Where’s the Big Bopper?
by Voice of Reason Raisins
JEFFERSON, GA – Unicorns, Bigfoot, UFO’s, Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, free lunch, government intelligence, affordable power hitting outfielder…
It’s gonna take more that a ride on the Polar Express to make me believe.
This years Free Agent crop is headlined by two premier outfielders, Jason Bay and Matt Holliday. Do I really have to go into deep detail as to why the Braves cannot be considered serous contenders in the bidding for either of these two Rolls Royces? I don’t think I do.
Past the luxury models, we can move to the more affordable, practical sedans.
For Left Field, you’ll find names such as Marlon Byrd… uh, Marlon Byrd. That’s about it. C’mon… does Marcus Thames really excite you? How about Joey Gathright? David Delucci? Folks, it ain’t there. Garret Anderson is one of the better names on that list. Really…
OK, what about Center Field? OK, there we can find Mike Cameron. Past that there’s Rick Ankiel, Andruw Jones (ugh), and Corey Patterson. Bleh!
Maybe Right Field. Maybe not. Austin Kearns? Brian Giles? Jermaine Dye? Do you really want Dye in left field? Do you remember some of the misadventures we endured with Anderson? No thanks!
Um, First Base? There you will see Adam LaRoache, Russell Branyan, Nick Johnson and a bunch of scrap. Johnson has a nice OBP, but isn’t a bopper. Branyan? Hmmm… maybe, but he wants two years guaranteed. If I’m doing that, I’m doing it for Adam and keeping him at home. That said, none of those is guaranteeing you 30+ HR’s. Branyan comes close, but there is that back thing…
Bottom line: The Big Bopper isn’t there.
What about the trade market? Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham immediately come to mind, but why would the Nationals trade their core offensive players to their division rival? Answer: they won’t. Not happenin’. Carlos Lee? Contract is too prohibitive. Delmon Young? We just traded our version of Delmon Young to the Mets. Cody Ross? See Dunn and Willingham. Brad Hawpe? Nick Swisher? Not enough power to be a bopper. Maybe Ryan Ludwick? I don’t see St. Louis trading him since Holliday is likely to sign elsewhere. The one guy who might be out there and fits the description is Adrian Gonzalez, but it is not yet determined if he’s actually going to be available, and the Padres would gut the farm system of just about everything leftover after the Tex trade. Uh, no.
Much has been said recently as to the candidacy of Dan Uggla. I’m not buying. First, he’s never logged one inning in the major leagues outside of Second Base. And he didn’t do that particularly well. Why would you take the absolute strength of your team, being pitching, and reduce it with sub-par defense? Answer: you won’t. Also, see Dunn, Willingham and Ross. The Marlins do not particularly want to make the Braves any better, and likewise the Braves do not particularly want to make the Marlins any better. That is what you call “not a match”.
And that is what Frank has to find in the trade market… a match. Who will take our surplus (pitching, KJ) and give us our need (LF, 1B, ‘pen)?
So, what can we take from all of this blather?
There isn’t a Big Bopper out there and available. We probably have a better chance of seeing the real Big Bopper rise up and sing <i>Chantilly Lace</i> as we have of landing a Big Bopper for the lineup.
So, how do we overcome that obstacle? Well, is it really an obstacle?
Three mid-level signings give you a pretty darn good team, in my view. Mike Cameron, as I have said over and over, can be had on a one year deal for around $7MM, plays stellar defense, and will give you 20-25 HR’s and 70-80 RBI. Re-sign Rochey and Gonzo, and you have a team to compete with anyone in the NL.
And we can afford that.
We need to take a step back and realize that after the acquisitions of Nate McClouth and Rochey, we played as well as anybody in the league. And that was with Chipper tanking and Garret Anderson in left field. I’ll take a whole season of both Rochey, an outfield of N8, Cameron and Diaz (and/or JHey, but that’s a separate topic).
Add that to the best starting rotation in the National League, and maybe in either league, and we have a winning team.
The best part? We still have a starter to trade… we still have ammo to fill the gaps.
And we won’t have Greg Norton.
~Raisins~


closer for a team that does not over use him. Gee, can you imagine what a pitching coach like Dave Duncan could do with a talent like his? Awesome.














insufferable Brave’s teams. But they were our Braves…and we clung to hope…cause that’s what true fans do. Milo left…we stayed through thick (you have to imagine) and thin(ner)!
out and a four-run lead. One reliever has already gone home with a sore elbow! If he’s gonna yank Medlen, how patient will he be with the relievers?
this; it’s why it’s a RANT! If there is any, it’s purely accidental – well, ‘cept for this: Bobby, it’s time to enjoy the sunsets! 







