Kuzul

For Jesse Chavez, Gregor Blanco, and Tim Collins, the Braves acquired the now infamous converted-pitcher Rick Ankiel and an old friend (save the 2005 NLDS) in Kyle Farnsworth (as well as come cash from the Royals).

That’s a right-handed reliever with a straight fastball, a AAAA outfielder (as much as we loved him in Atlanta), and a 5’7″ lefty with a huge ceiling and awesome stuff (308 Ks in 202.2 career MiLB innings) for two more-than-serviceable Major Leaguers.

Braves fans may be screaming the curses of Frank Wren for not acquiring a Josh Willingham or Cody Ross at this year’s deadline…but by acquiring a more-than-solid right-handed reliever and decent center fielder, Atlanta’s GM did the team a great service.

Regardless of what expectations might have been, this isn’t an awful trade by any stretch of the imagination.

Farnsworth gives the Braves a fresh-ish (44.2 innings in 2010) arm that has been very solid for an awful Royals team—posting a 2.42 ERA with a 3:1 K:BB ratio and near-career-best WHIP of 1.16.

In Ankiel, the Braves get a hot-hitting (he’s gotten a hit in six of eight games since returning from the DL with one homer and three doubles en route to 11 hits total), solid-defensing center fielder with the potential to slug a few homers down the stretch at full health.

For…

Jesse Chavez—who provided more scares out of the bullpen than production.

Gregor Blanco—a no-power, slap-hitting outfielder whose speed off the bench could be easily replaced by AAA outfielder Willy Taveras.

And Tim Collins—a lefty reliever with a bright future.

So…that amounts to one high-quality piece and two “meh” guys for the Royals tandem headed to Atlanta.

Oh, and Medlen, Minor, Delgado, Teheran, Vizcaino, and others are still on the farm (all were tradeable…but they are nice pieces to still have in your back pocket).

No, this isn’t like acquiring Jose Bautista or Roy Oswalt…but it isn’t bad at all.

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With the non-waiver trade deadline looming less than a week away (this Saturday), the Atlanta Braves are sitting in a pretty good spot.

Granted, they just lost two of three in South Florida from the now-.500 fourth place Marlins, but the club still holds the National League’s second-best record (57-41) and a five game advantage over the Philadelphia Phillies.

But, there is a little room for improvement.

Well, actually, center fielder Nate McLouth’s .168/.279/.265 line offers room for a significant amount of improvement (and a slumping Troy Glaus isn’t much to shout about, either—but we’ll refrain from discussing that at this time).

And the question right now is: Where is that improvement going to come from?

The first, and most painless, option is to look at the options already available within the organization.

Melky Cabrera has been a serviceable outfielder for the Braves, posting a .263/.320/.360 line with, overall, solid defense in the outfield.

But, he’s not exactly injecting any “pop” (or awesome on-base skills, for that matter) into the lineup (his most valuable asset seems to be a positive attitude in the clubhouse).

And Jordan Schafer …well, let’s just skip him (I was wrong with what I said about him earlier in the season and I’m feasting on my plate of crow right now).

The third internal option is Gregor Blanco , who was a valuable asset in his 36 games with the big club earlier this season.

In a grand total of 58 at-bats, primarily batting eighth, Blanco was able to work the count, bunt, and slap his way to a .310/.394/.362 line (two of his 18 hits were of the extra-base variet—a double and a triple).

His defense was more than adequate in center and the only real knock (besides the power—which no one expects from him) on him would be his 15 Ks—but that .394 OBP makes up for that.

All in all, Gregor was a fine option for the bottom of the Braves’ order and is, for me, the best option of any of the Braves’ “major” center field options.

But, if the Braves decide to make a move outside of the organization, who’s there?

Corey Hart-types (you know what I’m talking about) are going to demand at least one of the Teheran/Minor/Vizcaino (who is injured)/Delgado crop and it doesn’t seem reasonable to let go of primo young pitching for a player without a proven track record in the midst of a career year.

The most likely option seems to be Florida Marlins’ center fielder Cody Ross (who’s received mixed reviews as far as true interest from the Braves’ front office), so we’ll focus on him right now.

