Mark Teixeira to the Braves?...that and other possible trades

Jon Heyman over at Sports Illustrated has an interesting article on the upcoming trade deadline and the players that he thinks will be traded and where. There is a few people on his lists that I have heard rumored to be going to the Braves, so I thought i'd break it down real quick for everyone.

1. Mark Teixeira, 1B (Texas)

AVG: .299
HR: 13
RBI: 49

The Skinny:

Mark Teixeira is one of the best young, power-hitting first baseman in baseball right now and seeing as how the Rangers aren't going anywhere for awhile and they probably won't be able to afford him after this year, the likelihood that he will be traded is extremely high. Teixeira's name has been linked to blockbuster deals to the Atlanta Braves in which the would have to give up top prospect Jarrod Saltalamacchia and the Los Angeles Angels in which they would have to give up Casey Kotchman, a fellow first baseman. The only question that remains are these teams willing to give up two or three top prospects in exchange for someone who could walk after next season and command $13 million a year?

Best Guess:

My gut instinct is that Teixeira will be a Brave by time the trade deadline on July 31st ends, I mean the Angels or any team for that matter just can't match what the Braves could give the Rangers, Salty is widely regarded as the top catching prospect in baseball and is a switch-hitter just like Teixeira that has a ton of power and then include a pitching prospect and or our seventeen year-old kid at shortstop, Elvis Andrus. I just don't see how other teams can match that.

But i'm not too sure if I want this trade to go down or not, sure Teixeira is a great talent and our first baseman combo of the Mighty Thor and the 789 year-old Julio Franco is currently giving us shit, it makes sense. But I really like Salty and I don't want to see him go, I'd prefer we move him to the first base instead of trading him, I just don't want to see us trade him for Teixeira and then see Teixeira leave a couple of years later like everyone always seems to do. But even if we do trade him **most likely going to happen** I just hope we can re-sign Teixeira and keep him for awhile.

Some other players that we've been linked to are:

Livan Hernandez, SP (Arizona)
Zack Greinke, SP/RP (Kansas City)
Matt Morris, SP (San Francisco)
Steve Kline, RP (San Francisco)
Jon Garland, SP (Chicago [AL] )

Just some recent Braves' rumors

Well with the trade deadline quickly approaching there have been a few trade rumors floating around out there involving my Atlanta Braves. So I thought I'd take this time to mention a few of them.

1. Mark Buehrle to the Braves

It was widely said that the Braves were one of the biggest suitors for the very talented starter. But all of that was thrown out the window when the Chicago White Sox gave him a new fat contract. That pretty much ended all speculation of Buehrle to the Braves. But what was Kenny Williams asking price? A new report stated that Williams wanted Atlanta to give up Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Yunel Escobar. That's just plain insane seeing as how both of them are proving day in and day out that they can hit professional ball and to add more to that they are two of our top prospects, Salty being our number one. j

2. Mark Teixeira to the Braves

This one may still have legs to it. Teixeira is still on the disabled list but he's having a pretty good year and everyone knows what he can do, he's a .300 hitter that can hit 35 plus homeruns with 100 plus RBI's. That could really help our current problem at first base and our lack of power. But there's always a catch. First of all we would have to give up no less than Jarrod Saltalamacchia and another young prospect to get him and at this point I don't want to get rid of Salty, were going to lose Andruw at the end of the year and his power will come in handy. Another snag is the fact that Teixeira is going to be a free-agent after next year and his agent is Scott Boras so he's looking at getting at least $20 million per year. And yet another problem is Teixeira has made it known that he would love to play for his hometown team which is Baltimore so he seems like he would just be more of a rental than anything else, but if he did then we would get some very valuable draft picks.

I don't know exactly what were going to do when the trade deadline comes up, which is about three weeks away, but I have a strong feeling that we are going to get a starter. Now who that starter will be, well I don't know. Here's a list of starters that are said to be available:

Matt Morris, San Francisco Giants

Kyle Lohse, Cincinnati Reds

Jason Jennings, Houston Astros

John Garland, Chicago White Sox

Jose Contreras, Chicago White Sox

Odalis Perez, Kansas City Royals

Steve Trachsel, Baltimore Orioles

Joe Kennedy, Oakland Athletics

Wade Miller, Chicago Cubs (injured, on the 60-day DL)

Josh Fogg, Colorado Rockies

Brett Tomko, Los Angeles Dodgers

That's a few of the names that are being tossed around, of course there is always Rich Harden, but he's injured right now and could cost a pretty penny seeing as how he's a Cy Young pitcher when healthy. I'd love to have him even with injury risk, that is if he didn't cost us too much. We've been mentioned with Matt Morris as of late, and I do have to admit he's have a nice start to his season, but I just don't think he'll keep it up and plus I believe he makes around $10 million this year. If we're going to get a starter from San Francisco I'd want it to be Kyle Lowry, but that's just me. I also would have multiple seizures if we were to trade for Carl Crawford or Alex Rios.

That's a helluva an award

According to ESPN, the Seattle Mariners and Ichiro Suzuki (yes I forget he has a last name too) are close to agreeing on a new deal that would pay him around $120 million over five years and he would get a significant yearly pay raise, he's making $10 million and he would be getting around $20 million.

This is a hell of a reward seeing as how Ichiro won the All-Star MVP tonight as he became the first person in history to hit an inside the park homerun during the All-Star game. And from what he said it was the first time he's ever hit one. I won't go into too much detail about the All-Star game, Davey has already handled that quite nicely over at Blown Coverage. But here's a quick run-down of everything you need to know about the game.

1. The game was really boring in my opinion.

2. I take that back, well kind of, the bottom of the ninth inning was very entertaining, I haven't seen someone with such bad facial get beaten up like that since Bruce Vilanch hacked off that muskrat on his face that he called a beard.

3. I don't get what LaRussa was drinking when he made that lineup...um...too soon? Fuck it..that was a weak lineup! Bond's hitting second?!? Carlos Beltran hitting 3rd?!? Prince Fielder, the guy who is leading the national league in homeruns with 29, hitting 6th?!? Been boozing up lately there Tony?

