Two years to the week
June 1, 2011 at 10:38 pm by Kevin Orris under Atlanta Braves
It was this week, two years ago that it all began – the craziest stretch in Frank Wren’s tenure at the top. 10 transactions were made in just a six day span which would change the state of the organization for years to come. It would be a waste of my time to cover all of them, especially the Gregor Blanco call-up, but here’s how we got to where we are today.
June 2
Jordan Schafer optioned to Gwinnett Braves.
Every Braves fan remembers Schafer’s first at bat – a home run at Citizens Bank Park on Opening Night. It was the worst at bat of his young career, because for the next two months, Schafer attempted to be something that he wasn’t – a power hitter. Through the first two months of the season, the skinny center fielder posted a .204/.313/.287 line. Little did Schafer know, he wouldn’t return to Atlanta for another two years.
June 3
Atlanta Braves released Tom Glavine.
I’ve never spoken to Frank Wren, but I’d imagine that was one of the most difficult moves that he’s made. Getting rid of a fan favorite/300 game winner/franchise player/tremendous clubhouse presence is never easy. The Braves were short on starters following the 2007 season, signing Glavine to a one-year, $8 million contract. Due to multiple DL stints, he only managed 13 sub-par starts, finishing the year with a 5.54 ERA. In 2009, he signed for a few million dollars, beginning the season in the minors to rehab from shoulder surgery before being released while with Triple-A Gwinnett.
Atlanta Braves traded Charlie Morton, Jeff Locke, and Gorkys Hernandez to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Nate McLouth.
I’ll admit it – I was pumped when this news broke. The Braves traded away two decent prospects and a poor excuse for a pitcher in Morton for an All-Star center fielder that would fill in for Schafer. Today, Locke is in Double-A Altoona, sporting a 5.33 ERA. Hernandez, the most coveted player in the deal, is hitting .258/.333/.320 in Triple-A, yet Morton appears to have figured it out in Pittsburgh. Through 68 IP, he’s tallied a 2.51 ERA, 3.82 xFIP, and 1.1 WAR. Although McLouth has been rather lackluster in each of the past two seasons, it’s not like the Braves gave up a pot of gold.
June 7
Atlanta Braves called up Tommy Hanson from Gwinnett Braves.
As soon as Glavine was released, it was made aware that top prospect Tommy Hanson would be promoted to join the rotation for years to come. I’d say it was the right choice. In 66 career starts, Hanson has posted the following numbers: 8.07 K/9, 2.80 BB/9, 3.10 ERA, 3.33 FIP, 3.78 xFIP, and 8.3 WAR. That’s pretty good for any pitcher’s first two seasons in “The Bigs.”
Atlanta Braves placed Casey Kotchman on the 15-Day disabled list.
Thank goodness he’s gone.
June 11
The MLB Draft started on the 11th. More on this years down the road.
Today
- Jordan Schafer is starting in center field for an injured Nate McLouth.
- Tom Glavine is doing color commentary.
- It appears that neither Gorkys Hernandez nor Jeff Locke will ever make it to their arbitration years.
- Tommy Hanson went six strong innings, allowing just three hits and two walks while stirking out four.
- Casey Kotchman is doing well. Darn.
I’d like to think that it’s not worth my time to discuss Gregor Blanco, Briant Barton, or Jorge Campillo, but if you feel so inclined, feel free to do so in the comments.
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*Note – Some of the information used in this article is from Wikipedia. Therefore, it’s extremely reliable.
Are you kidding? Brian Barton had a legendary tenure for the Braves. He came in as a pinch-runner in his first game, tried to steal, and was called out. (He was actually safe, though; the ump blew the call.) The next day, he was sent back down.
No plate appearances. No defensive innings. No runs or anything else, except that lonely, undeserved caught stealing. Brian Barton, I’ll never forget you!
Freddie Freeman is now hitting .270/.346/.413. His OPS is now higher than Justin Morneau, Albert Pujols, Derek Lee, Carlos Pena, and James Loney’s. This is clearly a testament to Larry Parrish’s brilliant instruction.