The .273/.330/.402 (which amounts to an OPS 24 points lower than Blanco’s—just keep in mind that Gregor posted his in very limited playing time…just think it’s work mentioning) line Ross has posted has come with eight homers and nine stolen bases—the former being far off pace from his 24 homers in 2009 and 22 in 2008 while the latter is the highest SB tally he has posted in his career (full season or not).

While his numbers certainly aren’t gargantuan, they are a definite upgrade over McLouth’s and Ross seems to be a much more reliable option than my choice from within the Braves’ organization (Blanco).

But, what are the Marlins going to demand from a divisional rival for a player that they’re iffy (at best) on trading?

I figure that Melky Cabrera, Zeke Spruill/Cory Gearrin, Adam Milligan/Cody Johnson (pick your combo) would be enough…but what if they demand one of the young studs I mentioned earlier?

Do the Braves pull the trigger then?

It’s a tough decision, that’s for sure—one I don’t envy.

Should the Braves go for a more reliable bat in center for the stretch run or should they stick to their guns and run with what they’ve got?

Whatever they do, I’m just hoping that Nate “McOut” McLouth is out of town by the time Sunday rolls around.

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I’ve been on record as saying that I’m a Yunel sympathizer.

I’ve lauded his talent and said that his occasional lapses are just part of an incredible, high-upside, (overall) well-rounded Major League shortstop.

But you know what?

When I got this text from my friend: “Did you see that trade?”, and shimmied my way over to MLB Trade Rumors to be greeted by “Blue Jays Acquire Yunel Escobar…” I wasn’t nearly as torn up and angry as I would I have anticipated myself being when I started bracing for this news about a month ago.

And I think that’s because I’m as fed up with the Cuban import as some of his teammates are.

By selling low on the 27-year-old ball of talent, Frank Wren and the Braves got a guy in Alex Gonzalez that has an OBP of .296 in a career year (I’m being pessimistic with the stats for dramatic effect; his 17 homers and 25 doubles are pretty legit), a 5’7″, 20-year-old left-hander that’s striking out dudes at an incredible rate (15.3 K/9), and a burner from the middle of the infield that has a last name that’s almost impossible to spell (P-A-S-T-O-R-N-I-C-K-Y).

Oh, and in addition by subtraction, the Blue Jays (begrudgingly, I’d imagine) took on the dude that Jonny Venters ran out of town (Jo-Jo Reyes).

Honestly, considering the attitude and attempt to rip Troy Glaus’ hand off, that’s a pretty good haul for a guy that Bobby Cox hates  (especially the whole Reyes part…that makes me giggle like a school girl).

Sure, Yunel has been unsustainably cold this year (posting a BABIP 46 points below his career mark of .316) and has shown that he is, when he’s clicking on all cylinders, one of the best offensive shortstops in baseball.

But, even though other Braves need some “adjustments” at times (see Brian McCann’s audible F-bombs after each strikeout), his place in an organization that prides itself on class both on and off the diamond seemed to be nonexistent.

Given time to reflect on his antics (now that he’s an “enemy”), it seems that it was less of Yunel “hating to lose ” (it’s one of two from July 10) and more of him being “hardheaded.”

The time came where his .812 OPS from 2009 (when he was the Braves’ MVP) simply couldn’t outweigh his protruding bottom lip when something didn’t exactly fall his way.

So long Yunel…I still love ya (in a man-crush manner) and wish you the best of luck with Cito Gaston’s Jays.

I’m just sort of glad now that your antics (which were once enjoyable) have moved on to another franchise.

Your a helluva talent…let’s just hope this wake-up call gets your career back to the All-Star status it once promised.

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I know, I know.

The Braves are a first place team with good vibrations all around.

They’ve been one of the best teams in the game since the beginning of May and really lack any substantial holes in their line-up.

But…I like to think ahead.

And, right now, I’m thinking about how Frank Wren and Company can improve the National League’s top run-scoring offense.

There are a couple of different routes the Braves could pursue to achieve this.

They could go with a speed guy (a dimension lacking in the line-up), but there really isn’t anyone readily available that fits that description (unless you’re thinking of Juan Pierre and his .248/.318/.278 line or Co-Co Crisp and his and injury-prone nature) – and Martin Prado has been on an absolute tear since taking over the lead-off spot.  He has pretty much eliminated the need for a “stereotypical” lead-off hitter.