4. This doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the actual game but I want to trade for Alex Rios, really bad. I've been a big fan of him for a while now and I think he would look great in Atlanta and seeing his performance, yes I know it was just a Homerun Derby but I don't care. We've got to find a way to get him.

All I can say about that contract is damn! If Ichiro is going to be pulling down that then there is no way in hell we're going to be able to hold on to Andruw Jones after this year. Looks like the "Jones' Boys" will be no more. A sad sad day for Braves fans everywhere.

UPDATE: Well this story is starting to make it's rounds lately and apparently the total contact is closer to $100 million to the $120 I said earlier.

Chipper and Smoltz make up...hopefully we'll start winning

As many may have noticed, i haven't been posting too much as of late, sure me moving was a very big part, but even more so was the fact that it's been embarrassing to be a Braves fan right now. I mean it's not just the fact that they're losing, we're getting humiliated, shut out like every day. It's very disheartening. And when news broke a few days ago that my two favorite players, and our two leaders were fighting, well let's just say it was the icing on the cake.

Apparently Chipper Jones and John Smoltz were taking their frustrations out on each other, mostly caused by losing im sure, and well Smoltz talked to the media and kind of insinuated that he wished Chipper would play more and maybe his injuries were as bad as it seemed. Well Chipper, obviously didn't take this well and fired back at Smoltz through the media too. Words were exchanged for about two days but I highly doubt fisticuffs ensued.

But after the two days of going at each other through the media, Chipper, Smoltz and Bobby Cox sat down, face-to-face and worked out their problems. So all seems to be fine in Atlanta, well you know except for the whole shitting themselves every night thing.

"Total misunderstanding," said Smoltz, making a brief comment to the media and not taking questions. "It's over with. There won't be a problem the rest of the time we're teammates."

Jones was more verbose. He said he apologized to Smoltz for his reaction to what he thought was Smoltz singling him out for sitting out Friday's game.

"Obviously there was a misunderstanding and I apologized to him for my comments in [Saturday's] interviews," Jones said. "He assured me that he wasn't singling me out. And that was pretty much it."

More comments from the two after the jump to the AJC.

Look out John McGraw....heeeere's Bobby

During the ninth inning of yet another loss by the Atlanta Braves, Braves manager, Bobby Cox was ejected for the 131st time tying him with John McGraw for the all-time record. Cox was ejected after coming to the aid of Braves catcher, Brian McCann, who had been ejected moments before for arguing a called third strike with home umpire Chad Fairchild. And just like Bobby he wasn't concerned with the record in the least bit.

"He was our only [bleeping] catcher we had left," said Cox, who had used backup catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia as a pinch-hitter.

The Braves went on to lose the game, 2-1 as the Detroit Tiger's flamethrower, Justin Verlander lived up to his name with improving to 9-2 on the season and throwing 100+ MPH late in the game. Chipper Jones, who hit his 13th homerun, which leads the team, on the season was amazed with Verlander's velocity.
"My god, that guy's throwing 100 miles an hour in the sixth inning," Jones said. "You're not going to mount much against him. It's really tough for the best hitters in baseball to put that in play consistently."

And on a side note, Andruw Jones continues to piss me off more than I thought was possible, as his batting average has officially fallen under the "Mendoza line" which is .200. Druw is hitting .198 with 11 homeruns and 42 RBIs. Shit who knows maybe this is a blessing in disguise, seeing as how him sucking is a huge understatement and this being his contract year, maybe we can afford to re-sign him now. But then again maybe we'll still end up trading him, to the whitesox possibly...

Also see this story on the Fanhouse and AJC.com

Finally a trade...too bad it won't have that much impact

Finally a post

According to many sites, the Braves have acquired left-handed pitcher, Wilfredo Ledezma from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for left-handed pitcher, Macay McBride. I don't really know what this does for the Braves because the pitchers are both having similar seasons...but maybe a change of scenery will do them both some good.

Braves activate Chipper Jones from the DL, but still lose

The Atlanta Braves activated third baseman, Chipper Jones from the disabled list. Jones was originally put on the DL after a nasty collision on May 11th with Pirates' third baseman, Jose Bautista. Jones landed hard on both wrists and his shoulder and was down for some time, but he was able to stay in the game. He didn't play much after that and the Braves were eventually forced to put him on the DL with bruised wrists.

In his place, rookie Yunel Escobar shined and really upped his trade value, if we are to trade, which many people believe we are. Chipper was activated today and was in the lineup against the Minnesota Twins. Bobby Cox decided to let Chipper DH that way he could rest and still keep his bat in the lineup.

Chipper was great as he went 3-4, but sadly the Braves as a whole were not. We lost to Carlos Silva, who just became a father, and the Twins, 6-0 and it will be awfully difficult to avoid the sweep as the Twins will have Johan Santana on the mound tomorrow, but luckily we have Tim Hudson so hopefully he's the good Huddy and we don't get swept.

A little Q & A with Jarrod Saltalamacchia

Atlanta Braves future Super Star and current catcher/please move him to first so he can play everyday, Jarrod Saltalamacchia had an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and here it is...

Q. Was your first month in the majors everything you hoped it would be?

A. Yeah, everything and more. Everybody's dreamed about being up here, obviously. And it's been everything I hoped for.

Q. Anything been different than what you expected?

A. It's hard to say. Because you expect so much, and then when you get here, you kind of forget half the stuff you expected. The plane flights are great; it's a lot better than the bus rides you were taking [in the minors]. And just showing up and playing the game — you don't have to be out at 2 o'clock for stretching and stuff like that. They treat you like adults up here, and that's awesome.

Q. The [postgame food] spread isn't bad either, huh?

A. [Saltalamacchia laughs.] Yeah, the spread ain't bad. I've got to stay away from the spread.

Q. Since you first got here, a lot of people noticed how comfortable and confident you look for a rookie in his first call-up. Is that something that you've always had? How do you maintain that, up here playing against guys you've grown up watching?

A. I've always been confident, but I've never felt like, 'Oh, I'm just as good as Chipper Jones.' But a lot of people have told me, you look like you feel that way. I guess sometimes that can get you into trouble because some guys look at you the wrong way and think, 'Oh, this kid's just a cocky little rookie.' But that's not it at all. I listen to everyone and I take everything in. I think that by listening to what other guys have been through, that's what's helped make me look a little more comfortable.

