The Braves play The Dodgers Thursday in L.A. , who gets the start ?..

donm · October 2018

@WCDawg said:

@Teddy said:

@PTDawg said:

@Teddy said:

@PTDawg said:
Love the idea of getting Realmuto. Might take a king's ransom to get him within the division like that although the addition of that bat would be huge. I think an outfield of Acuna, Inciarte and Pache is absolutely sick defensively. However, my concern there is that I don't think Pache has any chance whatsoever of coming even close to Kak's production this year (I also don't think he's likely to reproduce it, either). You're going to have to get a middle of the order bat with pop from somewhere. Do they move Acuna to 4th to protect Freddie? Hope that some combo of Pache, Inciarte and Albies are able to hit 1-2? I think a move has to be made offensively somewhere.

If Inciarte could find his 2017 form next year, it’d be great to move Acuna somewhere in 2-5 spots in the lineup. Ideally Inciarte and Acuna step up, and can man the 1-2 spots, Freeman and Acuna 3rd and 4th. And Markakis’ replacement 5th (I’m guessing he won’t be re-signed as he’s probably going after his last big contract). Camargo is an option here if they don’t find someone with pop, but he’s probably more of a 6 hitter. Then that’d leave the catchers and Swanson/Culberson (almost prefer for Culberson to be the starter at this point) to round out the order.

Pretty good lineup if players live up to their potential, and of course finding someone for the 5 spot of the lineup. Feel this team is missing a couple relievers and Markakis’ replacement from being even more competitive. A better catcher/SS would just be gravy on top. But feel we can get by if the rest of the issues are addressed.

I'm guessing your first Acuna was meant to be Albies. I mean if they'll let us bat Acuna twice each time through the lineup I would agree that would be ideal!

Second “Acuna” should’ve said Albies. But yeah, I’m down for batting Acuna twice.

Why not just rotate Acuna and Freeman ? Acuna would bat 1-3-5-7-9. Freeman would bat 2-4-6-8 ...where's the downside ? You'd think this would have occurred to somebody in the 150 or so history of MLB.

Is there a... what do you call it....oh yeah, a rule against that? What happens if they both single?

PTDawg · October 2018

@donm said:

@PTDawg said:

@Teddy said:

@PTDawg said:
Love the idea of getting Realmuto. Might take a king's ransom to get him within the division like that although the addition of that bat would be huge. I think an outfield of Acuna, Inciarte and Pache is absolutely sick defensively. However, my concern there is that I don't think Pache has any chance whatsoever of coming even close to Kak's production this year (I also don't think he's likely to reproduce it, either). You're going to have to get a middle of the order bat with pop from somewhere. Do they move Acuna to 4th to protect Freddie? Hope that some combo of Pache, Inciarte and Albies are able to hit 1-2? I think a move has to be made offensively somewhere.

If Inciarte could find his 2017 form next year, it’d be great to move Acuna somewhere in 2-5 spots in the lineup. Ideally Inciarte and Acuna step up, and can man the 1-2 spots, Freeman and Acuna 3rd and 4th. And Markakis’ replacement 5th (I’m guessing he won’t be re-signed as he’s probably going after his last big contract). Camargo is an option here if they don’t find someone with pop, but he’s probably more of a 6 hitter. Then that’d leave the catchers and Swanson/Culberson (almost prefer for Culberson to be the starter at this point) to round out the order.

Pretty good lineup if players live up to their potential, and of course finding someone for the 5 spot of the lineup. Feel this team is missing a couple relievers and Markakis’ replacement from being even more competitive. A better catcher/SS would just be gravy on top. But feel we can get by if the rest of the issues are addressed.

I'm guessing your first Acuna was meant to be Albies. I mean if they'll let us bat Acuna twice each time through the lineup I would agree that would be ideal!

Plus I think Acuna has already stepped up and will step higher in coming years.

Totally agree. I think he has to be viewed as a heart of the order bat moving forward. Batting him 2nd like the Nationals have done some with Harper could be interesting, but you can only do that if you have the bats behind him at 4, 5, 6 to lengthen the lineup.