An extra power bat, specifically from the right side, could also be of benefit to the Braves.

Again, there aren’t a lot of options that the Braves could pursue for this venture since teams aren’t going to just trade away a legitimate power threat if they’re even remotely close to being in a playoff race.

The other thing the Braves could look at is an everyday center field option that just, if only barely, out-performs the guys that they’ve been throwing out (Melky Cabrera and Nate McLouth and their combined sub-.550 OPS) at the plate, while playing at least average defense in the field.

And, of course, versatility anywhere would be a plus.

And with the infield set-up with Jones-Escobar-Prado-Glaus from left to right…the outfield seems to be the most viable option for an upgrade.

So, all things considered, here are two guys the Braves should be pursuing at the trade deadline.

Luke Scott

The Baltimore Orioles outfielder, who still has two more years of team control remaining on his contract, has posted a .276/.347/.505 through 219 plate appearances from the left side of the plate (although that is acceptable considering his .852 OPS) thus far in 2010.

Now, his splits aren’t pretty (.905 OPS vs. RHP to .696 vs. LHP), and his 13 games in the outfield might make him a liability from a defensive standpoint.

And (this is why he’s No. 3 – there are a few downsides with Scott) his line looks a little poor compared to current left-handed “platooning” outfielder Eric Hinske ‘s .311/.377/.548 slash (his splits are a little more drastic with .946 to .633 OPSs versus right- and left-handers, respectively).

But, even once Matt Diaz returns and Hinske continues in his platoon purgatory, Hinske’s numbers are bound to move more and more towards his career marks of .256/.338/.442.

That’s why I like Scott — his career line is .265/.349/.496 which is much closer to the numbers he has posted en route to his 10 homers and 24 RBI in what has proven to be a rather anemic Orioles offense (in other words, even if in only a platoon, he’s more likely to sustain his production).

Considering their 19-51 record and recent firing of their manager, you have to figure that Baltimore will be “blowing it up” and building for the future — so MLB-ready talent probably won’t be a “must” in a deal.

But, close-to-primo prospects will be.

And with a lack of top-flight depth in the outfield down on the farm, and the old mantra of “you can’t have too much pitching” likely coming in the negotiation process, this would be my package if I’m the Braves…

Potential Deal: Cody Johnson (OF), Randall Delgado (RHP), and Scott Diamond (LHP) for Luke Scott  (OF) and Pedro Viola  (LHP)/Jim Johnson  (RHP).

David DeJesus

Remember the “barely-better-than-the-current-options” guy?

Here he kinda is (I say “kinda” because he’s actually significantly better than the other options without being a total top-flight offensive threat).

But, for the sake of comparison, pick one of these lines blindly (with career lines)…

.260/.319/.337 (.269/.330/.380)
.323/.395/.485 (.289/.361/.429)
.176/.295/.282 (.253/.339/.439)

Obviously, you pick the dude in the middle, who is not surprisingly David DeJesus.

He’s one of the top players on the Kansas City Royals and has, as evidenced by his career line above, always been the sort of player he has been this year – one that gets on base while hitting with a little pop (i.e. an ideal No. 1 or No. 2 hitter).

His five homers and three steals don’t expire much in the “flashy” categories, but he’s been getting the job done to the tune of 22 doubles (tied for third most with many others in the AL) and three triples from the top of KC’s line-up.

You plug that sort of production, even if he is left-handed, into the top of Atlanta’s line-up between Prado and Chipper Jones and you’ve got a pretty good set-up (especially of Heyward gets to move down to a run-producing spot where he was more comfortable at the beginning of the year).

Now, to the deal.

Kansas City has some holes at various spots around its minor league system and DeJesus has an option on his contract (the Braves would be trading for a year and a half of the center fielder) — so a deal with an “eclectic” feel would likely work.

Potential Deal(s): Kris Medlen (RHP), Melky Cabrera  (OF), Zeke Spruill (RHP) OR Arodys Vizcaino  (RHP), Adam Milligan (OF), Cole Rohrbough  (LHP) for David DeJesus  (OF) – preferably the latter package.