Q. Has that confidence or swagger helped you through the years, helped you get here? Terry Pendleton said that's what it takes to succeed at this level.

A. Yeah, I think so, without a doubt. That's big. I mean, if you don't have any confidence, you can't play the game the right way.

Q. Has your initial success in your first month, some two-hit games, has that helped make you more confident? Or did you come up here knowing you were good enough to play here right now?

A. I think it was very important. Everyone always tells you the big leagues is such a big jump; which it is. To come in and hit the ball like I have, I mean that's a huge confidence level. If you're 0-for-20, you start to doubt yourself. That's what I think happened to me in Double-A [he hit .230 with nine homers and 39 RBIs in an injury-plagued 2006 season at Mississippi]. I started to doubt myself. That's something you can't do. I'm glad I went through that then, instead of going through it now.

Q. If you look at what you did last season, and compare it to what you're doing now, some people are probably asking, how in the world did this guy hit .230 in Double-A? So, how did you?

A. You kind of get yourself in a hole. I mean, whether it was the [injured] wrist that got me in a hole or whatever, I just kind of got into it and it's tough to get out of it. In the second half, I didn't over-pressure myself, just said, 'I'm gonna do what I'm gonna do.' That helped a lot.

Q. Some other young Braves, like Jeff Francoeur and Brian McCann, have actually hit better in their first year in the majors than they did in the minors. Does that have to do with the coaching up here, with Bobby Cox's managerial style, with guys you're surrounded by up here, or what?

A. I think it has to do with everything — the manager, the ballparks, the fans, lights, pitchers are around the plate more ... everything. I mean, they take care of you up here, whereas in the minor leagues you don't get taken care of as well. It's just a fight, a dog-eat-dog world down there. Up here, everyone's a little more relaxed, feeling a little more comfortable. It's a lot easier to play the game that way.

Q. How is the clubhouse atmosphere here, with the veterans sprinkled in with all the young guys closer to your age?

A. It's great. I mean it's tough because you get in situations where I've played with Brian and Francoeur and all those guys, and they are my age, but you still have to look at them as veterans. To us, they're veterans. You've just got to listen to everybody. And that's something I've done. I've listened to Andruw [Jones], Brian, Frenchy, all of them. They've been through it already, so you listen to what they say, and hopefully a couple of years from now somebody will be listening to me.

Q. Chipper being a switch-hitter, has he been able to help you any?

A. He's been huge for me. When you're not playing every day it's tough, you start to doubt your swing and stuff if you have a bad day in [batting practice]. I've talked to Chipper and done some stuff with him to make me get better. He's been there. He's great.

Q. You've taken a lot of ground balls at first base the last couple of years. Was it good to finally get in there to play the position recently in the game at Chicago, to get the yips out of the way early?

A. Yeah, I think that's exactly what it was [Saltalamacchia briefly bobbled the first grounder hit to him as a first baseman and made a throwing error on the second ball hit to him]. I don't know what the plans are; I just know I'm going to keep taking ground balls and do whatever they tell me to do. I feel comfortable over there.

Q. The Braves already have a young catcher [McCann]. You've said before you don't care what position you play, as long as you're in the majors. Is that still the case?

A. Yeah. I don't care what position they put me in. I just want to be here and help the team out as much as I can.

Q. And you'd prefer to stay in this organization?

A. Yeah, I'd love to stay a Brave. I have no control over that, which [stinks]. But whatever's going to help my career and make them happy.

I was just slightly off my prediction

Earlier I mentioned that the Braves were getting abused without remorse to the Chicago Cubs, well it didn't get any better, we ended up losing 9-1. Thanks in large part to Alfonso Soriano, he hit three homeruns in the game, all before the fifth inning. But for some reason, after the fourth, we figured out how to pitch to him as he was unable to crush another to tie the all-time single game record which is four, held by multiple players but the only ones I can think of are Shawn Green, Mike Cameron and....yeah that's all, holy shit this sentence just keeps on going doesn't it? Finally it ended.

Long story short, the Braves are playing about as well as California's Justice system, Ba-Zing! And pitchers like Lance Cormier aren't helping, he's currently sporting a 15.26 to go along with an 0-2 record, and yes, it's very hard to continue to defend my team against assholes, er I mean good friends of mine that happen to be fans of other teams....that get facials from amphibians, and I don't mean with apricot scrub. But I do love how Bobby Cox can still be optimistic during our recent plummet, ok, to say we're plummeting is harsh, we're still in second place, but we're playing like shit with out Chipper Jones and it's beginning to get real old, at this point I'd rather sit through a "Golden Girls" marathon.

"Cormier was just a little bit here, a little bit there," Cox said.

"The stuff's there. It's there. It's just, he's rusty."

Sure Bobby, let's go with that, I personally would've phrased it differently but that's just me. All I can do right now is get in the fetal position and weather the storm, hopefully this slump passes through and we get back on track. And Chipper comes back at 100%.

I think it's time to meet the future Mrs. Francoeur

Well the Atlanta Braves are currently getting their asses handed to them by the Cubs, yes the Cubs, well mostly just Alfonso Soriano, who continues to destroy the Braves and kill me a little more inside. He just hit his second homerun of the game, but at least they were both solo shots. Then again Cormier is still pitching, so he's surely to give up at least 14 more. Yeah, he's that bad.

Atlanta Braves right fielder, Jeff Francoeur got engaged earlier this year, to a girl by the name of Catie McCoy. Well, she's a college sophomore at Georgia University and she has her own web page. Here is a little about Catie McCoy, the soon to be Catie Francoeur.

My name is Catie McCoy. I am a sohomore at the University of Georgia. I am majoring in English Education and minoring in Mass Communications. I am a member of Alpha Omicron Pi sorority and participate in other various activities here at UGA. This is a website for my online@UGA class. I am hoping to give you a little glimpse into my life, as well as show you the project I've been working on for class. I am just learning how to do this website stuff, so excuse the mistakes!

Have a GREAT day :)

GO DAWGS!!!

There's a few pictures of her, her friends and her family, it looks like Frenchy got him a nice church girl, niice.