“Atlanta Braves traded Charlie Morton to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Charlie Morton, Jeff Locke, and Gorkys Hernandez.”
Perhaps this is supposed to be “Atlanta Braves traded Charlie Morton, Jeff Locke, and Gorkys Hernandez to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Nate McLouth.”
4/Timothy
Wait… you didn’t hear about the one where the Braves traded Morton + 2 prospects in exchange for Morton?
Thanks for catching that – we clearly don’t have any editors.
Gregor Blanco…..nice guy……just completely useless. I live in the toilet bowl of America (Philly) and when I would go to BRaves/Phils games…..I had no come backs when Philly fans would rag on Gregor
No way McLouth catches that ball in the 9th to save the game.
@2, I will never forget either. That hair was so fast looking.
This may be trolling, but did anyone see the Georgia Power commercial in the late innings that was animated? There was a song that played at the beginning that was really nice.
Reviews like this are really cool Kevin/CAC/Wikipedia. They are fun to read.
9/Kieran
I’d love to help, but I catch the games on MLB.tv so I’m unaware of the commercial. Glad that you enjoyed this piece – it’s one that’s been in the hopper for the while, but never expected Schafer to be up at this point.
Those were crazy times indeed, as I recall Glavine was pissed at the Braves for quite a while, I really don’t understand why they resigned him & got themselves in that uncomfortable situation, I guess you live and learn.
On a more current topic, why did the Braves bring Young up? Are we trying to make Uggla feel better about his numbers? Wilkin Ramirez in my opinion is a better option than him.
Well, Gregor is from the birthplace of Jackie Robinson and Theresa Edwards. That’s something.
Ramirez can’t be recalled for another week or so (barring injury) since he was just sent down.
9/Kieran
I think I know the commercial you’re talking about. The song that’s playing is “Your Firefly” by Ben Cocks
I think Jeff Locke might end up being a pretty good mid-rotation starter. Still only 23, had a good year last year at high-A and AA, off to a pretty good start in AA this year.
Tnx Kevin. Really nice piece.
Once again It makes me wonder how good (???) FW has been to fill our holes by trades.
One day we should talk about it.
Does anyone else think Schafer should still get a shot when McClouth gets back? Its just been nice seeing some speed out there, not to mention the added benefit of Prado hitting second.
Schafer has been playing at least equal defense to McClouth (sorry no stats to back this up, but I’m assuming its true) and gets on on base decently, which allows him to use that speed. I would like to see him to continue to play and not vanish after McClouth returns from the DL.
6/ If Gregor Blanco is “useless,” then what is Wilkin Ramirez?
BTW, was Blanco out of options when we traded him to KC for that amazing package that included Ankiel?
Really enjoyed this article. Thanks for putting this together.
I remember that week as an emotional whirlwind. The Glavine release, while perfectly commonsensical on paper, represented a sudden goodbye to a childhood favorite for many of us and a final nail in the Maddux/Glavine/Smoltz coffin.
That was thankfully tempered by the excitement for Hanson’s arrival in the bigs and the McLouth trade. I remember thinking that it was nice to have a consistent OF bat in McLouth. Atlanta’s OF had been a revolving door of reclamation projects and rentals for years and had woefully unproductive since Andruw Jones’ in 2006.
Of course, McLouth’s name is now a synonym for “Braves player with high upside totally imploding.”
Why is Prado hitting 2nd a benefit?
Ah I suppose it isn’t. I should have rephrased that “added benefit of Prado not having to hit leadoff”.
Unless he is more suited for the leadoff spot, but I was under the impression from the discussions on here he was better utilized elsewhere in the lineup.
I’ve been reading this site for quite awhile and Im still new to the by the numbers approach to baseball, so which is better statistics-wise for the Braves- to have Prado leadoff, or somewhere else?
It just depends on who you think is going to post the higher on-base average. The leadoff spot goes to your best OBP guy without a ton of power. That might not be Prado, I’m not really sure given how things have shaken out thus far.
BTW, nearly everything you need to know about line-up optimization is here — http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2009/3/17/795946/optimizing-your-lineup-by
@14/Josh
Huge props bro. That’s the song.