Oh, and I will admit to being generous in my deals with talent being given up from the Braves’ perspective — I sometimes think too much into the “talent-for-talent” theory and surrender too much in certain packages.

(This article is also featured on The Hey Train .)

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It sounds funny, doesn’t it?

Chase Utley is being challenged for the starting job at second base for this year’s National League All-Star team.

Up until this year, that was a preposterous thought, but seemingly out of the woodwork.

Now there has emerged a legitimate contender from the Atlanta Braves in the form of leadoff hitter Martin Prado—who is currently standing in second place in voting(though he is far from “nipping at the heels” of the leader) behind the venerable Utley.

Since Utley is by far the sexier name here, we’ll use a sort of a “blind” system by which to judge the two.

Player A has a slash line of .333/.375/.464 (with that .333 being good enough for second in the National League behind the barely-qualified-for-consideration Andre Ethier) with six home runs, 29 RBI, 47 runs scored, and 31 multi-hit games (13 of three hits or more).

Player A has also collected 18 doubles and a single stolen base (to three caught stealing) while putting up a 9.0 UZR/150 in 65 games at second base.

Player B’s slash line looks like this: .260/.376/.461.

Player B has also collected the third most home runs by a full-time second baseman with 10, 26 RBI, 41 runs scored, two steals (to one caught stealing), and 12 doubles.

On the defensive side of the ball, UZR/150 gives this player a rating of 16.3 through the 61 games he has played at second base.

By throwing out on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and stolen bases, we can see how these players separate themselves from one another a bit. Even though RBI and runs scored are close, I think they are each still relevant considering where each of these guys bat in their respective lineups.

Player A: .333 AVG/6 HR/29 RBI/47 RS/9.0 UZR/150

Player B: .260 AVG/10 HR/26 RBI/41 RS/16.3 UZR/150

So, make your pick.

Now, the unveiling, though I’m sure Braves and Phillies fans have already figured out who is who.

Player A is Martin Prado.

Player B is leading vote-getter Chase Utley.

My opinion lies a bit on the subjective side since I get to watch Prado play and collect his 95 current hits every day, but I don’t see how Utley can get the nod when name recognition, which is almost a bit regrettably a pretty big factor in All-Star voting, is thrown out the window.

The way Prado has energized what was an anemic Braves offense before he took over the leadoff spot also throws out the “value to a team’s success” factor that comes into play in some ballots cast.

I’ll grant Utley the fact that he’s been playing hurt, but voting should be based on results (and to potential results, Prado’s BABIP is .366 to Utley’s .264, so Prado has had quite a bit more luck when it comes to “hitting ’em where they ain’t” on the field).

I feel the stats back me up a bit here; Prado has had more of those.

So what do you think (ignoring the fact that Utley’s more than likely getting the starting nod from the fans)?

Should Utley get the nod for his longevity as one of the premier second basemen in the game?

Or should Prado be the man for the impressive numbers he’s posted thus far in the 2010 season?

This article is also featured on The Hey Train.

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While nothing is written is stone just yet, there is a pretty good chance that the Atlanta Braves will find themselves sans-Chipper Jones when the team reports to Spring Training in 2011.

(Oh, and yeah, I know that the Braves are a first place team with a lot going right for them right now.)

Well, that is provided that Chipper maintains his blisteringly cold .228/.375/.341 line (that he carried into Tuesday night) over the remainder of the season. His OBP is good, I’ll give him that, but his job as the No. 3 hitter is more about driving in runs than getting on base. And with only 22 RBIs (batting .267 with runners on), and with Jason Heyward and Martin Prado in front of him, there is simply too much pressure being put on Troy Glaus and Brian McCann to pick up what Jones is leaving behind.

As it stands today, the former perennial threat for 30-plus homers and a .300 (or better) batting average is struggling mightily at the plate (eight hits in his last 35 at-bats). Jones is also a defensive liability at the hot corner and he can’t keep a clean bill of health to save his life (from his fingers to his obliques to his back).

What’s more, the now 38-year-old Jones is being outplayed by all of his potential replacements on the bench.

Brooks Conrad is only six extra-base hits behind the surefire Hall-of-Famer in about a third of the number of plate appearances.