Here is the link to Katies Web Page, again.

Atlanta Braves 2007 MLB Draft (rounds 1-5)

The fifth round of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft has just wrapped up, and I have to say, at first I wasn't very thrilled with how the Braves had done thus far, at least not right away, But after looking at some of their profiles and their scouting reports I started to come around. I'm still not sold on some prospects, like our third round picks, I just don't see why we would take them. We definitely passed up on a lot of great prospects and in return drafted some mediocre prospects according to scouting reports, scouting videos and hearsay that i've been able to find.

After doing some more research and talking with people who have first hand knowledge, our first three picks are actually pretty good, granted our third round pick I might've done differently but hey, that's just me. But alas, here are our first seven prospects that we drafted.

Side Note: These great player profiles come courtesy of MLB.com

1st round (14th overall):

Jason Heyward

Height: 6'4"
Weight: 220
Birth Date: 8/09/89
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
School: Henry County HS (McDonough, GA)
Position: Outfield and First Base



Hitting Ability: Heyward is a strong, left-handed hitter with the chance to hit for average and power.

Power: His best tool. He's got tremendous power and power potential from the left side.

Running Speed: Close to average. He's not a speedster, but he won't clog up the bases, either.

Arm Strength: Near average, but should develop average arm strength with a good long-tossing program.

Fielding: Heyward plays center for his high school team, but will likely be a left fielder or first baseman at the next level. He's average defensively overall.

Range: He's got average range. He's not a stiff, but won't win any gold gloves.

Baseball Instinct: He's got very good baseball instincts.

Physical Description: Heyward is a big strong, power-hitting lefty at age 17.

Medical Update: Healthy

Strengths: Power potential from the left side, approach at the plate.

Weaknesses: Some think he can be too patient at times, but that could be the result of not seeing any good pitches. He also may be limited to left field or first base.

Summary: Heyward is one of the most intriguing high school bats in the draft class. He's got legitimate power potential from the left side, always a hot commodity, but isn't an all-or-nothing hitter. He's got a good approach at the plate and has the chance to hit for average and power. If the cards fall right, he could be a future cleanup hitter.

My Grade: A+

Supplemental Round (33rd overall):

Jon Gilmore

Height: 6'3"
Weight: 190
Birthdate: 8/23/88
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
School: Iowa City HS (Iowa City, IA)
Position: Third Base



Hitting Ability: Gilmore showed a better approach at the plate during this showcase than he had in the past. He adjusted well to offspeed stuff and showed good extension through the zone.

Power: Gilmore has projectable raw power.

Running Speed: He's a below-average runner.

Arm Strength: Gilmore's arm seemed tired or labored during the showcase.

Fielding: Gilmore was a little slow defensively with an almost casual approach.

Range: The lack of quickness showed and his range was limited.

Physical Description: Gilmore has an Aaron Boone-body type and has changed physically in the past year, looking stronger now.

Medical Update: Healthy.

Strengths: Offensive potential, with power and overall hitting ability projection.

Weaknesses: His defensive game is behind his bat and was lackluster with the glove at this showcase.

Summary: Gilmore improved at the plate tremendously in his senior season. The infielder has good raw power and showed a better overall approach in his offensive game. His defense isn't as sharp, but he will be drafted because of his bat potential.

My Grade: B-

Second Round (69th Overall)

Josh Fields

Height: 6'0"
Weight: 180
Birthdate: 8/19/85
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
School: Georgia University
Position: Relief Pitcher



Fastball: Fields throws a plus fastball that sat consistently in the 93-96 mph range.

Fastball Movement: Coming from a direct overhand slot, Fields' fastball is very straight.

Slider: Usually, Fields has a good hard slider in the 78-79 mph range. He didn't throw it much in his Friday outing.

Control: Usually Fields has decent control, but he was overthrowing up and out of the strike zone on Friday. He came out of his delivery and was constantly behind in the count, which kept him from getting to his above-average slider.

Poise: It was below average on Friday. He was given a lead and was perhaps too amped up to close out a win against Oregon State on opening night.

Aggressiveness: Being aggressive for a closer is a good thing, but he was overly-aggressive in a save situation on Friday. He can be too aggressive, wanting to come in and throw hard. He needs to learn to channel that.

Physical Description: He's a six-foot righty with a power arm who'll likely always have to answer questions about his size.

Medical Update: Healthy.

Strengths: Fields has a legitimate power arm with the classic fastball-slider mix.

Weaknesses: Normally, command is not a problem for Fields, but it was on Friday. He has shown the ability to keep his fastball down in the zone and will need to get back to that in the future.

Summary: Fields will be one of the most-watched college closers this season. His outing on Friday may be just one hiccup chalked up to Opening Night jitters. His size will always be an issue because of his plane to the plate and leverage, though others (Billy Wagner from the left side) have shown size doesn't always matter.

My Grade: C+

Third Round (78th Overall)

Frederick Freeman

Height: 6'5"
Weight: N/A
Birthdate: 9/12/89
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
School: El Modena HS (California)
Position: Third Base

I apologize for this, but I can't find any information on Frederick Freeman, I'll will be trying my damnedest to find out some stuff about him...I will update when I do.

The only thing I can find is his scouting video...here's the link, just scroll down and click the "400k" next to his name.

Third Round (108th Overall):

Brandon Hicks

Height: 6'2"
Weight: 205
Birthdate: 9/14/85
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
School: Texas A&M University
Position: Shortstop



Hitting Ability: Hicks grades out as a below-average hitter.

Power: He has below-average power.

Running Speed: Hicks has above-average speed.

Base Running: He uses his speed well and knows how to steal a base.

Arm Strength: Hicks has above-average arm strength at short.

Fielding: He is average across the board defensively.

Range: The speed helps, and Hicks has Major League average range.

Physical Description: Hicks is an athletic middle infielder with a Jay Bell body type.

Medical Update: Healthy.

Strengths: He's solid defensively, he can run well and his makeup is off the charts.

Weaknessess: There are questions about whether he'll hit enough at the next level.