Teddy · October 2018

@donm said:

@WCDawg said:

@Teddy said:

@PTDawg said:

@Teddy said:

@PTDawg said:
Love the idea of getting Realmuto. Might take a king's ransom to get him within the division like that although the addition of that bat would be huge. I think an outfield of Acuna, Inciarte and Pache is absolutely sick defensively. However, my concern there is that I don't think Pache has any chance whatsoever of coming even close to Kak's production this year (I also don't think he's likely to reproduce it, either). You're going to have to get a middle of the order bat with pop from somewhere. Do they move Acuna to 4th to protect Freddie? Hope that some combo of Pache, Inciarte and Albies are able to hit 1-2? I think a move has to be made offensively somewhere.

If Inciarte could find his 2017 form next year, it’d be great to move Acuna somewhere in 2-5 spots in the lineup. Ideally Inciarte and Acuna step up, and can man the 1-2 spots, Freeman and Acuna 3rd and 4th. And Markakis’ replacement 5th (I’m guessing he won’t be re-signed as he’s probably going after his last big contract). Camargo is an option here if they don’t find someone with pop, but he’s probably more of a 6 hitter. Then that’d leave the catchers and Swanson/Culberson (almost prefer for Culberson to be the starter at this point) to round out the order.

Pretty good lineup if players live up to their potential, and of course finding someone for the 5 spot of the lineup. Feel this team is missing a couple relievers and Markakis’ replacement from being even more competitive. A better catcher/SS would just be gravy on top. But feel we can get by if the rest of the issues are addressed.

I'm guessing your first Acuna was meant to be Albies. I mean if they'll let us bat Acuna twice each time through the lineup I would agree that would be ideal!

Second “Acuna” should’ve said Albies. But yeah, I’m down for batting Acuna twice.

Why not just rotate Acuna and Freeman ? Acuna would bat 1-3-5-7-9. Freeman would bat 2-4-6-8 ...where's the downside ? You'd think this would have occurred to somebody in the 150 or so history of MLB.

Is there a... what do you call it....oh yeah, a rule against that? What happens if they both single?

Ghost runners, duh. Just like backyard baseball.

Kirbstomper · October 2018

that's going to be a big decision for the Bravos next year...what the heck to do about Julio. Would not be surprised to see him dealt away by spring training. Not sure what they could get for him...maybe we can fool Arizona again? In an aside, I'm wondering about Swanson. I fear he'll never be an above average hitter and some of those "advanced metrics" I've seen have him in the bottom third of SSs defensively. I know he does get
As for next year, Can Camargo play OF? Wouldn't mind seeing him replace Markakis and bring up Austin Reily. I love Markakis but not sure he is worth $10 million a year at 35. Not sure if we has found the fountain of youth or a one off year. We do need to find a long term solution for Catcher.

Camargo is an excellent defensive 3B. If they want riley in the lineup it would be Riley moving to the outfield most likely. Plus camargo is slow, so it isn’t like he would be likely to turn into a strong defensive outfielder.

donm · October 2018

@Kirbstomper said:

that's going to be a big decision for the Bravos next year...what the heck to do about Julio. Would not be surprised to see him dealt away by spring training. Not sure what they could get for him...maybe we can fool Arizona again? In an aside, I'm wondering about Swanson. I fear he'll never be an above average hitter and some of those "advanced metrics" I've seen have him in the bottom third of SSs defensively. I know he does get
As for next year, Can Camargo play OF? Wouldn't mind seeing him replace Markakis and bring up Austin Reily. I love Markakis but not sure he is worth $10 million a year at 35. Not sure if we has found the fountain of youth or a one off year. We do need to find a long term solution for Catcher.

Camargo is an excellent defensive 3B. If they want riley in the lineup it would be Riley moving to the outfield most likely. Plus camargo is slow, so it isn’t like he would be likely to turn into a strong defensive outfielder.

Camargo is slow? I think not. Austin Reilly is slow.

Kirbstomper · October 2018

Camargo is slow? I think not. Austin Reilly is slow.

Not sure about how well Riley moves, but no Camagrgo actually is slow. Here is evidence

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/sprint_speed_leaderboard?year=2018&position=&team=ATL&min=10

donm · October 2018

@Kirbstomper said:

Camargo is slow? I think not. Austin Reilly is slow.

Not sure about how well Riley moves, but no Camagrgo actually is slow. Here is evidence

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/sprint_speed_leaderboard?year=2018&position=&team=ATL&min=10

Hmm. One possible flaw I see is on extra base hits runners don’t always go full speed when they see the play won’t be close. Same deal scoring from second. I’d go along more with infield hits which are likely full out efforts. Finally, Camargo may not be as fast as I thought. Good research on your part.