And speaking of impressing: Hanson. Oh, wow! I want to see him in the regular rotation, but I don’t want it to be too early. Is he really ready? Judging by the comments I read from players, I’d have to say ‘yes’.
“”Medlen is impressive,” Cox said. “Everything that you hear about that kid, you like. He doesn’t walk anybody and he’s got three plus pitches, for me. He’s got a plus fastball, plus changeup and a plus breaking ball, with control. A lot of guys have plus-this and plus-that, but they don’t have control like he’s got.”
Moylan & Co in the bullpen look good. Gonzo seems ready and eager to go.
I also think that Garret’s very presence in the outfield will have a positive effect on the other 2 outer positions. For once, ‘veteran presence’ actually means something! There are people who can inspire others to perform at a higher level and I get the impression that GA is one of them.


Brave, should each make 30+ starts, and go 200 + innings, which will really rest the old bullpen in May and June, and make Bobby look like he has gained 30 IQ points, and is no longer in Forrest Gump territory!
My bold/crazy predictions are that if we don’t get a real left fielder in spring training, Justin Heyward will have a huge spring, sparking talk of him being the left fielder. Also, Tommy Hanson will be so impressive, and Glavine will hurt his hammy in the second to last start of spring and will go north with the club.
Todd Redmond, age 23 appeared in 28 games for the Mississippi Braves in 2008 and was named the Southern League pitcher of the year. Todd, a right hander, put up a record of 13-5 with an ERA of 3.52 in 166.1 innings pitched. He gave up 164 hits, 65 earned runs and struck out 133 while walking only 33. Folks, that is better than a 4/1 ratio of strike-outs to walks and indicates pretty good control. He is said to have a low 90s fastball, a slider and a curve but his best pitch is a change. His weakness is his tendency to pitch up in the strike zone. Sounds a bit like a right handed Chuck James but I suspect he is better than that.
e guy and not the same Luiz Valdez who pitched in winter ball in the Dominican this year. I discovered that Valdez is Spanish for Doe…. Lots of them are playing baseball too. Anyway, Luiz was another Mississippi Brave last year. More of a relief specialist, he appeared in 55 games, amassing 65.1 innings and notching 28 saves and a record of 4-3. His ERA was a sparking 2.76. In 2008 he gave up 48 hits while surrendering only 3 home runs. His strike-out to walk ration was about 2 to 1 as he struck out 77 and walked 36. Luiz, another product of the Pirates organization, was signed as a minor league free agent in the fall of 2007. Valdez has a 97-98 MPH fastball so we can get an idea of what he brings to the table. A right hander, he projects to be a middle relief guy or possible a set up man. He is still pretty young at only 24, he has a chance to make it to Atlanta in 2009 as a mid-season call up.
I already mentioned Eric Cordier in an earlier post. He was not invited to the big camp this spring but folks, keep an ear out for that name. I predict he will be in the majors in the next couple of years.
Eric O’Flaherty is 23 y/o southpaw. He went from being a rising star with a 7-1 record in 2007 out of the pen to a horrible start in 2008 for Seattle when he appeared in but 7 games and had an ERA of 20.25. Eric was sent down to the Seattle minor league system until June of last year where he compiled a 4.96 ERA in 15 appearances. He suffered a back injury in June and did not pitch for the rest of the season.. One must wonder if he was concealing an injury suffered in spring training. It has been known to happen with young players, afraid they will be labeled “fragile”. The Braves are hoping he has fully recovered from whatever ailment he suffered. He was too good a pitcher to pass up as far as the Braves were concern. Time will tell if he can return to pre 2008 form. O’Flaherty was claimed off waivers by the Braves in November of 2008. A good showing in spring training may make Will Ohman expendable.
Boone Logan is another young lefty acquired by Atlanta in the off season. Just 24 y/o, he came over in the Javier Vazquez trade. Boone appeared in 55 games in 2008 accumulating 42.1 innings. He compiled 42 strikeouts and gave up 14 walks last season while compiling an ERA of 5.95. To say he was another young pitcher in Ozzie’s doghouse is an understatement. Apparently he was used as a situational guy ALA Jeff Ridgeway. Again it looks like even though the Braves will not start many left handers, they potentially have a bevy of lefties available out of the pen.
Stephen Marek is another relief specialist acquired last season. He came to the Braves along with Casey Kotchman in the Teixeira trade with the Angels. 28 years old, he might be on the precipice of his career. Perhaps he is just cannon fodder for the minor leagues. After all, They need to fill the rosters so the real prospect have a place to play. That said, perhaps the Braves can once again catch lightning in a bottle. Buddy Carlyle was another pitcher who supposedly had his best years behind him and he worked out pretty well. Marek was assigned to Mississippi last year and pitched this fall in the AFL with Tommy Hanson. Marek helped hold down many leads for the Solar Sox and aided in the team compiling the top record in the league. He is not a big strikeout pitcher, but has managed a career K/BB rate of 2.62 last fall for Mesa, he compiled 12 innings of work, giving up 9 hits and 2 walks while striking out 7. He gave up zero earned runs and had a WHIP of 0.92. In late November he was added to the Braves’ 40 man roster, both protecting him from the Rule 5 draft and placing him in the bullpen mix for 2009.






