Summary: Hicks is a speedy shortstop with excellent defensive skills and tremendous makeup. All of that won't make him an everyday shortstop at the next level unless he can hit enough, something that scouts question. Worst-case, he could make for a very good defensive-minded utility guy who can run.

My Grade: D+

Fourth Round (138th Overall):

Cory Gearrin

Height: 6'2"
Weight: 185
Birthdate: 4/14/86
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
School: Mercer University
Position: Relief Pitcher



Fastball: Gearrin throws an average fastball.

Fastball Movement: His fastball has below-average life.

Slider: Gearrin's slider projects as an average pitch. Right now, it's not as there is too much sweeping action when he throws it.

Control: He should have average command in the future.

Poise: Gearrin is a very aggressive pitcher as Mercer's closer.

Physical Description: Gearrin is a sidearming right-hander with a Scot Shields body type.

Medical Update: Healty.

Strengths: Gearrin's sidearm action is difficult to pick up for hitters.

Weaknesses: The arm angle does cause the sweep on the slider.

Summary: Gearrin jumped on the map early this year when his Mercer team took two games from the University of Miami. Gearrin saved both of those games, going three innings and striking out six without allowing a hit. The sidearmer is a very aggressive pitcher who'll need to work on tightening his slider. He profiles as a decent middle or setup guy out of someone's bullpen.

My Grade: C+

5th Round (168th Overall):

Dennis Dixon

Height: 6'4"
Weight: 205
Birthdate: 1/11/85
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
School: Oregon University
Position: Outfield


Much like Freeman, there is no information available at this time on Dennis Dixon. But when I heard his name, it rang a bell for some reason, after thinking about it for a second I realized that Dennis Dixon was the Oregon Ducks starting quarterback last season. That shows how athletic he is if he can start at quarterback at a major college and be successful. After doing some further research, I found that he was once ranked as a tremendous baseball prospect as an outfielder and was chosen in the 20th round of the 2003 Amateur Baseball Draft by Cincinnati. Obviously he decided to go ahead and pursue a career in football, but now he's back and looking to help out my beloved Braves.

My Grade: C

My thoughts:

I'm sorry but one of the biggest disappointments for me so far have been us not drafting a starting pitcher, despite the fact that we are currently having starting pitching problems, now I know that majority of the guys we draft won't make it to the majors for at least two or more years, but still, we need starting pitching. Besides the lack of addressing starting pitching, another move that left me in awe was both of our third round picks. First off, we had just drafted a third baseman two rounds before, why would we need to draft another, less talented player at the same position? You got me. And secondly, what the fuck is this team's obsession with middle infielders that can't hit for shit? We, in essence, drafted Pete Orr version two when we picked Brandon Hicks with the 108th pick. Besides those two picks, I was overall pleased.

I just really wished we could've got Matt Harvey, a right-handed pitcher out of Fitch HS in Groton, Conn. The kid has so much talent and should've been a top 15 pick this season if it wasn't for his choice in a representative(aka an agent). He decided that it would be a good move to have Scott Boras as his agent, and it cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars and he dropped, oh about 100 picks, give or take. Boras had teams afraid to draft Harvey because he mentioned that he wanted his clients to be signed to huge contracts and teams weren't willing to invest as much as he wanted to an 18 year-old high school kid. But he was finally taken by the Los Angeles Angels with the 118th overall selection and trust me, if they can get this kid signed, he's an bonafide STEAL.

The other 45 rounds(!) will begin tomorrow, I won't be live blogging that, for obvious reasons, but I'll recap with my Braves' picks.

UPDATE:

Thanks to Stephen of the BravesJournal, he found information about Frederick Freeman and he graciously shared with me. Also the link that he supplied also had infomation on Dennis Dixon, so I'll go ahead and update him as well. So without further adieu, here's Freeman's and Dixon's profile.

Third Round (78th Overall)

Frederick "Freddie" Freeman

Height: 6'5"
Weight: N/A
Birthdate: 9/12/89
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
School: El Modena HS (California)
Position: Third Base

The Braves love this power-hitting infielder who spent most of his high school career at third base but will play first base as a pro. Freeman can also pitch, but the Braves feel he has great power potential as a corner infielder. Like Heyward, Freeman is only 17 and doesn’t turn 18 until September 12th. The six-foot-five, 215-pounder has a solid swing from the left side of the plate. He hit .453 this season with 5 home runs and 20 RBI in 75 at bats. Freeman will join Heyward in the Gulf Coast League this summer in Florida.

5th Round (168th Overall):

Dennis Dixon

Height: 6'4"
Weight: 205
Birthdate: 1/11/85
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
School: Oregon University
Position: Outfield

Dennis Dixon was drafted by the Reds in the 20th round out of high school a few years ago, but instead he decided to attend Oregon to play football. He’s been one of the Ducks’ starting quarterbacks the last few seasons, but he believes baseball is his future. Even though he has not played baseball in a few years, the Braves were one of a few teams interested in Dixon on the diamond. He worked out twice for the Braves, and the scouts were convinced he would be a project worth the gamble. Dixon is six-foot-four, 205-pounder and he will turn 23 next January. The Braves will send him down to the Gulf Coast League this summer, and then he’ll return to Oregon for his senior season as the Ducks’ starting signal-caller in August. Dixon can run, throw, and catch the ball, so he just has to work on his hitting. The Braves will not rush him, and the scouts feel like he could be a special athlete that could really excel on the baseball field.

Saltalamacchia and Escobar continue to impress

The first game of the Braves double-header against the Florida Marlins just went into a rain delay with Atlanta leading 3-1, thanks to a Jarrod Saltalamacchia two-run homerun in the bottom of the seventh inning. Yet another reason why I want the Braves to keep Salty instead of trading him for pitching help. Sure we need the help, but guys like Salty don't come along everyday and with the saddening and almost definite departure of Andruw Jones after this season we are going to need someone to help fill the hole left by him, power wise. And no one is better suited to do that than Salty.

But then that brings up the next question, where does he play? He is a catcher by trade, that's where all his "value" is, but he has experience playing first base and seeing as how Scott Thorman is doing everything in his power to suck, and he's doing a might fine job at it, I must admit, it wouldn't be that big of a deal to put Thor on the bench. There was talk about switching Brian McCann to first base and play Salty at catcher, but there is no way in hell that is going to happen, McCann is our catcher and nothing is going to change that, he's the best offensive catcher in the National league, maybe in all of baseball and he just signed a fat new contract a month or so ago.