Omar Infante (who has only 30 fewer at-bats than “Hoss”) holds a .314/.351/.387 line.

Eric Hinske, who has appeared in one more game than Chipper (although with 50 fewer at-bats), and his .316/.386/.556 line makes one wonder why the Braves lifer is even getting chances at all.

But I do know the reasons: too much loyalty on the part of the manager and a $14M paycheck this season. Those factors will make it hard to tell a franchise legend it’s time to call it quits.

In my humble opinion, the best interests of all parties involved would be for ol’ Larry to ride quietly off into the sunset in a Ken Griffey, Jr.-esque fashion—he just doesn’t seem to have “it” anymore (though I’d love to be proven wrong).

But, we all know that’s not going to happen.

The fact of the matter is this: Chipper is fading, and he has been fading rapidly since winning his only batting title back in 2008.

His nostalgic presence in the Braves’ locker room is linking this club to the pitching-dominant ways of the 1990s teams headed by Maddux, Smoltz, and Glavine—and that’s not helping the current squad win games.

It’s been tough to let go of the image of Chipper as a MVP candidate…but seeing what is as close to futility as you’ll see on a Major League diamond night-in and night-out has really let that image escape my mind.

It’ll be tough to replace the name-value that came along with Chipper over at third (although “Brooks” is a pretty cool name…just saying)—but if that three year, $42 million extension (that’s Carl Crawford money right there…wink wink, nudge nudge) does indeed fall off of the table—that’ll be a pretty easy pill to swallow.

This article is also featured on The Hey Train.

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On April 30, the Atlanta Braves were sitting at 9-14—fresh off of a nine-game losing streak and five games behind the division-leading New York Mets.

Holding a minus-18 run differential and an offense that could do virtually nothing but draw a walk, the Braves’ outlook on 2010 was bleak to say the best.

Fast forward to Memorial Day (May 31), and the Braves are a half-game up on the Phillies with a plus-45 run differential and appear as if they’ve figured out things on the offensive side of the ball.

Led by Jason Heyward (who holds the fourth highest OPS at 1.019 in BASEBALL and best in the NL) who had a .358/.475/.667 May after taking a more aggressive approach at the advice of Bobby Cox, Martin Prado (the NL hit and OBP leader), and Troy Glaus (the NL RBI leader for the month of May), the Braves capped off the month of May with a six-game winning streak to bring their season’s record to 29-22.

The pitching, as was anticipated heading into 2010, was also spectacular during the Braves’ 20-win month as Tim Hudson (4-0 1.59 ERA in the month of May) and company posted a 3.53 team ERA with 192 total strikeouts.

But, with those impressive stats comes the all important question…is this the REAL Atlanta Braves squad?

Well, I can tell you: I don’t think it is.

The pitching seems to be legit, but it’s going to be hard for Troy Glaus and Jason Heyward to replicate the ridiculous averages they posted and for Glaus and Martin Prado to re-create their 20+ RBI months (especially the latter since he has transitioned to the lead-off role) on a month-in and month-out basis.

But, on the same hand, Chipper Jones and Brian McCann are going to do a little more than, respectively, one home run and 10 RBI they posted in May.

For those reasons, I think it’s fair to postulate that the real identity of the Braves lies somewhere between their identity as the team with multiple sub-.200 hitters, as they were known in April, and the team that was, arguably, the best in the National League for the season’s second month.

My gut tells me it’s closer to the latter, though.

This is a team that should be good-to-go for a divisional/Wild Card fight if the right moves are made (i.e. losing McLouth and shuffling the outfield with some sort of call-up or trade…Ty Wigginton/Luke Scott, anyone?) as long as the staff (which should be bolstered by the return of Jair Jurrjens at some point in June) and bullpen hold up.

Now all they have to do to look “real” is get their fifth starter a W (as Kenshin Kawakami sits at 0-7 on the season)…

And now, a good (albeit unrelated) song.

(This post is also featured on SportsLeak.com)

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Does anyone else remember the hype machine surrounding Jordan Schafer from about, say, 2007 up until 50 games into the 2009 season?

The sky was the limit for this kid.