Not sure if you use Grooveshark, but if ever want to try Anywhere, holla at support.grooveshark.com
Go Braves.
I’ve virtually given up caring about what Fredi does with the line up anymore since everyone but McCann Prado and Chipper have been giant flaming balls of ass this year.
Also I guess Freeman is doing only slightly worse than I though he would.
Heyward it was easy to get upset about because the McLouth 2 thing was stupid based off the information available. They don’t necessarily have to prove themselves again, but until they hit like Major Leaguers I don’t give a shit.
Uggla has to have some vision/mechanical/other medical. How on earth does a right handed hitter make themselves worthless vs lefties? By having a sub 400 OPS nearly 1/3 his 2010 number. As long as Shafer outplays Uggla – Prado can play 2nd when McLouth returns. Now if we could just concoct an injury and get him some AAA at bats….
What happened to the game recaps? Too painful?
Pretty much. I’m just burned out on doing them. The only thing I can really offer in them that an AP recap can’t are a) why the starting pitcher was successful/struggled and b) bitching about Fredi. Most of the time a) is pretty obvious and b) gets really old.
Maybe just post the final score so we have a conversation thread?
24,
I agree. Getting everyone right is clearly the bigger problem at this point.
BTW, I wouldn’t lump Prado in with the “good Braves” just yet. He leads the league in outs made.
I can do that.
Saw a quote from Heyward today saying his shoulder still doesn’t feel right and won’t be swining a bat until any time soon. That just sucks.
As far as the Uggla stuff goes. How long do we keep playing him? If it is mid July and he is still hitting .170, he has to sit. I know Wren has invested all this money in him, but you’ve got to win games. Eventually bring in another OF and move Prado to 2B?
@24: “I’ve virtually given up caring about what Fredi does with the line up anymore since everyone but McCann Prado and Chipper have been giant flaming balls of ass this year.”
That last part paints a rather weird picture. Though, I guess it does enough to show your frustration.
@CAC: I don’t know if anyone could have foreseen Uggla being as Uggly as he’s been. That, in and of itself, is enough to burn me out. I agree with whoever I saw the other day that they should start playing “How low can you go?” as his intro instead of whatever they currently play.
On a refreshing note, Schafer has been working on an impressive OBP thus far. How sustainable it is remains to be seen, though, and I don’t think he’ll get enough time up to make FG or FW think twice about benching McLouth or sending him down.
Freddie Freeman has hit on a pretty good clip to raise his batting average to something I think he could sustain the rest of the year. If he hits at a .270-.280 clip and Uggla only performs to his ZIPS line of ~.220, I’d rather see Freeman up in the 5th spot the rest of the season. It doesn’t at all do good for the Braves’ L/R match-ups late in games though.
12/Harris,
I’m a little late on this but I’m pretty sure you’re thinking of Willie Harris (from Cairo, GA), not Gregor Blanco.
Didn’t think I’d be saying this when he was called up, but I’ll be disapointed if Schafer gets sent down when McLouth comes off the DL. He’s hit at least as well as Nate and his defense has been worlds better. He’d provide even more value if Fredi knew how to use him properly, i.e. hitting him in the lower half of the order and allowing him to steal bases when he gets on.
I wouldn’t read too much into that stat on Prado… he also leads all of ML in plate appearances.
@Boston Braves Fan, I’ve been pleasantly surprised at Schafer too, particularly since his stats at Gwinnet this year weren’t all that impressive. When he was called up, I figured this would be a make-or-break chance for his Braves career, and it looks like he’s making the most of it. Good for him.
the 2009 draft doesn’t look too good or bad right now.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/?team_ID=ATL&year_ID=2009&draft_type=junreg&query_type=franch_year
Minor is obviouslyt the make or break name, but Myke Jones and Cory Harrilchak, among others, might work their way into bench piece status.
And disagree with you on Locke ever becomming anything CAC. We all knew Morton had the stuff if he could ever get his head straight, but Locke seems like the lesser arm. He wasn’t bad last year, repeating A+ at 22, in a pitcher-favorable Florida State League (correct me if I’m wrong on the FSL being the opposite of the PCL). Now back in AA, he’s been more hittable, and his walk rate has doubled from last year and a much more customary K/BB ratio than his spike in that stat last year (back around 2:1 instead of 5:1).