Here is Salty's numbers as of right now, note these don't include his performance today in which he went 2-3 with a game-winning two run homer.

Another player that was recently brought up is Yunel Escobar and he, much like Salty, has been playing extremely well and opened a lot of eyes. Escobar has only played in four games but he's hitting .438 and just hit his first career homerun last night against the Marlins and just to cap off that night, he went 4-4. Escobar has been playing third base while Chipper is on the shelf and it isn't known what his role will be when Chipper does come back, i'd anticipate he'll return in two to three weeks. Escobar could stay on the roster as a super-utility guy much like Wilson Betemit was before he was traded another possibility is let him keep raising his trade value and then try and find a bidder, such as the Cubs or the Giants who could really use a middle infielder. But it's hard to say what we should do, Chipper is still injured, and he has a history of getting injured and no one wants to see Prado, Woodward(eww) and Orr playing on a regular basis. But that's why i'm not paid to make those decisions, that's John Schuerholz's job.

Here's Escobar's stats as of right now, once again they don't include today's stats where he got one hit.

Side Note wife, Ashley, is a total : Both Saltalamacchia and Escobar have very hot wives, i've posted before that Salty'smilf and last night I learned Escobar's is too, both men are doing quite well for themselves and uh...they play baseball really well too. I'm still trying to find pics of both women.

Phillip Wellman suspended but not fired

The Atlanta Braves have decided that Phillip Wellman's tirade was enough to earn a three-game suspension. Over the weekend, Mississippi Braves manager, Wellman, was a little eccentric after being ejected for arguing balls and strikes.

• Throw hat to the ground...check
• Insult umpire's mother...check
• Get on one knee and cover home plate in dirt and outline a new plate...check
• Rip third and second base out of the ground and throw them...check
• Crawl to the the pitcher's mound and throw the rosin bag like it's a grenade at the umpire...CLASSIC and check

Wellman has yet to hear from the Southern League President, but you can expect he will in due time and expect another suspension. I would've thought his antics would've earned him a longer suspension, but let's see what the prez has to say. Wellman and the Braves have declined to comment on the situation, I can't wait to see that interview.

A couple of draft possibilities for Atlanta.

With the MLB draft just a few days away, it's got me thinking of just who the Braves are going to take with the 14th overall pick. There is a lot of players that I think they should take, most of which are pitchers, but here is a list of 1st round possibilities for the Atlanta Braves.

1. Blake Beavan, RHP

Height: 6'7"
Weight: 210
Age: 18
B/T: R/R
School: Irving High School (Irving, TX)

Blake Beavan is a right-handed flamethrower from Irving Texas and is drawing many comparisons to the Big Unit, Randy Johnson for his size, intimidation factor and his ability to strike out batters. Beavan is one of the top pitching prospects in this years upcoming draft and teams would be foolish to pass up on this kid.

With his ability to funnel his fiery attitude into a positive attribute, he impressed everyone going 8-1 with a 0.36 ERA, while striking out 99 batters in just 58 innings of work this past season. He has had a lot of success going back to his time on USA's Youth National Team he went 3-0 with a 1.10 ERA and helped the United States to a silver medal. Not only is he a great pitcher, he can also hit very well, he put up a .379 batting average and had 26 hits and 16 RBI's.

2. Jason Heyward, OF/1B

Height: 6'2"
Weight: 198
Age: 17
B/T: L/L
School: Henry County High School (McDonough, GA)

Jason Heyward is a versatile player that can play multiple positions and posses "intriguing raw power" that has many scouts comparing him to former All-Star, Fred McGriff. He has a big, muscular frame that allows him to generate a lot of power into his swing.

Heyward is not only a great power hitter, he is very good defensively as well and much like a current Brave, Jeff Francoeur, he's equipped with an absolute cannon for an arm that has some thinking he could do some pitching beyond high school. This past season he led his high school, McDonough High, to the school's first state championship in baseball, hitting .456 with five home runs, 41 runs and 23 stolen bases. The only problem with Heyward is that he in all likelihood will be off the board by time the Braves make their selection.

3. Josh Smoker, LHP

Height: 6'2"
Weight: 195
Age: 18
B/T: L/L
School: Calhoun High School (Sugar Valley, GA)

Josh Smoker is one of the top lefthanded pitchers in this year's draft and with his fluid pitching motion it reminds me of Braves' current starter, Chuck James. He has exceptional upside and with that loose and easy delivery it enables him to generate low-90s fastballs and an above-average changeup.

Even though he doesn't over power hitters, he is able to record a lot of strikeouts. This past season, Smoker went 8-2 1.52 ERA with 88 strikeouts in just 50 innings of work. And if you think that is impressive, then look at his numbers he put up as a sophomore. As a sophomore he went 12-0 with an astonishing 0.09 ERA and broke his own school strikeout record with 137 in 75 innings in leading Calhoun to the Georgia Class 2-A State Championship.

According to a mock draft done by John Sickles over at Minor League Ball, Smoker is the Braves' first round selection.

4. Matt Harvey, RHP

Height: 6'4"
Weight: 190
Age: 18
B/T: R/R
School: Fitch Senior High School (Mystic, CT)

Matt Harvey is also one of the top ten pitchers in this years draft and he has all the makings to be a great #2 pitcher for a long time. He has a loose fluid delivery and is able to pound the strike zone with in upwards of five pitches all of which he throws very well. His fastball can reach up to 95 at any given time, he also has one of the best, if not the best change up in this years draft, a two-seam fastball, a curve ball that has good spin and movement and a hard slider that breaks quickly. Matt also has experience at the closer role, which could increase his value. Something that is seeing him drop down draft boards has nothing to do with talent, it's because of his adviser, which is Scott Boras, and that leads teams to believe that he may be difficult to sign because of Boras' history.