Kirbstomper · October 2018

Hmm. One possible flaw I see is on extra base hits runners don’t always go full speed when they see the play won’t be close. Same deal scoring from second. I’d go along more with infield hits which are likely full out efforts. Finally, Camargo may not be as fast as I thought. Good research on your part.

MLB has stats for everything. If you’re interested in who’s leading the league in bathroom breaks per game I’m sure there’s a stat out there for it.

WCDawg · October 2018

@donm said:

@WCDawg said:

@Teddy said:

@PTDawg said:

@Teddy said:

@PTDawg said:
Love the idea of getting Realmuto. Might take a king's ransom to get him within the division like that although the addition of that bat would be huge. I think an outfield of Acuna, Inciarte and Pache is absolutely sick defensively. However, my concern there is that I don't think Pache has any chance whatsoever of coming even close to Kak's production this year (I also don't think he's likely to reproduce it, either). You're going to have to get a middle of the order bat with pop from somewhere. Do they move Acuna to 4th to protect Freddie? Hope that some combo of Pache, Inciarte and Albies are able to hit 1-2? I think a move has to be made offensively somewhere.

If Inciarte could find his 2017 form next year, it’d be great to move Acuna somewhere in 2-5 spots in the lineup. Ideally Inciarte and Acuna step up, and can man the 1-2 spots, Freeman and Acuna 3rd and 4th. And Markakis’ replacement 5th (I’m guessing he won’t be re-signed as he’s probably going after his last big contract). Camargo is an option here if they don’t find someone with pop, but he’s probably more of a 6 hitter. Then that’d leave the catchers and Swanson/Culberson (almost prefer for Culberson to be the starter at this point) to round out the order.

Pretty good lineup if players live up to their potential, and of course finding someone for the 5 spot of the lineup. Feel this team is missing a couple relievers and Markakis’ replacement from being even more competitive. A better catcher/SS would just be gravy on top. But feel we can get by if the rest of the issues are addressed.

I'm guessing your first Acuna was meant to be Albies. I mean if they'll let us bat Acuna twice each time through the lineup I would agree that would be ideal!

Second “Acuna” should’ve said Albies. But yeah, I’m down for batting Acuna twice.

Why not just rotate Acuna and Freeman ? Acuna would bat 1-3-5-7-9. Freeman would bat 2-4-6-8 ...where's the downside ? You'd think this would have occurred to somebody in the 150 or so history of MLB.

Is there a... what do you call it....oh yeah, a rule against that? What happens if they both single?

Rules are for droolers. These guys don't run bases, we've got 7 starters to do the leg work.

donm · October 2018

@WCDawg said:

@donm said:

@WCDawg said:

@Teddy said:

@PTDawg said:

@Teddy said:

@PTDawg said:
Love the idea of getting Realmuto. Might take a king's ransom to get him within the division like that although the addition of that bat would be huge. I think an outfield of Acuna, Inciarte and Pache is absolutely sick defensively. However, my concern there is that I don't think Pache has any chance whatsoever of coming even close to Kak's production this year (I also don't think he's likely to reproduce it, either). You're going to have to get a middle of the order bat with pop from somewhere. Do they move Acuna to 4th to protect Freddie? Hope that some combo of Pache, Inciarte and Albies are able to hit 1-2? I think a move has to be made offensively somewhere.

If Inciarte could find his 2017 form next year, it’d be great to move Acuna somewhere in 2-5 spots in the lineup. Ideally Inciarte and Acuna step up, and can man the 1-2 spots, Freeman and Acuna 3rd and 4th. And Markakis’ replacement 5th (I’m guessing he won’t be re-signed as he’s probably going after his last big contract). Camargo is an option here if they don’t find someone with pop, but he’s probably more of a 6 hitter. Then that’d leave the catchers and Swanson/Culberson (almost prefer for Culberson to be the starter at this point) to round out the order.

Pretty good lineup if players live up to their potential, and of course finding someone for the 5 spot of the lineup. Feel this team is missing a couple relievers and Markakis’ replacement from being even more competitive. A better catcher/SS would just be gravy on top. But feel we can get by if the rest of the issues are addressed.