And while we’re on that note, that 2007 Danville rotation including 5 solid 19 or 20 yr old lefties really crumbled quick huh (Locke, Rohrbough, Evarts, Rodgers, and Ortegano). Ortegano is the only one yet to reach AAA, while 3 have failed to even log a single inning in AA.
[Prado] also leads all of ML in plate appearances.
Right, you have to have an opportunity to lead the league in outs (i.e. hit towards the top of the order and play in almost every game). That said, Prado has made the most of it: .326 on-base average and 12 GIDP.
Its not totally irrelevant that Jordan Shafer was also playing with a broken wrist…
I remember being at a Braves-Cubs game when the McLouth trade was announced. I remember myself and the crowd at Turner Field being really excited at getting an All Star. Too bad that hasn’t exactly panned out.
An all star for the Pirates is not the same as a real all star.
Even giving up nothing, I never liked the trade.
39/ Jared
Multiple baseball people that I’ve spoken to believe the wrist injury came directly from waning himself of HGH. There’s no more common topic between myself and agents/scouts than Jordan Schafer.
It hurt to lose Glavine like that but watching his last rehab start in Rome was painful. The decision was tough but it had to be done.
I’m getting a faster-looking haircut as we speak.
@Jon: you wrote- I don’t know if anyone could have foreseen Uggla being as Uggly as he’s been. That, in and of itself, is enough to burn me out. I agree with whoever I saw the other day that they should start playing “How low can you go?” as his intro instead of whatever they currently play.
But this website, Capital Avenue Club, posted an article on November 15, 2010 titled something like Pursuing Dan Uggla would be a mistake. It had this to say:
“Problem three has to do with aging effects. Though Uggla has been in the league only five years, he’s not exactly a spring chicken. He’ll be thirty one years old in 2011 and is indisputably on the wrong side of his peak. Furthermore, he’s a player that strikes out in 26 percent of his at-bats, making him a candidate to experience a Richie Sexson-esque evaporation into worthlessness during his early-to-mid 30′s. While this is more of a concern if we’re discussing a potential extension, the possibility of Uggla losing his bat speed and, as a result, his offensive effectiveness next year can’t be ignored.”
I think at least some people saw this comming. It’s sad but true.
Fangraphs got a shoutout from Jim Powell on the radio last night.
…Not exactly on topic, but there hasnt be a recap post for last nights game yet — not that you need to waste your time on writing up one…
Dan Uggla really pisses me off…
Bases loaded versus a pitcher who has given up 5 straight hits and he swings at the very first pitch. Really? Its like he doesnt even care about the fact that he’s hitting a SOLID .170 (estimate). There’s got to be a statistic on how many first pitch swings end up as outs — I dont know it, but I’d be fascinated to see that stat MLB wide and then for just Dan Uggla, or just the Braves for that matter — their plate discipline as a whole is a joke…
Guys…I played high school ball and got scouted by college teams but never played, but I could hit .170. Granted, I’m not going to hit 30 homers, but I really dont think 30 homers is that big of a benefit if you’ve only got 50 hits on the season…
Who is having the better season, Venters or Jurrjens?
Jurrjens has been more valuable because he’s faced 128 more batters, Venters has been much better on a rate basis even when you factor in that relieving is easier than starting. Tough to say.
42/ Kevin, regardless of why he broke his wrist, the fact remains it was broken. That’s all I’m saying.
45/ Nick, many people saw the extension as a possibly bad deal because of Uggla’s deterioration, but nobody thought he’d drop off THIS year. 2014? Sure.
Lets say JJ stays on the pace he’s on for the rest of the season and does not get injured. Perfect time to trade him? What could Braves get in return?
Just throwing that out there.
Hopefully an above-average, every-day, pre-arb center fielder and change or 3 top-100 prospects. I wouldn’t expect much more than the Rays got for Garza, but that’s the formula.