Harvey led Fitch High to Connecticut's Class 2-A State Championship as a junior, posting a 5-0 record with two saves and a 0.82 ERA. In 43 innings he racked up 80 strikeouts against 14 walks with 13 hits allowed. He is a great pitcher and a team, say the 14-20 range could find themselves a steal, should he drop that low because of Boras of course, which it seems he may.


5. Tim Alderson, RHP

Height: 6'7"
Weight: 208
Age: 18
B/T: R/R
School: Horizon High School (Phoenix, AZ)

It's pretty easy to see why so many teams and scouts are enamored with Arizona prep star, he has great command on all of his pitches and is just as good as anyone in the high school ranks. He hardly walks anyone and he can reach 95+ on the radar guns. To compliment Alderson's 95+ fastball he has a nasty curveball that breaks hard.

Alderson led his Horizon High team this past season as the team's ace as he compiled an 8-3 record with a 0.95 ERA. He also recorded 122 strikeouts and eight walks on his way to being selected the Class 5-A Player of the Year by the Scottsdale Tribune. As a sophomore at Horizon, Tim went 8-1 with an astonishing 0.13 ERA. But with an unorthodox delivery it has some scouts concerned and it could end up meaning him dropping to the later picks in the first round.

The MLB Draft starts this coming Thursday and ends Friday(7th-8th) and for the first time it will be on national television. Expect me to be live blogging this much like I live blogged the NFL Draft and will be live blogging the NBA Draft when it happens.

Breaking News: Carlos Zambrano and Michael Barrett throw fisticuffs

During the fifth inning of the Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs game, Carlos Zambrano imploded and allowed five runs on five hits and he walked two batters. And the inning may have come to a close if it wasn't for Michael Barrett, the Cub's catcher, who first let a ball get passed him then allowed Scott Thorman to score on his throwing error. Obviously Zambrano wasn't very happy with his peformance and it seemed as though the events of Barrett set him off because after the inning Barrett and Zambrano started jawing in the dugout and then fisticuffs insued. A couple of shots by Zambrano, who is 6'5" 255, must've landed because Koyie Hill had to replace Barrett at catcher.

Expect an update when a video is available.

Side Note: I take every advantage to mention "fisticuffs".

UPDATE: Ok, so it looks like no solid punches landed, just shoves....oh well.

UPDATE #2: According MLB.com, Cubs manager Lou Piniella and hitting coach Gerald Perry had to separate the two a second time, this time in the team's clubhouse.

Piniella's interview isn't up yet, but Ububba from the Braves Journal posted this...

Piniella said the fight continued into the clubhouse after the dugout scrap. He says he sent both players home & “both will be disciplined, believe me.”

“This just shouldn’t happen,” he said, “Go fight the other team, if you have to.”

“When I was with the Yankees, this seemed like it happened a lot, but it still shouldn’t.”

He said he sent Zambrano to the showers & Barrett followed him. “Barrett’s lip is cut up pretty good.”

Then, he really got rolling. “I’ve only got so many players I can send out there and it’s about time they started playing like Major Leaguers!”

UPDATE #3: Here's the video of the Zambrano and Barrett fight...at last.

Chipper Jones placed on the DL; Smoltz's start pushed back

Well today was the deadline for the Atlanta Braves and Chipper Jones on whether or not to put him on the disabled list. And they have decided to go ahead an place him on the 15-day DL and call up Yunel Escobar to replace him. Jones has been diagnosed with a bone bruise near the base of his thumbs, but Jones is more concerned there might be some ligament or other damage, especially since the pain had begun raidiating down into his wrists. X-rays were taken last week and they showed no breaks or other structural damage. This will be Jones' fifth trip to the DL in the past three seasons and it's obviously frustrating him.

"I have absolutely no idea," he said of the next course in treatment. "I don't know what to do. We?re doing everything. I'll try to strengthen the wrist, and hopefully the bone bruises will heal in this down time."

His replacement will be Yunel Escobar, who is more of a shortstop, but has experience at thirdbase. Escobar was hitting .333/.379/.456 with 2 HR, 29 RBI's and 7 stolen bases in 46 games. For his complete statistics, here's his profile page. He is expected to arrive in Chicago in time for tomorrow's game and possibly start at third, this in all likelihood will be his major league debut.

More injury news, John Smoltz scheduled start this Sunday is probably going to be pushed back until Tuesday in which the Braves' have a double-header scheduled against the Florida Marlins. Smoltz's shoulder is still a little sore when he threw this morning after tweaking it on a warmup pitch before the fourth inning last Saturday at Milwaukee. He had previously dislocated his pinky again in that game but he said it didn't bother him when he threw Friday in a bullpen session at Wrigley Field. It looks like Buddy Carlyle will be starting the series finale against the Chicago Cubs this Sunday.

I'm torn with the "Chipper to the DL" thing, I mean Chipper is my favorite player and I never want to see him get hurt, but if he is hurt--and he is--I want him to take as much time as he needs so his season isn't full of injuries, and on another plus side we get to see Escobar play who is most likely one our top "trading pieces". As bad as it sounds, there is just no where for him to play and if he continues his hot hitting, he could fetch us another pitcher.

[Photo of Chipper(1st pic) is from May 11th when he collided with Pirate's third baseman, Jose Bautista, that was when he first injured his wrists.]

Braves rally late to capture series

It took the Atlanta Braves seven innings to get their offense started, but in the eighth inning they were able to explode with seven runs giving them the 8-2 lead. The inning started out with Matt Diaz, who coincidentally seems to always start off late-inning rallies, grounding out and then back-to-back walks to Kelly Johnson and Willie Harris. Edgar Renteria came up and singled loading the bases for Brian McCann, who had let a ball get passed him that gave the Brewers the lead the inning before. McCann promptly doubled to deep center that scored everyone and put the Braves on top for the first time, 3-2. McCann later scored off of a Andruw Jones RBI-double, who scored a few moments later thanks to Jeff Francoeur and his RBI-single. We scored our other two runs a little later off a Matt Diaz and Kelly Johnson RBI-single. Atlanta went on to win the game, 9-3.

