It is not even the All-Star Break yet, but I'm starting to think about convincing myself of the possibility that it might be a good, maybe, for the Braves to pack it up in 2008. Hear me out.
The Braves are now a game under .500 despite an MVP-caliber season from Chipper Jones and Cy Young-caliber stuff from Tim Hudson (though he has not gotten much support from the Braves' bats). The starting rotation coming into the season (Hudson, Smoltz, Glavine, Hampton and Jurrjens) is now down to Hudson. That's right - four of the five pitchers in the Braves' opening day rotation are currently hurt.
(If you did not hear the news, Jair Jurrjens is missing tonight's start after hurting his ankle after last night's loss).
The line-up is not much better. Mark Kotsay is out hurt and reports do not look good. Chipper is battling nagging injuries across his .400 hitting body right now. Matt Diaz and his .200 hitting body are on the D.L as well.
Meanwhile, the Phillies are getting hot with a loaded line-up and piecemeal starting staff. The Wild Card is likely going to the Cardinals, Brewers, Dodgers, or Mets - all better than the Braves.
In a time like this, I think GM Frank Wren needs to know when to fold 'em. No, I'm not talking about getting Kenny Rogers from the Tigers. I'm talking about trading a switch-hitting, difference making 1st baseman - Mark Teixeira.
Why trade him? If the Braves are not in contention (which they are not), they ought to get what they can for the unrestricted free agent. There is no, no, no chance that Tex re-signs with the Braves. Atlanta won't be able to compete with offers from the big markets, nor should they. Teixeira is a fine player, but not one who deserves a big chunk of the Braves' change anyway.
So if the Braves are not contending and there is no chance they will resign Tex, they might as well get something for him. Remember - they let Jarrod Saltamacchia go to get him in a well-intentioned but ultimately unsuccessful deal. Instead of it being all for naught, the Braves could get a good prospect for Teixeira.
Of course, who would trade a good prospect for an unrestricted free agent? Baseball history teaches us that teams in contention will do just that. One example I remember off the top of my head is the Houston Astros trading for Randy Johnson. On a lesser scale, the Braves themselves did it last year for Octavio Dotel.
One quick look at the baseball landscape shows several teams that could use Teixeira. Maybe the Tampa Bay Rays would be willing to take their shot in 2008 to make the post-season. Perhaps David Ortiz's injuries will continue to plague the slugger, making the Red Sox willing to deal a young pitcher for Teixeira. The Angels could upgrade at 1st base. So could the Dodgers. There would likely be enough suitors for Teixeira to ensure a decent return for Atlanta.
If the Braves can get a good return on Teixeira, they ought to take the deal and start thinking about how to compete in 2009 and 2010.
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5 comments:
If you trade Tex, then Chipper becomes a .310 hitter again. Speaking of protection, is J.D. Drew loving hitting in front of Manny or what?
I don't buy that for a minute - pitchers are not giving in to Chipper because Tex is hitting behind him. I think all that protection stuff is nonsense. The two problems for Chipper getting .400 are his injuries and his concentration once the Braves are out of contention.
It must be a contract year for J.D. - he's gotten Braves' hearts up before and let us down before.
The new Chipper Tracker? Brilliant.
You're silly. Protection matters-- Big time. J.D. Hitting in front of Manny is HUGE. Wait till Papi comes back and Drew is in the 5 or 6 hole, he'll be back to his .270 self. Big Dif. And no it's not a contract year for Drew. We signed him for like 18 years and 47 Gazillion dollars. And people still use the G-Word when referring to Theo Epstein. Nonsense.
As for Chipper. How else do you explain his inflated batting average? He's a career .310 hitter, but since the Braves acquired Tex, he's hitting like .380!!!! He was off to a fine start last year, but his second half was way above average (.329 first half, .345 second).
I have no idea how to explain Chipper's season. He has always had the potential to hit and is a former MVP. He has hit .300 or better in 8 of the last 10 years, so it isn't like this is Richie Sexson hitting .400 or anything.
I watch an awful lot of Braves baseball and cannot recall one time when it looked like a pitcher served one up to Chipper because he was worried about Teixeira on deck. I think it is different for a guy like Drew who pitchers still are not convinced can beat them, so better to zip on down the middle and take a chance than walk him and face Manny.
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