked like he gave a crap.