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He’s bigger than a duck, so he must be in the best shape of his life.
By Capitol Avenue Club | March 15, 2010
Look, I know it’s better for a player to have a successful spring outing than an unsuccessful spring outing. But, for perspective’s sake, let me make a subtle point.
Box Score: March 15, 2010 | MLB.com
Derek Lowe’s line: 4.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K, (6 groundotus)
Rewind one year and five days.
Box Score: March 10, 2009 | MLB.com
Derek Lowe: 4.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K (6 groundouts)
Sound familiar?
Without a ROE yesterday, they’d have been the exact same line. Seriously.
Also, a list of players no longer with the organization that played in the linked game last year:
Josh Anderson
Brandon Jones
Kelly Johnson
Reid Gorecki
Casey Kotchman
Greg Norton
Jeff Francoeur
Rafael Soriano
Blaine Boyer
Boone Logan
I am extremely glad at least seven and possibly as many as nine of those players are no longer in the organization.
Topics: Atlanta Braves | 16 Comments »
March 16th, 2010 at 12:33 AM
Who are the three (or one)? I’m guessing Soriano is the one you would definitely like to have back (though at a better price, perhaps, but I was just going on talent). Johnson would be another on my list. I might put Gorecki as the other because I like his name.
March 16th, 2010 at 1:48 AM
I’d take Johnson and Soriano of those players listed. But hey, how do you like the upgrade in RF – Heyward over Francoeur!
March 16th, 2010 at 2:45 AM
The list was definitely Johnson and possibly Soriano and Boone Logan.
March 16th, 2010 at 6:45 PM
As to why someone would keep KJ on his team over Soriano is beyond me. Unless it’s because he is family.
March 16th, 2010 at 6:49 PM
Or how about because I don’t much like $7 million contracts sitting on the DL.
In terms of talent, yeah, I’d love to have Soriano. Not at the economic cost to retain him, though.
March 16th, 2010 at 9:52 PM
I always liked Johnson, and I would’ve suggested putting him back in left (pre-Melky) and platooning him with Diaz.
March 16th, 2010 at 11:04 PM
Would you not want Soriano at all on a $7 million dollar contract, or just not under the current team circumstances?
Or, in other words, the Braves haven’t signed Billy Wagner when Soriano accepts arbitration. What’s your stance?
March 16th, 2010 at 11:43 PM
I wouldn’t sign Soriano unless he fell into my lap. I prefer Wagner. Even of the Braves hadn’t signed Wagner, I would’ve traded him for whatever I can get after accepting arbitration.
March 17th, 2010 at 11:03 AM
I believe your list here shows why so many are optimistic about this year for the Braves. In fact, had we begun the 2009 with our roster circa post McLouth trade (with roster moves of Prado, Hanson, etc involved) I think we take the Wild Card. We upgraded at almost every position that saw turnover.
The Braves have continued to add, not subtract from the talent level over the off season aside from the undesirable but necessary Vasquez trade.
March 17th, 2010 at 12:58 PM
Agreed, Peter.
TCQ,
I think it’s comical that most of the national media cite health risk to Wagner and Saito and lament the losses of Gonzo and Soriano when discussing the Braves 2010 ‘pen. Anyone who honestly believes Rafael Soriano will appear in more games this year as Billy Wagner is smoking some better stuff than I’ve got.
March 17th, 2010 at 1:17 PM
I mean, there’s a decent chance Soriano does appear in more games, but I’d put my money on Wagner.
The thing is, almost every late innings power reliever is going to be a huge injury risk, especially playing for Bobby. I don’t think Billy Wagner, despite his age and the fact that he just came off surgery, is any more of an injury risk than a typical late innings power reliever. Soriano has averaged about 45 innings over his career. You don’t know if you’re going to get 15 Innings or 75.
March 17th, 2010 at 2:29 PM
I’d call the injury risk about equal, myself. If you’re going to dismiss the facts that Wagner is old and coming off of major surgery…wait, what? Age and recent health – aren’t those basically the only factors in determining injury risk? And overall injury history, I guess (that’s where Soriano falls down a peg or ten), but that isn’t really something you can just discount. Unless your point is simply that it doesn’t make him MORE of an injury risk than other relievers (i.e. Soriano) which I would mostly agree with.
My point that I’m rambling onward to, though, is that if you call the injury risks equal, I don’t see how you take Wagner on performance. I’d rather have a healthy reliever relatively close to his prime than a healthy reliever that’s old, all other things being fairly close to equal.
March 17th, 2010 at 4:26 PM
Tommy John surgery is as automatic as it comes and it’s an advantage, not a disadvantage, to stay on the shelf for a year. Otherwise, Billy Wagner has had a mostly clean bill of health for a really fucking long time. Soriano? We’re still waiting for him to put together back-to-back healthy, effective seasons.
And yeah, you’d rather have the guy in his prime all things equal. But we’re talking about Rafael Soriano vs. Billy Wagner. Billy Wagner is one of the greatest relievers of all time. Probably the best left-handed reliever of all time. Soriano had a great season last year, but so far, that’s been the exception, not the rule.
March 17th, 2010 at 6:38 PM
Yeah, he’s been great. He’s also gonna be 39 in July. I basically rest my case in terms of efficacy.
I do get where you’re coming from, but I keep cycling back to the fact that he’s old. And there just aren’t that many Mo’s out there that can just keep on goin’.
March 17th, 2010 at 11:38 PM
I would prefer Anderson & Jones to Johnson & Soriano
I still feel like they’re both in the prospect stage of their careers and can improve drastically in the minors (but the options didn’t work out).
KJ only accomplishment would be to take ABs away from Prado and get hot for a month to save his stats.
Soriano costs too much for his fragile self. I woulda liked to keep Gonzo – though he wasn’t listed.
March 18th, 2010 at 2:14 AM
He’s old. Yes.
Soriano isn’t young, and he isn’t old, but he’s two for fucking eight when it comes to putting together a healthy, effective season.
Billy Wagner has been resting his arm for a year (that’s an advantage) and he’s coming off the most automatic type of surgery that exists. Billy Wagner pitched exceptionally well immediately before and after surgery. There’s absolutely no evidence he’s any more injury prone than a typical late innings power reliever.
Soriano is more injury prone than a typical late innings power reliever. All Soriano has done for his entire career is sustain injuries. He has literally been injured more than he hasn’t been.
At the end of the day, I’ll take the greatest left handed reliever of all time and the one who has a decent tract record when it comes to health, even if he’s eight years older than the alternative, every time. Billy Wagner is old, but at best Soriano is as good as the Braves expect Wagner to be, and at best he’s only as injury prone as Wagner is. At best.
The Braves know what they’re doing. Getting rid of Soriano is a good thing. Because if you have to pay him market rate, you’re going to end up over paying.