I'm guessing your first Acuna was meant to be Albies. I mean if they'll let us bat Acuna twice each time through the lineup I would agree that would be ideal!

Second “Acuna” should’ve said Albies. But yeah, I’m down for batting Acuna twice.

Why not just rotate Acuna and Freeman ? Acuna would bat 1-3-5-7-9. Freeman would bat 2-4-6-8 ...where's the downside ? You'd think this would have occurred to somebody in the 150 or so history of MLB.

Is there a... what do you call it....oh yeah, a rule against that? What happens if they both single?

Rules are for droolers. These guys don't run bases, we've got 7 starters to do the leg work.

Now I get it...a bit slow, sorry. The guys who run, do they start by standing behind the umpire?

WCDawg · October 2018

@donm said:

@WCDawg said:

@donm said:

@WCDawg said:

@Teddy said:

@PTDawg said:

@Teddy said:

@PTDawg said:
Love the idea of getting Realmuto. Might take a king's ransom to get him within the division like that although the addition of that bat would be huge. I think an outfield of Acuna, Inciarte and Pache is absolutely sick defensively. However, my concern there is that I don't think Pache has any chance whatsoever of coming even close to Kak's production this year (I also don't think he's likely to reproduce it, either). You're going to have to get a middle of the order bat with pop from somewhere. Do they move Acuna to 4th to protect Freddie? Hope that some combo of Pache, Inciarte and Albies are able to hit 1-2? I think a move has to be made offensively somewhere.

If Inciarte could find his 2017 form next year, it’d be great to move Acuna somewhere in 2-5 spots in the lineup. Ideally Inciarte and Acuna step up, and can man the 1-2 spots, Freeman and Acuna 3rd and 4th. And Markakis’ replacement 5th (I’m guessing he won’t be re-signed as he’s probably going after his last big contract). Camargo is an option here if they don’t find someone with pop, but he’s probably more of a 6 hitter. Then that’d leave the catchers and Swanson/Culberson (almost prefer for Culberson to be the starter at this point) to round out the order.

Pretty good lineup if players live up to their potential, and of course finding someone for the 5 spot of the lineup. Feel this team is missing a couple relievers and Markakis’ replacement from being even more competitive. A better catcher/SS would just be gravy on top. But feel we can get by if the rest of the issues are addressed.

I'm guessing your first Acuna was meant to be Albies. I mean if they'll let us bat Acuna twice each time through the lineup I would agree that would be ideal!

Second “Acuna” should’ve said Albies. But yeah, I’m down for batting Acuna twice.

Why not just rotate Acuna and Freeman ? Acuna would bat 1-3-5-7-9. Freeman would bat 2-4-6-8 ...where's the downside ? You'd think this would have occurred to somebody in the 150 or so history of MLB.

Is there a... what do you call it....oh yeah, a rule against that? What happens if they both single?

Rules are for droolers. These guys don't run bases, we've got 7 starters to do the leg work.

Now I get it...a bit slow, sorry. The guys who run, do they start by standing behind the umpire?

The other 7 ''starters'' do the normal defensive fielding stuff, plus they run bases, yell at umpires and keep our hitters company in the dugout.

WCDawg · October 2018

On a slightly more serious note. I did some research on how our hitters have performed in August and September.
Without further ado...

August
Acuna - 1.106 OPS
Culberson - 1.086 OPS
Camargo - .869 OPS
Freeman - .791 OPS
Inciarte - .787 OPS
Swanson - .716 OPS
Suzuki - .705 OPS
Markakis - .695 OPS
Flowers - .656 OPS
Albies - .606 OPS

September
Suzuki - .915 OPS
Acuna - .907 OPS
Freeman - .856 OPS
Inciarte - .778 OPS
Camargo - .747 OPS
Albies - .656 OPS
Sawnson - .653 OPS
Markakis - .646 OPS
Flowers - .637 OPS
Culberson .583 OPS

Your comments are welcome.

AnotherDawg · October 2018

@Teddy said:

Also, I was interested in the breakdown of the Braves payroll, and if I'm reading this right, Adrian Gonzalez and Scott Kazmir make up about 30% of the Braves 2018 payroll... https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/atlanta-braves/payroll/

The true disparity is even greater than that, as you hinted at in your reference to A-Gon and Kazmir eating up 30% of our salary. Total salary for active players on each roster:

Braves $91M
Dodgers $196M

Let that sink in.