He was (and still is) a superb glove in center and has the potential from a speed/contact standpoint to turn into something resembling an above-average Major League talent.

Pretty amazing what a 50-game suspension and a broken wrist can do to a career isn’t it?

After winning the center field job in Atlanta in Spring Training ’09, Schafer promptly introduced himself to the Major League community with two home runs in the Braves’ opening series in Philadelphia.

Then, the strikeouts came (63 to be exact) over the next 50 games as Schafer saw his line plummet to an abysmal .204/.313/.287.

Hoping to remedy the problem, the Braves sent Charlie Morton, Gorkys Hernandez, and Jeff Locke to the Pittsburgh Pirates for a reigning NL All Star and gold glove recipient in Nate McLouth.

And all was good in Braves Nation…so we thought.

A .237 average and only (considering what the Braves thought they were getting) 14 homers in 129 games since joining the Braves has reduced McLouth to the No. 8 hole in Atlanta and left Atlanta looking around the outfield for an effective answer for their bat in center.

Amazing how things have sort of come full circle, huh?

Now, I think the time is fast-approaching to throw Jordan Schafer back to the wolves and to ship McLouth out of town.

You may be asking why I would suggest throwing a 23-year-old that has struggled to a .232/.319/.317 line in the minors this season into a situation that was not particularly kind to him last year with a guy with very strong potential already manning that spot.

For me, it comes down to glovework, money, and the future.

If you’re going to have a black hole in the lineup, he might as well be able to “go get ’em.”

While UZR painted McLouth as a “neutral” fielder at 0.8 and Schafer as below average at -4.0 in 2009, I think we can all recall Andruw Jones-esqe fielding prowess from Schafer last season while McLouth looked a little more like a mortal.

Or, to put this a little better, Schafer could fly around the field and get to a lot more in the field than the slightly-less-athletic McLouth. 

Add to that the fact that Schafer would be making the league minimum for what may well prove to be lackluster play as opposed to McLouth’s $5 million and the pendulum swings even further to the former No. 1 prospect in the Braves’ organization.

Oh, and let’s not forget that Schafer is still very “toolsy” and is likely to be the Opening Day starter in 2011 anyway.

Why not let him play through his issues a little more at the major league level (that’s how you have to learn)?

As I’ve been trying to say, it really couldn’t be much worse than what the Braves are currently getting.

Now, I’m not suggesting that this needs to go down today.

No, Melky Cabrera and Eric Hinske should be starting in the outfield right now along with J-Hey (both are swinging red-to white-hot bats right now) instead of the Hinske/Cabrera-McLouth-Heyward situation we’ve been seeing.

But once everyone starts leveling out a bit in terms of “playing to talent,” I think Schafer has to be the guy you look to.

Plus, if he starts to figure it out, he’s got the talent and speed that would look awfully good at No. 8 or leading off if he really works out the kinks (SomeoneFast, Prado, Heyward is scarier than Prado, Heyward, Chipper-—by a mile…and let’s remember that he drew 27 walks in 50 games which in one less than Jason Heyward’s 28 through 43 games, as a point of reference).

Nate-Dogg just isn’t doing the job for the Braves right now (and hasn’t looked comfortable at the plate in a long time).

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It wasn’t too much of surprise when 33-year-old Roy Oswalt requested a trade from the Astros last week.

After all, the Astros and their awful offense aren’t going anywhere in 2010 and the right-handed Mississippi native isn’t getting any younger.

But, what was surprising was the list of teams Oswalt offered up for teams he’d wave his no-trade clause to go to.

St. Louis, Texas, and the Atlanta Braves.

Two pitching-rich franchises with polished arms in their rotations and an up-and-coming Rangers squad not necessarily in need of a big contract?

No real fits, right?

But, the terms “contender” and “close-to-home” (Oswalt lives in Mississippi) are at least somewhat applicable to all these teams in one way or another.

And since I’m a Braves dude, this seemed like something that’d be cool to at least explore from the Braves’ perspective.

So, without further adieu, we’ll begin the “analysis.”

Oswalt is a grizzled veteran that would make any staff better.

I mean, just look at his 2.66 ERA and 60 strikeouts to 16 (yes, SIXTEEN) walks thus far this season.