Tim Hudson had another strong outing going seven innings allowing just two runs and striking out three batters. All six of hits were singles and the second of his two runs allowed came from the for mentioned wild pitch that scored Damian Miller. And not to mention he only had to throw 76 pitches to get through seven innings...I know, pretty impressive. He was replaced in the eighth inning by Rafael Soriano, who stretched his hitless streak to 10 innings before allowing a solo homerun to Prince Fielder-I have seen more than I would've liked to from that guy- but no worries, the game was well in hand and it wasn't a bad pitch. Bob Wickman then came onto pitch in the ninth, which didn't make a whole lot of sense, but hey, what do I know? Wickman had a three up-three down inning that included a rare strikeout.

WP: Tim Hudson(6-3)
LP: Derrick Turnbow(1-3)

HR: ATL- Kelly Johnson(7) MIL- Prince Fielder(18)

Side Note: Chipper Jones missed his sixth game today, and the team has said that they will give him till Friday and then decide whether or not to put him disabled list.

Chuck James leaves me confused once again

I just don't know what to say about Chuck James, sometimes he comes out to pitch like a mad man, throwing strikes, getting outs and just all-around pitching lights out and other times, like his last start for instance, he pitches like, well this guy. It's very infuriating not knowing which guy will show up, come to think of it that's how a lot of our pitchers are, Kyle Davies, Chad Paronto and Tyler Yates to name a few. But today we were honored by the presence of the GOOD Chuck James as he went 6 very strong innings, striking out 8 batters and walking only 2. He did however allow 5 hits but only one of which was an extra base hit and it was a solo homerun by Prince Fielder, it also the only run James would give up on route to a 2-1 win. If he could just do this consistently then we would we have three solid starters heading into the postseason(if all goes well that is).

The game was pretty much a pitcher's dual until the fourth inning when the slumping(serious understatement) Andruw Jones broke through with a ridiculous homerun. I'm not shitting you, the ball was way outside and parallel to Andruw's head but yet he was able to put a great swing on it and muscle it out for his eighth on the year. The Braves' second run came in the 5th inning when Kelly Johnson hit an RBI single that scored Chris Woodward and to be honest if it wasn't for a dumb decision by Fielder Woodward wouldn't have scored. Corey Hart unloaded a cannon right at home plate that would've gotten Woodward out by at least 15 feet, but Fielder decided to cut off the throw and throw it to third in time get James out but the runner at home had already crossed the plate before the out was recorded therefore we scored, HA!

Rafael Soriano pitched today and he came equipped with his sweet chin hair and filthy heat. He pitched 1.1 innings while striking out two and allowing no runs or hits. Bob Wickman made his triumphant return as the closer and he earned his eighth save on the season as he set the Brew Crew down in order with relative ease. He looked to be 100% healthy and that's a great news seeing as how we lost Mike Gonzalez for....oh a year and a half or so.

WP: Chuck James(5-4)
LP: Chris Capuano(5-4)
SV: Bob Wickman(8)

HR: ATL- Andruw Jones(8) MIL- Prince Fielder(16)

Side Note:

ATL- Chipper Jones missed his fifth consecutive game with a sore hand and Braves' manager, Bobby Cox, said the team is contemplating placing the All-Star third baseman on the DL.

MIL- Chris Capuano lost his fourth straight game today, tying a career high. Although he has been struggling with his command of late, the Brewers have been held to a single run in each of those four losses.

Kelly Johnson is off the market ladies...

According to AJC's Carroll Rogers, Atlanta Braves' second baseman, Kelly Johnson, proposed to his girlfriend. Johnson, who has made a difficult transition to second base from the outfield look extremely easy, took his long-time girlfriend, Lauren Thacker, out to dinner at her favorite restaurant in Atlanta, the Horseradish Grill. He then broke down, leading Lauren to believe something was wrong, he then proposed.

"I broke down," Johnson said. "She didn't know what was going on. She thought something was wrong."

By the time he got the proposal out, Johnson said, she was in tears too. Thacker grew up in Atlanta and graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in industrial engineering.

The couple well be having the wedding in January of 2008.

With Kelly Johnson now getting married, and Francouer doing the same, that leaves Braves' catcher, Brian McCann, as the only remaining member of the "Baby Braves" that is still single and on the Braves roster(I believe??). Looks like Kelly Johnson will have to surrender his partying card, no more late nights at the bars with random girls.



For more pics of athletes being mischievous visit On The DL. On The DL is also the birth place of Davey's favorite picture, this gem of Houston Astro's catcher, Brad Ausmus.

Mike Gonzalez needs Tommy John Surgery

I know i'm late on this, seeing as how news of Mike Gonzalez requiring elbow surgery was broke two days ago but according to AtlantaBraves.com and AJC.com, left-hander Mike Gonzalez will be requiring Tommy John Surgery on his throwing elbow. He will likely miss 12-16 months meaning he could miss a big part of next year.

When team physicians informed Bobby Cox on Friday that Mike Gonzalez was going to need season-ending Tommy John elbow ligament transplant surgery, it didn't really surprise the Braves skipper. For most of the past week, he was fearfully expecting this revelation.

Every time Gonzalez indicated that he wasn't feeling any pain in his left elbow, Cox thought back to 1999, when John Smoltz was saying the same thing. By the time Spring Training rolled around the next year, Smoltz found himself undergoing the same surgical procedure that awaits Gonzalez.

"All of the symptoms in my mind were sort of there because [the velocity] dropped off and there was no pain," said Cox, who removed Gonzalez from a May 15 game against the Nationals because his normally lively fastball was topping out at 84 mph.

Some may remember that Gonzo's health was a concern back when the Braves traded for the light's out closer in exchanger for power-hitting first baseman, Adam LaRoche. But he was cleared multiple times by doctors and he passed all physicals. Also included in that deal was top ten prospect for the Pirates, Brent Lillibridge, who is a year maybe two away from the big leagues. And with LaRoche struggling mightily in Pittsburgh it would seem as though the trade seems like a wash right now. I was in huge favor of the deal and I still am, before the elbow complications, he was pitching lights out, 2-0 1.59 ERA 2 SV's 1.59 WHIP, and seeing as how most people who come back from Tommy John Surgery throw harder, I think he'll be fine. I'd rather him have the surgery now, since we have two guys that can close out games(Soriano and Wickman) this year as oppose to next year when we may not have Wickman for much longer, we should be fine.