I love the Braves. Been a fan since the Dale Murphy era and was in the stands for several playoff games in the 90's, including the World Series Gm6 victory in 1995. This season has been fun. and I'm thrilled with the state of our franchise in terms of the talent/youth. But the likelihood is that we go nowhere this post-season.

Frankly I don't think we win another World Series until an individual owner (Ted Turner/Arthur Blank type) buys the team from Liberty. The foundation we have is fantastic, but you have to be able to make key FA acquisitions, both in the offseason and at the trade deadline, to go the distance. Think Greg Maddux (signed in the 1992 offseason after winning his first Cy Young with Chicago- then won three in a row with Atlanta) and Fred McGriff (acquired at the trade deadline in 1993, finished 4th in the MVP voting with 37 HR & 101 RBI), respectively. Liberty is unwilling to spend that kind of money. There is no incentive for them.

I'm not aware that Liberty is looking to sell, but the Braves would be a great investment right now, so I hope someone comes along and makes an offer they can't refuse. The sooner the better.

Kirbstomper · October 2018

Think Greg Maddux (signed in the 1992 offseason after winning his first Cy Young with Chicago- then won three in a row with Atlanta) and Fred McGriff (acquired at the trade deadline in 1993, finished 4th in the MVP voting with 37 HR & 101 RBI), respectively. Liberty is unwilling to spend that kind of money. There is no incentive for them.

I'm not aware that Liberty is looking to sell, but the Braves would be a great investment right now, so I hope someone comes along and makes an offer they can't refuse. The sooner the better.

Well they didn’t really plan to get here this year in my opinion, so taking on that dead money was a calculated move to free up some 2019 cash. This off season, when we have a ton of cash come off the books, we will be able to afford any individual player we target (Harper or machado for example). The question will be more of “is it a good idea to sign them for X dollars given our middle of the pack payroll”. We have seen that a couple big bad contracts can cripple our chances for sustained success and the front office is very cognizant of that fact.

Also liberty does not have any say on the Braves operations, I’ve linked some stuff on this before and can dig it up again if you want. The Braves make all baseball decisions, like not trading for machado this trade deadline for example. It’s true that ownership isn’t going to give the team 30M to spend on free agents like Ted Turner could have, so yeah it would be awesome if a guy like that wanted to buy the team and run it like that. But that’s kind of wishful thinking.

TLDR we can’t really blame ownership for making or not making moves.

WCDawg · October 2018

@Kirbstomper said:
Think Greg Maddux (signed in the 1992 offseason after winning his first Cy Young with Chicago- then won three in a row with Atlanta) and Fred McGriff (acquired at the trade deadline in 1993, finished 4th in the MVP voting with 37 HR & 101 RBI), respectively. Liberty is unwilling to spend that kind of money. There is no incentive for them.

I'm not aware that Liberty is looking to sell, but the Braves would be a great investment right now, so I hope someone comes along and makes an offer they can't refuse. The sooner the better.

Well they didn’t really plan to get here this year in my opinion, so taking on that dead money was a calculated move to free up some 2019 cash. This off season, when we have a ton of cash come off the books, we will be able to afford any individual player we target (Harper or machado for example). The question will be more of “is it a good idea to sign them for X dollars given our middle of the pack payroll”. We have seen that a couple big bad contracts can cripple our chances for sustained success and the front office is very cognizant of that fact.

Also liberty does not have any say on the Braves operations, I’ve linked some stuff on this before and can dig it up again if you want. The Braves make all baseball decisions, like not trading for machado this trade deadline for example. It’s true that ownership isn’t going to give the team 30M to spend on free agents like Ted Turner could have, so yeah it would be awesome if a guy like that wanted to buy the team and run it like that. But that’s kind of wishful thinking.

TLDR we can’t really blame ownership for making or not making moves.

I think it's s wink and a nod paper charge off only. I don't think The Braves paid those players.
still, it counts against the payroll. Liberty will use every tax dodge it can conjure, they literally made more on the tax break than the price of the team when the bought the team. The deal with Cobb will probably net over a billion dollars.

The Braves play The Dodgers Thursday in L.A. , who gets the start ?..

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