Granted, the six-foot-even right-hander is just one year removed from a 4.12 ERA in 181.1 innings… but those were each the worst of his time as an Astros full-time starter (previously, his highest ERA was 3.54 and his lowest innings tally was 208.2) and back problems were abound (and there have been no reported flare-ups in ’10).

And for a guy with 139 career wins that averages 222 IP per season, $19 million isn’t too ungodly for the next two seasons.

If you can add that to the Braves’ pitching recipe to yield Hudson, Hanson, Oswalt, Lowe/Kawakami, and a healthy Jair Jurrjens, you’re bringing some serious at least four out of five days—albeit at a hefty total price tag.

And therein lies the problem with a potential trade for the Braves.

They’d have to drop one of Lowe or Kawakami to even make the cost feasible (with payroll restraints) and would be cutting into budget to further solidify a strength rather than addressing a real issue (the offense—although it has been coming around).

Additionally, the Astros owner Drayton McLane isn’t going to settle for scrubs in any deal and isn’t going to be willing to eat much (is any) salary.

So, basically, you’d be looking at letting some combination out of the crop of Schafer, Teheran, Delgado, Vizcaino, Kimbrel, Bethancourt, Salcedo, Medlen, Venters, and Cody Johnson to get away without giving up a ton .

No, there would be no Chris Resops in this sort of deal.

And that’s why I say, even though Oswalt has expressed a desire to waive his 10/5 rights to come to the Braves, it’s really not worth the cost.

Lowe has showed signs of coming around; Kawakami has pitched 100 times better than his 0-6 record; Hanson has been solid save a couple bad starts; Hudson has been phenomenal; and Medlen has filled in admirably for an ailing Jurrjens (who we all know is ace-like when healthy.

Couple that with the somewhat desperate need for a “big” bat (a la Ty Wigginton, Luke Scott, etc.), and, while he would arguably give the Braves the best rotation in baseball, Oswalt’s presence isn’t needed for the price (in monetary and farm terms) he’d come at.

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A crazy man once said “Just win, baby.”

It’s short, simple, sweet, and to the point.

It also defines perfectly what any professional team’s mindset should be on a night-in, night-out basis.

But, that simple saying spoken, from the mouth of a deranged lunatic that once called JaMarcus Russell a great quarterback, seems to be just outside of the range of comprehension for the 2010 Atlanta Braves.

Now, don’t take this as a wild rant following a 11-1 shellacking at the hands of the Arizona D-Backs.

It’s not (although that certainly helped to push this out).

This is a product of a month-and-a-half’s worth of frustration and exasperation that this Braves fan has felt and cooped up for far too long.

It has been my understanding that a team is supposed to build on what it has learned.

To rid itself of fundamental lapses that have cost them in the past so as to create a setting both on the field and in their clubhouse conducive to a winning atmosphere.

Apparently, that memo hasn’t reached someone in the Atlanta Braves’ organization.

I mean, how else do you miss a fly ball by 50 feet in outfield when you were once a gold glove recipient?

How else do you look seas in the water following an impressive four-game streak in which your team valiantly overcame deficits when needed in desperate times and flat-out rolled at others?

How else do you find yourselves relying on the same 20-year-old kid in every single pinch?

And how else are you unable to find some sort of motivation during the final season of your skipper’s reign over what used to be the most enviable team in the National League?

For me, it comes down to a few simple things.

No spirit…no fundamentals…no toughness…and no comradery.

(Now, directly at the Braves.)

How do you explain a meteoric rise and fall of what has the potential to be (and has been shown to be) a very dynamic club?

How?

Nothing has frustrated me more than looking like an idiot for supporting various peoples’ causes.

For getting my hopes up.

And for standing up for a team that I called a Wild Card favorite before the season that has amounted to a 17-19 hot mess.

The season’s not done…we still have 126 more games to go through/watch/enjoy/whatever.

If it was a level line of “don’t give a [intercourse],” it’d be one thing.

But the utter lack of enthusiasm and direction following halfway-descent runs is deflating my hopes that I had set to a pretty high level.

I’m sticking by the team ’til the end…I love the Braves too much not to.

But I’m having a harder and harder time adjusting to the turned corners only to meet brick wall after brick wall.

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